On Mon, 12 Aug 2002 09:51:42 -0600 John Price <jprice@2-10.com> writes:
> But I don't think I've ever run across
> anything on Russian bikes. Are there any noted makes, interesting
> models...
John,
This has interested me for a number of years, and this is all I have found:
- There was a posting, that I have saved somewhere, about a guy in the midwest who got hold of a 10 speed bike made somwhere in the former USSR. From the description, it had cottered cranks and was build along late 50s club racing bikes.
- There was a 3 speed on ebay last winter that was brought over in the 60s. The downtube and headtube said "Sport" in Cyrillic.
- Back in the early 80s I was at the velodrome in Colorado Springs, and bunch of Jrs were there from the USSR. I traded some sew-up with them for some of theirs. They were made in the USSR, and were labeled "Butterfly" in Cyrillic. They were very heavy, laughable at the time, but now when I think about it, the roads they must have trained on were probably really not that good. They were all riding a Colnagos, or Italian track bikes. Just like the equipment chapter out of the CONI Manual.
- When I was in Annapolis Bicycling Club in Maryland, we had a guy with one leg, or one arm (forget), that works in bikes shops in Northern VA, give a talk on his bike tour in Russia. He said that most of the domestic bikes he saw looked like old U08s and Raleigh Records.
- The little online contact that I have been able to make with russian cyclists, it seems most of them buy bikes that are Shimano equipped and frames made elsewhere. Still have never seen a russian custom frame builder listed, andywhere.
When I get my dang cable modem fixed, I think I need to search and see what they are selling in Moscow these days for bikes. As well as look to see if any classic russian bikes have shown up online. I am sure that before the revolution, most bikes probably came from France. Anything after that was probably imported for sports clubs from Europe.
Another area that would be interesting to find out more about. The hard part is finding a credible source.
When whom ever decided to build an Olympic cycling team, and actually spend money on it and hire Eddy B still makes me laugh. His soviet style rider selection. Get a young population, test them to find the physically gifted, and train and grow them into world class. The Nye book, "Hearts of Lions" describes the olympic teams of the 60s, people who came from the local pockets of cycle sport and had to have raced for the love of it, because there was no money in it, to the late 70s on where more money (corporate?) started flowing.
Steven Johnson, Chesapeake, VA
________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/