I have found an interesting bike at one of popular social networks. The
Velamos MTB from 1989. A solid, steel, bike with combination of
original eastern (Czechoslovak) parts and some Western components (the
derraileurs, for example). The color is an odd combination of a
metallic blue and white. But it was probably fashionable color scheme
in late 1980s. These were crazy times, you remember...
So I have got it. It was some $90 including shipping. The owner
informed me that some parts are non-original (he had to replace them)
but there are just a few.
The bike itself is well preserved (there are some traces of use like
damaged paint, a few tiny rust spots and so on, of course) and rides
well. I have had to tighten some bolts and to add some reflectors (to
be compliant with current law). I still have to find a front reflector
which will fit here.
The bike is quite interesting: a traditional steel "diamond" frame
modified to fit 26" wheels (they may be 2" wide, I think) and the
derraileurs. The brakes are of type which was used on the Favorit brand
of Czechoslovak bikes (I think, it looks like that). The headset is of
type which was used on other mountain bikes and the handlebar straight
(as it was common on mountain bikes of early 1990s). There are decals
in English. I think that this bike was aimed for export and not for the
local market. It must be very expensive when it was new.
What have surprised me was the fact that the bike is very comfortable
and rides well (of course it helped that its previous owner is a
Favorit bikes collector and he took a lot of care to this bike before
he offered it for sale). I tried to run through local forest (there are
narrow dirt paths and a lot of climbing and descending) and it worked
very well. Of course, being 3x6 speed bike from late 1980s it has a
little limited gears range - I was climbing consistently on the lowest
gear and I felt like it might be useful to have even lower gear for
better comfort. The highest gear is also lower than I would like (but
no mountain bike is much better here, I think).
But the main fature of this bike is its frame size: it is bigger than
my Velamos ATB (a very similar machine from about 1994, just with the
Shimano gear) and thus much more comfortable for me. I will probably
use this new one as my main all-terrain bike.
I only have to add some sort of rear carrier because at the moment the
only baggage option on the bike are two bottle cages and a small
plastic box for repair kit. I cannot add a frame bag here as the top
tube also holds the full-size air pump.
