Re: Skoda Bikes

[Alan Braggins]

In article <[email protected]>, Danny Colyer wrote:
>Sam Salt wrote:
>> I can't understand why anyone would want to buy a bike from a car dealership
>> when there are perfectly good LBS's around with good advice and aftersales.
>
>Some people like the image associated with certain brands of car. Off
>the top of my head, other car makers that have started selling bikes are
>Porsche, Mazda and either Range Rover or Land Rover. I don't think
>Peugeot really counts, being a bike maker that also sells cars

Skoda started off as a bike maker too.

I think Mercedes did one/some for a while, and Audi still do. At least
my local Audi dealer has a bike with "Quattro" stickers on the roof of
one of their display models. It's only rear wheel drive though, not like
the Quattro cars. http://www.audiworld.com/news/03/bike/content.shtml

There are Jeep branded bikes too, at least one of which does have an
all wheel drive system:
http://www.mountain-bikes-now.com/jeep_mountain_bike_rubcAWD.htm

 

[Scottish Roadrunner]

BMW sell branded bikes aswell

 

[dkahn400]

Alan Braggins wrote:

> Skoda started off as a bike maker too.
>
> I think Mercedes did one/some for a while, and Audi still do. At
> least my local Audi dealer has a bike with "Quattro" stickers on
> the roof of one of their display models. It's only rear wheel drive
> though, not like the Quattro cars.
> http://www.audiworld.com/news/03/bike/content.shtml
>
> There are Jeep branded bikes too, at least one of which does have an
> all wheel drive system:
> http://www.mountain-bikes-now.com/jeep_mountain_bike_rubcAWD.htm

Let's not forget that Lotus were quite successful with a certain
pursuit bike too, although the production run was somewhat limited.
Admittedly they had a bit of help from Messieurs Boardman and Burrows.

--
Dave...

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, Alan Braggins
('[email protected]') wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, Danny Colyer wrote:
>>Sam Salt wrote:
>>> I can't understand why anyone would want to buy a bike from a car
>>> dealership when there are perfectly good LBS's around with good
>>> advice and aftersales.
>>
>>Some people like the image associated with certain brands of car. Off
>>the top of my head, other car makers that have started selling bikes
>>are
>>Porsche, Mazda and either Range Rover or Land Rover. I don't think
>>Peugeot really counts, being a bike maker that also sells cars
>
> Skoda started off as a bike maker too.

Skoda started off as an armaments maker, as their logo implies, I think.
However the Czech republic has both the skills and the labour costs to
make good bike frames.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; when in the ****, the wise man plants courgettes

 

[Dave Larrington]

Simon Brooke wrote:

> Skoda started off as an armaments maker, as their logo implies, I
> think.

Laurin & Klement started by building bicycles, then branched out into
motorcycles and motorcars. They merged with Skoda in 1925, when the latter
was a general engineering outfit making all sorts of stuff. I am reasonably
reliably informed that:

"The L&K emblem remained on the front grilles of Mlada Boleslav cars until
1926, when the new products bore the Skoda emblem alone, as agreed with
Skoda Co. following a year's cooperation. These facts are historically
linked to another rather mysterious story, describing the origins of the
famous winged arrow which still forms the central part of Skoda's emblem.
This feature is thought to have been the idea of Mr T. Magliè, Skoda's
commercial director, who was inspired by one of Skoda family servants, an
Indian, whom the company director, Mr. Skoda, had brought back with him from
a business trip to America."

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
Skoda owner

 

[Alan Braggins]

Simon Brooke wrote:
>in message <[email protected]>, Alan Braggins
>('[email protected]') wrote:
>>
>> Skoda started off as a bike maker too.
>
>Skoda started off as an armaments maker, as their logo implies, I think.

http://www.skoda-auto.com/global/history/company counts the bike makers
as the founders, even though the Skoda name came from a later merger.

http://www.channel4.com/4car/feature/retrospective/skoda-centenary/
retrospective-2.html has more. (And says they made ammunition as well as
military vehicles in World War I, after they had started making cars,
before they became Skoda.)

The winged arrow postdates the merger:
http://www.channel4.com/4car/gallery/retrospectives/skoda-centenary/
1988-2005_page_13.html

I like the scrollwork on this:
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/features/2005/skoda-centenary/
03-large/1902-Slavia-BD.jpg

Chaincase with a belt drive to the rear wheel? (I've seen electric
assists with a similar sort of belt drive, but without the fancy
case).

 

[Ambrose Nankivell]

Dave Larrington wrote:

> --
> Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
> Skoda owner

You are VAG & ICMFP

A

 

[Stross]

Dave Larrington wrote:
> the famous winged arrow which still forms the central part of Skoda's emblem.

That's me taught. I thought their logo was an unlucky chicken.

Stross

 

[Simonb]

Simon Brooke wrote:
> However the Czech republic has both the skills and the labour
> costs to make good bike frames.

See Fort and Dawes (their Audax frames are made by Fort, apparently).