Factory Footage

Dark and frosty outside? Get a mug of hot tea, and settle in to watch these videos. Learn about the mysterious inner workings of bicycle factories!

Here's a look at the French manufacturer Peugeot, from 1985:

It looks as though Peugeot manufactured their own tubing, forks, and even rims. Sekine's factory was much smaller and limited in scope, but used some similar processes.

From the How It's Made video series comes this episode about a bicycle factory (CCM):

Interesting because they're manufacturing plain, low-tech steel bikes, in Canada, much like Sekine did. Obviously some of the manufacturing machines are more advanced (in particular more fully automated wheel building), but it's a simple flow- frames, paint, sub-assembly, conveyor belt final assembly.

Campy chain manufacturing, from the How It's Made series:


And a look at modern, mass-production factory wheel building:

Although this factory is in China, the Sekine wheel build process was similar. Hand lacing, with an automatic machine tensioning, then final truing by hand.

Last but not least, a look at Continental bicycle tire manufacturing.

There's also a longer, very detailed Schwalbe-produced video on Youtube that's worth watching. It's interesting to think that even Canada used to have bicycle tires manufactured domestically.

Anyone else have some good links to bicycle-factory videos?

Keeps rollin' on

I'm excited to say that so far, the Sekine Project zines have sold better than expected. I'm currently working to get them into bikes stores or co-ops, to reach anyone interested in a good read. Sekine were a relatively small manufacturer, but this bicycle brand seems to possess a huge nostalgia factor for many Canadians.
I'm even more excited to acknowledge all the wonderful people I've met through this project. Recently, through my efforts at distributing the zine, I've been introduced to many more cyclists who remember Sekine and have something to share.

Nice Medialle headbage with a white fill, on this SHS 271 from 1974

Naively, I had assumed that once the zine was printed the real work would be over and the project would be finished. Seems a silly notion, in hindsight. What's happened is that with most people I meet, the zine brings out their enthusiasm for Sekine, and I hear a good story or learn something new. So the project keeps rolling on, and I'll try to keep posting interesting items on this blog.

I'm soliciting constructive comments and memories from every reader, because with a project like this, there's always something new to learn.

Now in Print!

It's finally finished! Behold the Sekine zine:

Sekine zine cover pages

After months of editing and revisions, the zine is finally printed and ready to go. An large envelope stuffed full of Sekine zines accompanied me yesterday to Canzine West. Quietly put onto the table and launched without fanfare, the zine sold well and received some very positive initial reviews.

The Sekine zine is a black-and-white, 36-page photocopied booklet that details the history of Sekine Canada Ltd. It contains more information about Sekine than you'd ever want to know, and includes photos and tidbits you won't find anywhere online. If you've ever wondered about Sekine bicycles, where or how they were made, this zine has all that information- and more.

Sekine zine inside pages

Sekine zine exclusive photos

It's not a detailed guide to specific bicycle models, as a vintage catalog accompanied by a learned eye is more accurate. The zine does, however, contain general identification pointers, a serial number guide, and an extensive reference list for further reading. Given time and a budget I would have written a book; but this zine is quite good and a lot cheaper!

Sekine zine, more inside spread

Sekine zine, more photos

The zine is available to order directly from me. Paypal is easiest, but I'd still accept old-school cash through the mail. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me (rodoftheflies AT yahoo DOT ca). Buy yours today!

Sekine Zine + Postage

In Canada $5.00 CAD To the U.S.A $5.50 CAD

The Crash

A beautiful sunny morning, clear blue skies and dry roads. We both had the day off, and it took a while to get out of the house. With fun and frivolous diversions in mind, we set off on our bikes. I was riding my fixed gear, my girlfriend was on her single speed Sekine mixte.
A block from our house, approaching a familiar four-way intersection on a stale green light, I was in the lead. Anticipating the traffic lights, I figured the girlfriend was a good distance behind me. As the light changed from green to yellow, I was nearing the crosswalk and suddenly decided to stop, rather than go through the intersection, and slammed on my front brake, skidding the rear wheel a bit.
Just coming to a stop, I had about a second's warning as I heard a noise from behind me, an "Oh shi-" WHAM! The impact pushed me and bike through the crosswalk, where I fell onto the ground. "Ahh, what the F*CK!" My girlfriend had been following more closely than I'd thought, and had just enough time to slam on the brakes before plowing into my bike's rear end.
"Owww. Dammit. Are you okay?" Four lanes of motorists looked on as we dragged our bikes off to the sidewalk. Somehow the Sekine's brake lever was snagged in my bike's rear fender, and I picked pieces of my shattered tail light off the pavement. We examined the damage.
Some fender stays got bent, but my wheels and the rest of the bike seemed fine. Let's have a look at your Sekine- uh oh.

Twin top tubes bent upward, flaking the paint. Not shown, but the fork was bent back as well.

Lower lug broken away from head tube. The lower spoon on the lug dug into the tubing, buckling it nicely.

Obviously, the Sekine is toast. Had we crashed further away, she could actually have ridden this bike home (slowly, as the fork bent far back the steering is quite wonky). Steel, as they say, is real. The material fails in a way that, to me, seems nicely predictable, obvious, and relatively safe. Fixing this frame, although technically possible, would require so much labour and new tubing that it's not a realistic option. This is actually the third crash this 30-year old frame has been through (with just its current owner) and it's time for a replacement.

So, hours later we both have some bruises and pains. The hospital x-rayed her arm, and luckily declared it unbroken. The nose of my Brooks saddle kicked me in the backside like a hammer blow. We'll heal and be a little wiser (I hope) for the experience, but this Sekine is done.

Sekine Zine Update

The Sekine Project's original goal was to find out about the company, and eventually publish a small zine with my findings. I've been working to accomplish this over the past few months.
The booklet is well underway, with a target of having printed copies in hand by mid-November. I've spent hours editing the text and photos, revising and updating. New information keeps coming my way, which delays completion but is welcome because of the more comprehensive picture provided. I've been fortunate enough to have a few really good interviews, and talk to other knowledgeable people.
The zine will be around 30 pages, with something nice for a cover. When I have them done, I'll post them up here for sale. Cost will be printing+mailing.

In the meantime, here's a photo of an original Sekine lug set; Tange lugs and Shimano dropouts.

Nice forged dropouts, stamped and welded lugs need filing to finish.

I still welcome any submissions of information and Sekine bicycle stuff. Contact me via email; rodoftheflies (this space to prevent spam) @yahoo.ca

Original Decals

The other day, I had the the pleasure of interviewing a former Sekine employee. He was most generous; in addition to his time, he gifted me a set of original Sekine decals he had kept from 1979.

Sekine Decals

Ironically, the seat tube decal itself was printed in Japan. Now I need to find a frame worth repainting.

Looking at Lugs

Let's take a closer look at that most important frame piece- lugs. Sure, lugs exist primarily to hold the frame together, but long ago frame builders realized lugs could be beautiful as well as functional. They were a chance to show off one's craftsmanship and distinguish a bicycle. Of course, mass-produced frames aren't afforded the same detailing as a custom-built, but even production lugs can have style as well as strength.

A basic socket lug with no ornamentation on a cheaper frame. Plenty strong, but heavy.

Looking at the lugs used by Sekine over the years, we see several different types. Obviously, you'll find the plain-cut socket joints used on bottom-end frames; but there's variance through the years and more expensive models. Many of the lugs resemble, at a glance, the famous Nervex lugs from France.

The famous "Continental-cut" lug appeared on thousands of Sekine's mid-70s SHT, SHS, & SHL frames. The lug features fancier cutouts, and retains its strength while reducing weight and adding aesthetic appeal.

I have yet to confirm a definite timeline for the various lugs, or reason why a switch was made. Also worth noting is that several other Japanese frame manufacturers used the same lugs as Sekine. In particular, the Nishiki (and later Norco) bicycles are nearly identical, and similar lugs are found on the lesser-known Azuki brand. It's also worth noting that there are several different types of lugs on the mixte frames; these are most noticeable on the head tube-top tube joint.

Another basic lug, yet it has some ornamentation

Sekine probably had a few suppliers for their frame materials, (for example, Shimano dropouts) but most notably Tange Industries supplied many of the lugs, and much of the steel tubing used to build the frames. Tange also made the forks for most of the Sekine bicycles.

The lugs pictured above are on frames made perhaps a year apart, around 1980. The one on the left is a cheaper frame; the lug is chunky and heavy. The frame on the right has nicer lugs, with long smooth tangs and more defined curves. I'm not sure what Sekine used for brazing material, but I'll find out soon.