Okay, I haven't been doing that much with bikes for more than the last 3 or 4 years, but I have noticed something: All these 10-speeds (road bikes from the bike boom) from the 70's-80's that I've been riding look so much alike. Schwinn, Sekai, Matsushita Electric, etc... I realise that the bicycle industry is rife with imitation (to put it nicely), but did this frame design stem from one common ancestor?
I doubt I'm doing a good job of transcribing this question which has been bouncing around my head--so have me elaborate, I'll be lurking.
