History of the bike


This bike was manufactured in 1967 in the United Bike Factory (Zjednoczone Zakłady Rowerowe) in Bydgoszcz, Poland. In the late sixties a series of bikes with 20-inch-wheels called ‘Karat’ were produced in Poland. They were the first folding bikes in our country.
The design of these bikes was copied from a British Bickerton and it had the same faults. ‘Karat’ could be folded by using one hinge with 2 screws (later 1 screw) for which one needed a special opening key.
In the seventies the producer changed the name of the factory to ‘ROMET Bike Factory’ and made a series of different folding bikes.
Polish ‘Karat’ had its export equivalent called ‘Universal’. Other bikes exported abroad also had the same name.

 


  • rachunek
In 1967 or early 1968 the bike was exported to Great Britain. On 13 March 1968 it was sold for 20 pounds in one of the London shops. It is unknown why it was never opened.

In an English town a granddaughter inherited her grandparents’ house. Among many other items in the pantry she found the bike, perfectly preserved. She decided to sell the bike in a garage sale. The new owner of the bike, after transporting it to Poland, decided to gather as much information about it as possible and then created this website.