Soma Japan Bicycles

There's a new Soma in the world of bicycles - Soma Fabrications started in 2001 and they make absolutely gorgeous products so check them out. But long ago in the 1980's there was another Soma Bicycle Company, during the boom of Japanese built "10 and 12 speeds". Sheldon Brown mentions the original Soma Company as, " A short-lived brand of decent-quality bikes. " And they indeed were just that.

Soma is the name of a city in Japan that translates roughly as Wild Horse. You can still find Soma bikes, some in very good condition. They are steel lugged frames. I have photos of a nice tall one I had and I just got a 24" one which is in excellent condition. Photos to follow. It will make a handsome singlespeed for someone 5' tall or less. It is so easy to find tall steel bikes from the 1980's and so difficult to find good quality smaller bikes, because there just were not a lot built.