Some good stuff not usually seen showing up here!

geeteeiii

Nice looking track machine!

Early Meteors wouldve had something like this on them from the factory. Its a gorgeous piece.

I think it might be a Kharkarov/XB3 Arrow...? Seller wasn't sure, but it is a show piece for me. I love soviet stuff...

Russian speaking Community calls them arrow stems. They are XB3/HVZ and can be found on early Meteors/ Sprints or anything special order from around 60-70s.
Here is a early Meteor with this stem, rider is famous Estonian Aavo Pikkuus.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5644963fd.jpeg

geeteeiii , very cool thread, and a really nice collection of Soviet-era bike kit! What former USSR-occupied country are you from? If I had to venture a guess based on the architecture in some of your photos, I'd say one of the Baltic states. I lived in Czechosolvakia for a year in 1990, immediately after the Berlin Wall and Velvet Revolution, and travelled a lot through the bloc. I biked a lot around southern Bohemia (also known as the Czech Highlands) where my dad was from and where I lived that year, riding on a borrowed Favorit from my cousin. It had the cool analog speedometer, as well, but there's not much else I remember about it.

pastorbobnlnh I'm guessing the lettering on the tires was not in Cyrillic because the Soviet brands were distributed throughout the Soviet Bloc where many of the languages used the Latin alphabet?

OP said he's from Estonia. Cool thread indeed!

Junk pile is slowly growing, got these 2 frames for basically free. Blue one is a 1990, orange one is 1975. I will be getting 3 more frames soon, have not seen a picture of them, hopefully something nice. Blue one was only a frame and orange one is pretty rough so will most likely use these for framebuilding practice, will change the dropouts and already made some mods on a fork that will be used for the blue one.
Blue one.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...577aae33ca.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6bfc4e1538.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...28c43e4bc4.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...baebff89b4.jpg
Orange one, its a shame this one is so sun bleached, i would love a nice one in this color. This one has been modernized also, newer shifters, handlebars and brake levers. Build quality wise this one is much better than the Olympic special i have and the 1990 blue one.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...404339305d.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0cc07e1ade.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...07327a7f2e.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c1b21dd687.jpg

Also got some wheels with the orange one, one had a soviet cyclocross tubular mounted,sadly its pretty dead but still cool to see.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fa5b7879e5.jpg

Great to be getting "inventory" photos from the Eastern side. It's sounding like there may be a good number of bikes stashed here and there.
I'm wondering how many collectors/restorers there are, compared to the supply of old bikes?

Interesting to see the old CX tubulars and that nearly zero-rake fork, which looks like more from a track bike than from a CX bike!

Fork is my own doing, i made the blades shorter and unbent them a little.
I think there are more people here that collect really old stuff( pre ww2 ) than the soviet stuff. Start Shosse-s are quite plentiful in all kinds of conditions here, they could be fun to collect also, since there are so many versions of these. CV marketplace here is either soviet or some heavy gas pipe western touring stuff. I personally prefer the soviet stuff to the gas pipe western stuff. Really good stuff is very rare and you wont just walk into some old guys garage and find Colnagos and stuff there.

Well i got the rest of the stuff. One is a pretty uncommon Olympic special with 58 size frame. 90% of these frames are 56 size. Its also a shame that this has ruined paint, both the orange one and this cherry red are definately my favorite color combinations. Red frame is also in pretty good condition, with good quality brazing, but drive side dropout is extremely corroded for some weird reason. I think its a 1980, but im not sure since its so rusty. I will have to see if i can save or even replace this dropout since it has most of the cable guides intact and would make a nice road bike. I might get one more Start Shosse frame, he has misplaced it somewere and couldnt find it currently. Rest of them are quite boring, with one tourist frame thats the green one in pictures and couple of regular commuter bike frames.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...645bc798f9.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...394dd871d8.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3c6c5c3f5a.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...414184279c.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fb9845a2f3.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...361088ff69.jpg

90% are sized 56! I need to go find me a Russian track bike over there.

Seconded, thanks for the “inventory” pics!

Had some fun mocking up and dissassembling my new frames. Old fork from the Meteor looks really cool on the red frame. Its so weird that the dropout is so crusty. We currently have a pretty bad covid situation, so i cant get a oxy tank right now to see If i could remove it with a torch and scavange it from another frame.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...196db21f55.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3bb5647e52.jpg

Also had some fun with the orange bikes stem. Some oil, heat and a pipe solved that issue.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b4c3f30f14.jpg

Red frame next to the green Meteor
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6b8b6920be.jpg

Absolutely beautiful stuff!

These are really cool looking bikes, thanks for sharing.
I feel like you could fix these up and become a millionaire exporting them to Brooklyn.

Been away so long, I hardly knew the place
gee it’s good to be back home
leave it till tomorrow to unpack the case,
honey, disconnect the phone
I’m back in the US, back in the US,
Back in the USSR!

Lockdown means alot of time tinkering with bikes.
I have been cleaning up the red frame and made some seat stay caps. All Start Shosses have these weld tacks for frame alignment before brazing, these look pretty ugly, so i removed them.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...38f21b1952.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9e662d79f1.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6bf1d46f80.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cbc4ca1e44.jpg

Also built a brazing stand.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a512a0ecdb.jpg

And finished my first wheel build, trued on a old fork and bent spoke.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0a5ebb4d4b.jpg

The "Made in Czechoslovakia" 1973 Rapido/Favorit has been rebuilt and is ready to ride. My intent is to try and find a new home for it. The Sun Race rear derailleur that has been reportedly on it since it was sold remains and I changed the free wheel from the original 13T-23T to a Sun Race 14T-28T.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8e6f98fb0e.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cb362c4737.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5c878494af.jpg

Road to track conversion has been completed on the red bike. Couldnt save that dropout sadly.
Learned alot from this frame about heat input, hopefully the next frame wont be as messy. I raised the bottom bracket also to make this more fixed gear friendly. Now i need to get the BB threaded for BSA threads and get a BB for it so i can test it before painting.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6ea95a16a4.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8d7eac216d.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c5d4a9fc49.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...77dfe45dd6.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4730813ee4.jpg

Inspiration for Campy 980 ?

I have a really cool build coming soon, hint - fork mounted handlebar. It should arrive in a few months, unlike my usual local finds, this comes from the US.
Already bought some parts for it, a rear disc wheel made in the MiG aircraft factory, found some Harkov logo cranks also and a correct plastic saddle, so lets hope the boat that will bring it here wont sink. Already have a lead on a original handlebar for it also, just need to close the deal.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...31d3b68425.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2c20567b5a.jpg
Also been modifiying some more frames and painted my first track conversion. Currently the build is on hold due to lack of parts. It turned out abit darker than i wanted, but i think it still looks quite okay.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9f55c9bc92.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...13e911817f.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b2abfc0a6e.jpg
Also built this thing, will most likely keep it as is. GT style seatstay treatment did make it noticeably stiffer, its heavier but rides better than they regulary do.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...27fcf41ecf.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a0f43be0ae.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6ae3612262.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...61b4175aeb.jpg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f22351eb27.jpg

I think the paint job is great! Double approval on the GT-ish triple triangle frame build. Always cool!

This is a great thread. I collect Soviet watches, clocks, fountain pens, and also have a couple of VEF-built radios. I could easily go down the Soviet bike rabbit hole, but getting a bike transported from one part of the US to another can be an expensive headache, so the idea of bringing something over from the FSU just doesn't seem plausible.

Was buying a bicycle over there like buying a car during the Soviet days? I was told that in order to buy a car, you had to get your name on a list at your job, and then subjected to a vote as to whether you would be able to move up to the next level. If you were willing to take a Zaporozhet, you might not have to wait too long. But if you needed a car with more space for your family, then you would end up on a waiting list that could be years long. Once your name was chosen for the car you wanted, you went to the factory to get it. Was the bicycle purchase so convoluted?

I can see why a government like that might want to impose restrictions on transportation-related products. It's a little harder to control someone who has choices other than walking or riding a tram.

If someone really gets the soviet bike itch, i could help with getting one, but yeah shipping to the US is over 400 dollars. You could get a nice original paint Start Shosse for around 100-120 dollars here, but imo with shipping its not worth it.

With bicycles, it was simpler than with cars. If there was any in stock, you could go to a store and buy one. But usually the nicer stuff was not available, you had to know someone who could hold it for you. Tourist was the most desirable model during the soviet times, it looked like a Start Shosse, but had clincher tires, they were priced similar in around 110 rubles i think. Quality wise Start Shosses are miles better than the junk Tourists. Higher end stuff like my Meteor/similar level road bikes were not available to normal people. Sports clubs got them for their best athletes.
To buy a new car, you needed a permit basically. For a permit, you needed to be a good little communist worker. If you were a very successful worker, you got a Lada permit, but Moskvich was more common. Head leaders of collective farms got Volgas. You could get multiple car buying permits if you kissed ass enough to the regime and either sell the permit, or sell your old car for over double what you paid for it and just upgrade yourself to a new one. My grandpa wasnt that good of a communist, so he never got a permit, he bought a rolled over almost 20 year old Moskvich for the double price of a brand new lada in 1980-s for example. But yeah, you usually had to get the new car yourself from the factory and you usually didnt even get to choose the color.

Curious, what would a decent condition Soviet 56 sized track frame cost?

Track frames are more difficult to find, there have been 2 non original examples for sale here lately, one was 300 eur and the other was 600 eur, both were low end Records. I personally wouldnt pay anywere near that for a Record with cheap chinese parts. I was offered a early 70-s Record bare frame, but that thing was so horribly made i passed on it. Literally the down tube was cut too short inside the lugs, so you could see a gap between the lug cutout and were the tube ended. It was a shame, as it had pretty original red decor on it. But i suppose a nice complete original Record would be decent buy for around 200-300 eur, especially if its a early one.
56 size road Start Shosses are the norm usually, this is why i bother with converting them also, frames are available even sometimes for free.

I would also keep a eye out for them on facebook group Russian track bikes. Anything with Sport Git, Sport Sprint, Sprint, Meteor, Kvant, Velosuper and ofcourse Takhion as a name would be something worth paying the shipping. Bare frames of those seem to go around 200 eur, expect to pay much more for a Kvant and even more for a Takhion. Its also much less likely you get a poorly brazed and otherwise misaligned frame when buying those.