Olympus de Luxe , made in Germany
#1
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From: Dahlonega, GA
Bikes: more than needed, Vintage Road Bikes
Olympus de Luxe , made in Germany
Hello friends, just reaching out and see if anyone has some ideas. Stumbled over this Ladies bike yesterday and cant figure out the manufacturer. A little research with some components (Torpedo 3 spd shifter, Sachs 415 hub,) does place it in the '70s. The sticker on the head badge says either Olympia or Olympus de Luxe, made in Western Germany.
The made in GER let me to believe it was manufactured for the export market and the Olympus branding was just to differentiate the Manufacturers ? domestic brands from the exports. Of course, that is just a wild guess. Chain guard, fenders and frame are quite decent, so it went home with me. It is a lugged frame, has the typical 26 x1 3/8 tires.
Anyone seen that decal before? Looked at various German sites to no avail. Thx guys, enjoy the weekend

The made in GER let me to believe it was manufactured for the export market and the Olympus branding was just to differentiate the Manufacturers ? domestic brands from the exports. Of course, that is just a wild guess. Chain guard, fenders and frame are quite decent, so it went home with me. It is a lugged frame, has the typical 26 x1 3/8 tires.
Anyone seen that decal before? Looked at various German sites to no avail. Thx guys, enjoy the weekend

#3
I searched around a bit but 0 results, not even in old classifieds, apart from a couple of headbadges. This is odd in itself as usually even the most obscure brands show up occasionally.
Notably, the few headbadges I could find online all are of the same design, hinting at a short life of the brand.
"made in Germany" doesn't mean "made for export". After the British enforced the label to protect their quality goods from being confused with inferior German crap (imagine you wanted a Hillman Imp, and accidentally bought a Mercedes instead - the horror!) , it was *very* common on almost any German made item, and still is, regardless of the target market.
Most, but not all, products made after WW2 were labeled "made in W. Germany" because the GDR used the label too. Maybe that bike is ex GDR?
Notably, the few headbadges I could find online all are of the same design, hinting at a short life of the brand.
"made in Germany" doesn't mean "made for export". After the British enforced the label to protect their quality goods from being confused with inferior German crap (imagine you wanted a Hillman Imp, and accidentally bought a Mercedes instead - the horror!) , it was *very* common on almost any German made item, and still is, regardless of the target market.
Most, but not all, products made after WW2 were labeled "made in W. Germany" because the GDR used the label too. Maybe that bike is ex GDR?
Last edited by martl; 05-10-20 at 03:54 PM.





