In 1924, the first Soviet bicycle was produced at the Kharkov plant. Then it was possible to purchase road, light-road, teenage, children's and special bicycles. All these types can be found today in specialized stores and online stores.
There are many brands of this vehicle, which began to be produced in the Soviet Union and are popular today.
The Soviet children's bicycle "Eaglet" and the female version called "Swallow" are small copies of adult bicycles of the same brand. They are popular among children aged 7 to 14 years. "Eaglet" was the most popular among teenagers, it was produced in Lithuania. But the innovation among Soviet bicycles for children was, of course, the first bicycle on two wheels in the USSR, made in 1936 at the Leningradsky Metallist factory. No less popular were products of brands such as Kama, Desna, Shkolnik, Eureka.
Bicycles for adults in the USSR produced two giants in their field. They were Kharkov and Minsk bicycle factories. The most popular brands, under which the Soviet bicycle for adults went on sale, were “Stork” and “Ukraine”. They were not inferior to each other either in assembly quality or in strength. Also, such two-wheeled vehicles were produced by such brands as Ural, Minsk, Dorozhniy. Women's bicycles differed from men 's bicycles by the presence of a ladies' frame and a more refined design.
Soviet sports bikes began to be mass-produced at a bicycle factory in Kharkov. They had a different design and purpose. They were distinguished from ordinary ones by a reduced base and a light frame. The wheel was narrow, the steering wheel curved and lowered. The saddle also had its own differences. It was much stiffer and narrower than regular bicycles. In general, sports bikes were used for training, racing and hiking. The most popular were sports and tourism, which were used in both directions. We list their main models.
B-541 is a light sports and tourist bike with a weight of 12.5 kilograms, hand brakes, narrow easily removable wheel guards.
A model of the B-64 type was even lighter than the B-541 weighing 9 kilograms and very narrow wheel rims for which shields were not provided.
The B-553 is a sports-road bike with a weight of 11 kilograms and hand brakes on both wheels. It had a steel frame and a thin-walled front fork.
GM-30 with a thin-walled frame was released at the Moscow Bicycle Plant. He is considered one of the first Soviet sports bikes. In 1949, the ZiCh-1 was first released, which was distinguished by a high-quality assembly. He, according to many experts, is the best among the sports bikes of the Soviet Union.
Soviet bicycle is a story. This is one of those things that remind us of our childhood and that now distant time. At the same time, they are in no way inferior in quality to modern analogues. Soviet bikes should not be confused with any other, photos of which once again confirm this.