The Ural bicycle was born back in 1965 in the city of Perm. At that time, with personal transport in the country was a little more than stressful. In many cities, even large ones, goods within a settlement were often transported even on carts, motorcycle owners were considered wealthy, and private car owners were looked upon as celestials.
But the party and the government, rightly believing that a bicycle is not a luxury, but a means of transportation, gave the corresponding instruction, which was executed on time: these means of transportation, inexpensive, but reliable, began to flow into shops in abundance.
The Ural bike was in almost every family. He served not only for travel. Many boys through the bike joined the technique. A kind of competition even began in the courtyard - whoever puts a more elaborate steering wheel or softer seat on his iron friend, adjusts the rattle on the rear fork or headlight with a generator that works when the wheel rotates, who cleverly corrects the “eight” by tightening the spokes with a key. Everyone knew how to disassemble and assemble the bike with their eyes closed, and the neighbor transport left unattended at the entrance almost certainly turned out to be without spools, which they unscrewed not out of necessity, but simply out of mischief, but “just in case”.
And it cannot be said that there were no other brands of bicycles. There were, of course, but the Ural bicycle was for some reason the most popular and memorable. Here, probably, the complex of reasons played a role: the mass production, the successful design, and a quite reasonable price. The Ural bike was simple and reliable, as was the era it symbolized.
The kid drove on the "greats", not even reaching out from the saddle of the bicycle to the pedals. For this reason, the installed soft seats turned out to be unclaimed, remaining only confirmation of the high social status of the owner in the yard hierarchy. Salyut and Kama bicycles, which began to be produced later, had a seat and steering wheel with adjustable height (for the sake of justice: Ural bicycles also had an adjustable seat and steering wheel, but the height range was much smaller), but among courtyard boys they are respected not used: the wheels are small, you will not develop high speed.
A competition in speed with a real gasoline transport? A jerk from a stop at the same time as a bus: who will reach the next one faster - LIAZ or Ural? The bike, of course, was almost always faster.
Especially if the distance between the stops was small and the route was winding. And it couldn’t be otherwise: what self-respecting boy could not help but give his best to prove that he is not weaker than others? Where a bulky bus slowly picks up speed, slowing down at intersections and turns, brisk cyclists manage to negate the advantages of a gasoline engine with the help of ambition and adolescent stubbornness.
Then mopeds appeared, and the era of bicycles gradually began to decline. A moped is faster, more complicated and more interesting. However, with the advent of the third millennium, a surprising thing happened: interest in the bicycle returned. Only at a qualitatively new level. Now it is a bike trial and cycling dances. And the technique is not the same. The classic Ural, a well-deserved old man, is a thing of the past. Now the bike has other requirements. Other materials, other forms and lines. The old brand is still in use, but this is a completely different Ural.