Bridgestone Picnica

The Bridgestone Picnica was a line of collapsible folding bicycles made by Bridgestone Cycle, introduced in the early 1980s and carried in the Bridgestone Cycle USA catalogs from 1985 through 1990. It weighed about 29 pounds and had small wheels. Some models used a toothed belt drive in place of a chain, with a floating pulley and a two-part chainring that tightened the belt as pedalling load rose, a design marketed as the Beltrex system, and part of its appeal was a cleaner drive. The frame folded in one touch because the seat stays hinged and locked by spring pressure, so the whole bicycle collapsed under its own weight. It was apparently commercially successful, mainly in Japan, where it sold for around 35,000 yen.