14 Responses to “Gallery: Bob Rogen’s TOEI 650B Randonneur”

• Eric says:
  

  Very nice!! Do you know if the lights are battery powered, or are they wired internally?? Either way, I love the way the lights are mounted; very slick.

  Posted on 7.8.10 at 9:55 am
• Beth L. says:
  

  Sexy!

  Posted on 7.8.10 at 11:09 am
• RDW says:
  

  Beautiful. I’m wondering about the lights also, I think I see a sidewall dynamo on the rear wheel. I’m guessing internally routed wiring. I especially like the tail light mount, and what looks like a flashlight holder on the far side of the front rack.

  Posted on 7.8.10 at 11:12 am
• Neighbourtease says:
  

  gorgeous bicycle. I love it.

  Posted on 7.8.10 at 11:31 am
• dreamlet says:
  

  What is a Toei bike? Tell me more!

  Posted on 7.8.10 at 2:16 pm
• Aaron says:
  

  I want that rear cable hanger.

  Posted on 7.8.10 at 2:40 pm
• Terry S says:
  

  What is a Toei?
  Builder profile:
  http://www.sandsmachine.com/bp_toei.htm

  They do not build racers or mountain bikes but stick to traditional French randonneurs

  Company website with lots of pictures in the photo gallery:
  http://www.generalworks.com/toeisha/index_eg.html

  Posted on 7.8.10 at 5:20 pm
• Lovely Bicycle! says:
  

  Oh that is very pretty indeed!
  And where do people get those types of tail lights? Are they all vintage, or is there a modern version?

  Posted on 7.8.10 at 6:34 pm
• thor says:
  

  OH mei ….. A Simplex retrofriction shifter set ….. one of the best little bike pieces ever came out France … same as the Huret Jubilee and CLB Spaceline brakes … gone due to lack of marketing and the rush to compete against Japan and Taiwan with cheap plastic crap instead…..

  great bike …

  thor

  Posted on 7.8.10 at 7:48 pm
• fridaycyclouriste says:
  

  so nice…toei is unsurpassed.

  Posted on 7.8.10 at 10:44 pm
• Ryan says:
  

  Beauty. Love that rear taillight and what great fender lines I can never get mine to look that perfect! -hint that might be a good article Alan if there are other “fender line challenged” readers like myself ;-)

  Posted on 7.9.10 at 10:14 am
• Bob Rogen says:
  

  Hello All,

  Thanks for your kind comments about my TOEI 650B randonneur. As background, I got on to TOEI bikes in 1983 when I met Hiroshi Imuri, owner of Jitensha Studio in Berkeley. He also had Shula randonneur bikes in the shop, and I immediately liked the idea of a light day-tourer with integrated fenders and racks. The spark to finally get one was ignited in 2004 after I visited the TOEI shop in Saitama, near Tokyo (I visited Japan for a Nikon camera collector meeting, another passion of mine). This was while my Mariposa 700c touring was being built, oh well. In 2007 I attended the Toei Owners Meeting and saw many more TOEI gems for ideas/inspiration, as I was referring to a deifnitive book about TOEI up to that point. This bike was put together (I gathered the parts and spec’d the frame that was then ordered from Hiroshi Imura) with three things in mind: I wil likely have only one TOEI in this life so nail it the first time; make it the opposite of the Mariposa (650B vs. 700c; only a front rack vs. two racks; double chain rings vs. a triple; all NOS French parts vs. a mix of French and Japanese parts; cantilever brakes vs. centerpulls; internally wired lights vs. no lights); and, make it in the style of other TOEI bikes owned by my friends in Japan (a sense of community). I feel I succeeded on all counts, and it rides like a dream, too.

  Here is a friend’s website for your own interests and inspiration:
  http://www.symphonic-net.com/france1961/index.html

  Posted on 7.9.10 at 2:17 pm
• bostonretrowheelmen says:
  

  spectacular build! truly built in the classic tradition of the french randonneur bikes.

  Posted on 7.10.10 at 4:16 pm
• Bob Rogen says:
  

  Regarding the lights, the front “golf ball” light, attacthed to the custom front rack with a nice curved piece, and the generator attached at the rear, are NOS Soubitez. The rear light is a TOEI, currently made and in the same style/design as rare French JOS lights. All lighting wiring is internal, including the wiring from the front light through the front rack. On the left side of the rack is a vintage flashlight that is attached to the rack with clips I got from Velo Orange.

  Posted on 7.12.10 at 1:20 pm