Bridgestone was making highly regarded bikes, mass produced or not. Example, a state-of-the-art rig would be a Ritchey P-23 (c. ~1990), so named because it was

Bridgestone was making highly regarded bikes, mass produced or not. Example, a state-of-the-art rig would be a Ritchey P-23 (c. ~1990), so named because it was a project to make a 23lb bike, which was a Big Enough Deal to name the bike after the project. I feel like the bikes[0] I[1] raced[2] at the time ($1800 - $2600, not adjusted) were in the 25-26lb range (19.5 - 20.5" frames). The very light bikes (like a P-23) were contraindicated for heavy, non-expert riding. Working at a high-end bike shop around that time, I saw them[3] come back in pieces. [0] http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=35724 http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=35724 [1] http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=258229 http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=258229 [2] http://i41.tinypic.com/j9y5ug.jpg http://i41.tinypic.com/j9y5ug.jpg [3] http://fcdn.mtbr.com/attachments/vintage-retro-classic/125402d1134938352-first-gen-rocky-mountain-wedge-89wedge.jpg http://fcdn.mtbr.com/attachments/vintage-retro-classic/12540...