Soviet bicycles: history and types

In 1924 the first Soviet bicycle was launched 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.

Soviet children's bicycle "Eaglet" and a female version called "Swallow" are small copies of adult bicycles of the same brand. They are popular in 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 in the USSR on two wheels, manufactured in 1936 at the Leningrad Metallist plant. No less popular were the goods of such brands as "Kama", "Desna", "Shkolnik", "Eureka".

Bicycles for adults in the USSR produced two giants in their field. They were Kharkov and Minsk bicycle plants. The most popular brands, under which the Soviet bicycle for adults went on sale, were the Aist and Ukraine. They were not inferior to each other either as an assembly or in strength. Also, this two-wheeled vehicle produced such brands as "Ural", "Minsk", "Dorozhny". Women's bikes differed from men's by having a ladies' frame and a more refined design.

Soviet sports bicycles began to be mass produced at a bicycle factory in Kharkov. They had a different design and purpose. From the usual, they were distinguished by a reduced base and a light frame. The wheel was narrow, the steering wheel curved and lowered. The saddle also had its differences. It was much tougher and narrower than conventional bicycles. In general, sports bicycles were used for training, racing and tourism. The most popular were sports and tourist, which were used in both directions. Let's list their basic models.

The V-541 is an easy sports and tourist bicycle with a weight of 12.5 kilograms, hand brakes, narrow easily removable wheel flaps.

Model type B-64 was even lighter than the B-541 weight of 9 kilograms and very narrow rims of the wheels, for which no shields were provided.

The V-553 is a sports-road bike with a weight of 11 kilograms and hand brakes on both wheels. He had a steel frame and a thin-walled front fork.

GM-30 with a thin-walled frame was produced at the Moscow bicycle plant. He is considered one of the first Soviet sports bicycles. In 1949, for the first time, Zich-1 was produced, which was distinguished by a high-quality assembly. He, according to many experts, is the best among the sports bicycles of the Soviet Union.

Soviet bicycles are history. This is one of those things that remind us of our childhood and the now, now distant, time. At the same time, they are not inferior in quality to modern analogues. With none of the others, Soviet bicycles can be confused, photographs of which confirm this once again.