The Kronan One Speed
As more and more people in the US begin to consider biking to work as a viable alternative to paying high prices at the pump, a new type of bicycle is beginning to appear. 
Imminently functional, the old one speed diamond frame is a durable workhorse. Add an upright riding posture, fenders, bell, rear rack and lights, and it yields a captivating machine that is all business.
Many modern commuters are put off by complex derailleurs and expensive investments locked to bike racks in the elements. Kronan is a Swedish bicycle manufacturer that originally was a supplier for the Swedish Army. Their bike sports a front drum brake, steel rear rack with a tire pump attached, full fenders with mud guards, darkness activated dynamo powered lighting, and a rust proofed frame with exposed parts galvanized. Three speeds and women's versions are available.
Available in creme, green, blue, black and red, with a price of an even $500 with delivery to your doorstep, the Kronan One Speed is a ride that's hard to resist.
Imminently functional, the old one speed diamond frame is a durable workhorse. Add an upright riding posture, fenders, bell, rear rack and lights, and it yields a captivating machine that is all business.Many modern commuters are put off by complex derailleurs and expensive investments locked to bike racks in the elements. Kronan is a Swedish bicycle manufacturer that originally was a supplier for the Swedish Army. Their bike sports a front drum brake, steel rear rack with a tire pump attached, full fenders with mud guards, darkness activated dynamo powered lighting, and a rust proofed frame with exposed parts galvanized. Three speeds and women's versions are available.
Available in creme, green, blue, black and red, with a price of an even $500 with delivery to your doorstep, the Kronan One Speed is a ride that's hard to resist.
Labels: Bicycles of Desire
posted by Xavier at 11:52 PM
9 Comments:
It's kind of a beauty, too! Do you have any experience with one? Any idea how it compares to an Electra?
P.S. It weighs 51 pounds! Ouch!
No experience, just looking at it and saying hmmmmmmmmm.......
Looking for a bomb proof do -it -all bike that i can leave around w/o to much worry, though I'm trying to thin the herd, sometime like this might be in order.
Xavier:
You might as well add this bike to your bicycles of desire: the Gazelle Speciaal.
Made in Holland (the home of practical biking in the Western world) by the best bike manufacturer for many years, this was the epitome of pracitcal, durable bikes. It's got drum breaks fore and aft that are connected using stainless steel rods so a single hand on the handle bar can activate them both. It comes standard with a luggage rack with rubber bands, completely encased chain, 3-speed inside-the-hub gears, stainless steel rims, red aft reflector, generator powered lights, rear wheel lock, pump, bell and coat protectors to prevent your coat tails from entering the spokes.
Sadly, it is no longer in current production by Gazelle (boo! hiss!).
I found some second hand examples listed on Al Gore's Intertubes:
http://link.marktplaats.nl/177039768
http://www.marktnet.nl/Gazelle-Speciaal-met-Trommelremmen-1529626.htm#Zoom
http://www.jaap-glastra.nl/de-fietsen/stadsfietsen/gazelle-speciaal
My parents bought one for me when I graduated from primary school. I rode that bike to high school every school day for the next 6 years through rain, sleet, snow, ice and occasional sunshine and it never failed me. Sadly, since I emigrated to the US it's been slowly rusting away in my parent's shed and I haven't been able to find a worthy replacement for it on this side of the Atlantic.
Interesting enough, although this was a very practical bike I'd never park it at the railway station because of the vandalism commonly inflicted on bikes parked there. I owned an old beater bike for that.
Happy biking.
Cheers,
Alex
Success! The spirit of the Gazelle Speciaal lives on in the form of the Gazelle Toer:
http://www.gazelle.nl/nl/product.php?idParent=2&idChild=142&idFiets=237&idSegment=35
It is described in English on p. 52 of the UK brochure: http://www.gazelle.nl/brochure_uk_2008.pdf
51 pounds? Remember the Schwinn Heavy Duty? (Or was it Hevi Duty?) That was a monster too.
Re: 51 pounds
A small price to pay for indestructibility.
I work at the Boeing assembly plant in Everett, WA. There are probably a couple thousand company owned bicycles and tricycles here. They are made by Worksman Cycles. They last forever with minimal maintenance and are available to the public with ala carte options through their website: http://www.worksman.com/business.html .
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