Friday 18 February 2011

When Car Companies Build Bikes

A great number of car companies have dabbled in bicycle production. In fact it's where a few car companies started out from! These companies might be better thought of transport companies, and some have held a very good reputation in the push bike world for their products. You only need to look at The Bicycle Safari's long archive of classic Peugeot bikes to see what I mean.

But there are also some surprises in car-to-bike production, such as the not very convincing looking Bugatti bicycle I saw back in Lund, Sweden. But here are two more that I've spotted around Nottingham, England.

Kia might not be the first people you think of when looking for a bike, and I guess this was a promotional tie-in, or give away bike. The slogan 'Think before you drive' though.... well, maybe that wasn't the best slogan for a car company to use!


Kia bicycle, wants you to reconsider driving your Kia car.


Quality wise... not so great either.


Daewoo on the other hand were a sprawling company to begin with, covering car to firearm production. So the appearance of a Daewoo bike probably shouldn't be too suprising.


It's another uninspiring mountain bike, so beloved by anyone looking for a bicycle in Britain in the 1990's. It does claim however to be a genius.


Maybe the secret plan was for people to find cycling these so dull that they would get back in their cars!

4 comments:

  1. Kia actually started out making bikes and bike parts back in the 40's and 50's. A kia bike, like the daewoo pictured, shouldn't be surprising

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  2. Interesting to know! It's surprising how many car companies seem to have started this way!

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  3. I had a red Kia bicycle as a kid in the late 1970s. I didn’t know anybody else that had one. I never saw another one in person.
    That bike got me through most of my years as a paperboy. I wondered if it was the same company that sold cars. Now I know. Thanks.

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