Russian bicycles: advantages and disadvantages, rating of models

For decades, Russian bicycles were considered the most reliable, durable and high quality. Everything has changed with the popularization of sports models - mountain, BMX, for trial and downhill. Extreme cycling has become a massive hobby and it turned out that in it domestic manufacturers of equipment are not at all as strong as riders would like. Today, the list of manufacturers from Russia is periodically updated with new names, but the class of bicycles is slightly higher than that of the Chinese counterparts. The ranking of the best and most popular brands from the Russian Federation does not look promising at all.

Do Moscow brands of bicycles exist, what does the modern geography of their production in Russia look like, what kind of bicycles should beginners choose, and how not to make a mistake and buy a bike that can last a long time, we will talk in this article.

Considering the proposed Russian bicycles for purchase, we can deduce a number of patterns that combine the products of Russian brands. Their obvious advantages include the following characteristics.

• Compliance with established standards. While Chinese-made products are often made almost of foil, domestic brands offer high-quality steel of normal thickness and do not save on aluminum tubes. Bicycles from Russia are really reliable, if only because their components use good components.
• Full fulfillment of warranty obligations. In the event of a manufacturing defect, Russian bikes can easily be returned to the manufacturer. It will be much more difficult to prove something to companies from Taiwan, China or other Asian countries.
• Decent quality of components. Given that most of the attachments for all bicycle brands, without exception, are made in Asia, in terms of technical equipment, Russian manufacturers as a whole have not gone far.
• Affordable cost. At the price of Russian bicycles clearly outperform any competitors. Of course, the products presented by them are oriented more likely to skating enthusiasts who do not have much experience. But in general, it is quite consistent with the request of the target audience.
• Domestic production. The ability to “support the ruble” of the Russian brand is very important for many - in addition to the country's prestige, factories also create hundreds of jobs.

The disadvantages include extremely low build quality. And this despite the fact that the installation process, consisting of hanging additional equipment on the frame, is considered to be production in the Russian Federation. If you consider that most of the frames are Chinese or Taiwanese, the mounted elements are all imported, the Russian bicycle market is starting to look not very attractive. However, even if the basis is domestic, most likely it will be very difficult.

Low quality attachments in Russian bicycles, it is difficult to attribute directly to shortcomings. For the most part, it is due to the fact that the bikes themselves are designed for beginners. But the frequency of service is already a serious drawback. If you can not look into the bearings and bushings of bicycles of leading world brands for years, such tactics will definitely not work with domestic equipment.

All bicycles manufactured in Russia can be divided on models with multi-speed transmission and options without speeds, with 1 asterisk. Sometimes separation by material class and frame type - Options made of titanium, carbon are more expensive than steel and aluminum. It is worth paying attention to depreciation type: it may be absent, in this case the plug is called rigid, there are also hardtail and two-suspension.

According to their purpose, all bicycles are divided into the following categories.

• City or road. Oriented on highway or asphalt, with one speed, simple operation. Equipped with a trunk and a basket, wings, mud shields by default. Depreciation in such models is not provided.

• Mountain bikes. Available in double gimbal and hardtail, focused on travel over rough terrain. They have a solid, reinforced frame design, double rims adapted for jumping. Tires have an aggressive pattern and increased thickness.

• Bmx. Stunt bicycles, characterized by increased strength of the frame and forks. They are not folding. They have a special steering wheel and saddle geometry.

• Tourist. Designed specifically for long trips, they feature improved acceleration, especially comfortable saddles, and large wheel diameters.

• Hybrid. Combine the advantages of mountain and tourist models. Suitable for overcoming a small off-road without too much extreme.

• Cruisers Bicycles for a comfortable and leisurely ride around the city. They are comfortable, suitable for shopping trips or sightseeing.

If we consider the factories producing bicycles in Russia, the list will be quite short. And Moscow brands will definitely not be included in it - most of the productions are still taken out of the capital.A review of companies producing bicycles in the Russian Federation will help to understand the market situation more accurately and in detail.

Perm bicycle factory, leading its history since 1939. In the past, the company successfully produced Kama, Ural, and Velta-Sport bicycles, and was part of the automobile concern. After the liquidation of the Velta enterprise in 2006, Forward LLC was created on its basis, specializing in the production of bicycles of the same name, equipment and accessories for them. Own production was established earlier, since 2003, first on the basis of imported components, and then using our own developments.

In Soviet times, the company was called the "ZIF". Bicycle production continued until the closure of the company in 2016 due to bankruptcy. Today, the plant is in regional subordination, work is underway to restore production. The company during its existence actively supplied its products abroad - to India, China, and Eastern Europe.

The largest Russian bicycle manufacturer. The company immediately owns 4 plants - in the Krasnodar Territory, Moscow and Bryansk Regions, in the Urals. The company owns such bicycle brands as Stels and Desna, is actively developing and expanding production facilities. The product lines include fat bikes, mountain hardtails and double suspensions, urban and road models of different levels.

Kaliningrad plant, existing since 2006. The company immediately owns 2 brands of bicycles: Novatrack and Stinger, focused primarily on youth audiences. The plant regularly improves production, develops new models, thinks out the geometry of frames.

The best brands from Russia will also not be left without attention. The following brands that fall into the popularity rating definitely deserve it.

• Atom One of the leaders of the domestic bicycle market. It specializes in the production of models for extreme sports - from BMX to freeride, trial and cross-country. In the presence of children's and teenage models.

• Forward Domestic brand with an extensive product line. The company was one of the first in the Russian Federation to launch the production of carbon frames and premium sports bikes. Among its products you can find children's models with lightweight frames, models for downhill, cross-country, BMX, trial.

• Stark. The production is based in Lenino, it is a young company showing great success. In the lineup there are already extreme, mountain models, road bikes and folding city options.

• Stels. The brand name of Velomotors, well known to most Russians. For a long time it was not considered as a serious competitor to foreign companies due to the low quality of components. Today, Stels focuses on the use of frames of its own production and tries to expand the lineup.

• Desna. The plant in the Bryansk region produces original high-quality products, focusing on folding models for a teenage audience. Mountain models are presented in the classic and female versions, there are double suspensions. Velomotors bought the plant in 2008, after 4 years of bankruptcy of the latter, since then a tube-rolling production, a robotic welding workshop for the manufacture of frames and forks, and its own paint module have appeared here.

• Stinger. The brand owned by VeloBalt manufactures full-suspension models with aluminum and steel frames, hardtail, women's and city bicycles, cruisers and teenage models. The main calculation is made on a youth audience and adults.

• Novatrack. The brand, also owned by VeloBalt, specializes in children's and teenage bicycles, runbikes. There are many models targeted at the youngest audience, with wheel diameters from 12 inches.

• Racer. A brand from Barnaul specializing in light two-wheeled vehicles, from scooters to bicycles. The main emphasis is on mountain biking for adult riders.

• Sura. Products of the Penza bicycle factory. Now it is not produced, but Vektor cargo transformers and other company models can still be found on sale. Not stand out high quality.

• Altair Another Forward brand, products are manufactured in Perm. Oriented to a teenage audience.

When choosing a Russian-made bicycle, you should pay attention to the following points.

• Destination. A bicycle for the city is radically different from what you need for riding in the mountains or for long journeys on the highway. It is necessary to take into account the type of coverage and the load that the bike will receive.
• Price range. Premium lines can cost on a par with the products of foreign companies. Forward and some other companies have such. Budget bicycles are about equal in price and are designed for beginner skiers.
• Durability. Ceteris paribus, it is worth choosing bicycles with attachments Shimano or SRAM. They are able to withstand maximum loads and ensure a long service life.
• Weight and frame material. The heaviest option is HiTen steel, the lighter options are made of aluminum. Mountain and sports bikes use carbon. The heavier the frame, the more difficult it is to lift the bike uphill, and in general when riding on rough terrain you have to make more efforts.
• Age category. There is a list of brands that specialize mainly in teenage models - this is Desna, Stels. Forward has adult models for serious workloads.

An overview of the Russian bicycle, see the next video.