DBS "Den Beste Sykkel" Bicycle from Norway
 

I picked up a few bikes out of a thrift store here and one of them is a DBS. I did a bit of research online, but found only a bit of information of this bike. Built in Norway. The Head badge says "DBS" with OGLAEND.

The serial Number is also stamped on the head tube, last 2 are 66.

Components: Ridigda Wheels, Allvit Rear Derailleur, Weinmann Brake set. Down tube shifters.

True 10 speed 5x2
Very strange Front chain rings. Big is 50 Tooth small is 48 Tooth. 1 Piece cranket.

Anyone got some additional information such as a possible code of the serial for a date stamp?

With the components, I’d taking a 'guess' saying its very early 70's??? Don't really know.
If I remember correctly the Rear Derailleur (ALLVIT was only produced from 65ish to early 70's) thus giving me a point to work with.


Thanks for any info anyone may have.

DBS bikes were the Norwegian equivalent of Schwinn/Murray/Huffy: family fare without any pretensions of sophistication. To 90% of those who bought one, it was simply thought of as a 'bike' not a 'DBS bike'.

Norway was a true cycling backwater at the time your bike was built, so the use of dated components does not necessarily take on too much importance. I guess that your bike is from the mid 70's because of the brake lever hoods, which would not have been seen on 1960's or very early 70's versions.

I remember getting a bike bell and a tiny little jack knife, both made by DBS, as a child from some distance relative in Norway affiliated with DBS. I think they were (are?) some sort of conglomerate company that made all sorts of things. Never knew they made bikes. Cool find!

As a Norwegian I feel slightly offended by the slur on DBS:). They were the Schwinn of Norway with one very sad difference. All their homemade frames are heavy badly made gaspipe beater bikes. But they made their own line of racing bikes in the seventies and eighties with imported frames called Internazionale, Professionale and La Migliore. The two last ones are often very nice bikes with full Dura Ace or Campagnolo Nuevo Record respectively. Frames were either French or Italian. I have a later La Migliore with a frame from Daccordi and Campy Athena wich is a very nice bike.

You will have noted that I qualified my statement of Norway being a cycling backwater at the time of the building of the original poster's bike. (Mind you, so was the USA.) This was definitely the case in the 60's and early 70's (except for the odd exception) In the late 70's, cycling became a bit more accepted, but as a whole Norway was still trailing other countries. If I am not mistaken, DBS belongs to the same group as Bianchi (Toni Grimaldi's company based in Sweden) and has been for many years and this could have been the reason for the Italian frames for top of the line bikes.

This family on my mothers side is based in Sandnes, NO I believe a Swedish company now owns DBS.

Had a DBS, did many miles, miss the bike
 

I was looking for a photo of a similar bike. I did change the Huret derailleurs for some Shimano and got rid of the wing nut for release quick releases. The bike weighed 26 pounds, many people on Schwinn Varsities and Continentals used their heavy bikes as excuses for slowness. How ever the Puegeot PX10 and Raleigh owners had no such excuse. I bought a PX10 and sold my DBS for $40 pre-Jimmy Carter dollars. :cry:

Also I did see a high end DBS bicycle equipped with Huret Jubilee groupo. That group was the lightest on the market at the time, and hand finished with rouge, like jewelry.

I guess DBS is no more. Sad story. I love their bikes. Solid and reliable. Jonas Oglaend also made Tempo motorcycles and mopeds which still fetch a good price in Norway. They were one of the largest employers in the area for many, many years. I would love to ship a Tempo Corvette over to the USA. Come to think of it, I would also love a pair of good DBS bikes - the 5spd is fine with me. I like them a lot better than the Schwinn I ride now.

The "La Migliore" was the top model made by Daccordi from SL/SLX tubing, equivalent to the "turbo" model. It had Campagnolo SR equipment. There was also the "Professionale", sharing the same frame(earliest model had 531 though) but built up with Shimano DA groups. The "Internazionale" was the cheapest of the road bikes, using Falck non-butted tubing and 600EX/Arabesque groups. Regarding the company Jonas Oglaend still distributes DBS bikes in Norway but under the name Cycleurope. There was indeed a Swedish distributor but I'm not sure that company exist anymore.

1986'ish La Migliore SR:

http://cykelhobby.com/bilder/bilder07/migliore1.jpg

I had one about 8-9 years ago very similiar to the OP's bike. The weird thing about it was the BB. If I remember right it also had a 1pc crank, but used threaded cups. I remember trying to save the BB on the off chance I ever would need such a beast and not knowing which way to turn the fixed cup. Of course it was also not a standard size, so the wrench kept slipping. In the dumpster it went.

Please don't put Schwinn in the category that Murray and Huffy are in. There's a lot to dislike about a lot of Schwinn bikes, but even the worst ones were not much like a Murray.

Agreed. Schwinn is nowhere in the category of the mass market brands and its bad enough part of it under Dorel became a mass market brand.

Wow, that jogged some memories. My first 10 speed was a DBS Winner that was more utilitarian and anything else. The bike was purchased from JC Penneys for about $75. I remember the Huret shifters and wingnut attached Rigida wheels with Normandy high flange hubs. The only thing decent were the Weinmann brakes. The frame material was very soft steel and the rear seat stays bent under hard use. It was second only to the Schwinn Varsity in weight; the bike was heavy.

DBS does still exist. Here is their website: http://www.dbs.no/

[QUOTE = jnvw; 5402842] Я взял несколько велосипеды из благотворительного магазина здесь и один из них является DBS. Я сделал немного исследования онлайн, но нашел только немного информации этого мотоцикла. Встроенный в Норвегии. Глава знак говорит "DBS" с Oglaend. Серийный номер выбит на рулевой трубы, в прошлом 2 являются 66. Компоненты: Ridigda Колеса, Allvit Задний переключатель, Weinmann тормозных колодок. Вниз трубы оборотней. Истинных 10 Скорость 5x2 Очень странные кольца фронта цепи. Большой 50 зуба малое 48 зуба. 1 шт cranket. Каждый получил некоторую дополнительную информацию, такую ​​как возможный кодекса сериала для отметкой даты? С компонентами, я принимая 'предположение', говоря свои очень ранние 70-ые ??? Не знаю. Если я правильно помню Задний переключатель (ALLVIT только производится из 65ish в начале 70-х), таким образом, давая мне точку в работе. Спасибо за любую информацию любой может иметь. [/ QUOTE]
фотография очень похожа на велосипед "Турист" релиз 1970. Сделано в СССР. Мой отец был такой))

















http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=408106

A photograph very similar to the bike "Tourist" 1970 release. A photograph very similar to the bike "Tourist" 1970 release. Made in the USSR. My father was such a)) Made in the USSR. My father was such a))
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=408106

picture is very similar to a bicycle "The Tourist" release 1970 Made in the USSR. My father was a))

I was interested to see what this poster said, above, so I used Google's translator from Russian to English.

I agree, something like AMF would be a much better entry on that list than Schwinn.....

Hey all! I got a DBS tandem, I'm guessing 70's something the tire size is weird/hard to get.
40-534 / 24 1 1/2 -dose anybody know where I can get something like that!

thanks!

DBS is not just a 'bike'
 

DBS means 'the best bike' ie. den beste sykkelen. I'm an American and my girlfriend is Norwegian and lives in Oslo. I went to visit this summer for a month and she has a vintage DBS bike but it's pretty heavy and only has three gears, it still looks pretty cool and has the rack for carrying things over the back tire. I got jealous of her and picked up a newer DBS hybrid road/trail bike from the early 2000's. These bikes are made fairly well to last and withstand the elements and are priced very reasonably. I heard DBS was recently sold to a Swedish investor and the older road bikes are made better and more sought after than the newer ones. I didn't have any problems with my bike just issues with the Sr Suntour fork got a bit wonky after jumping off some curbs riding around Oslo. Coming from Los Angeles which is not very biker friendly, I was in heaven riding around Oslo during the summer months. It was awesome and the locals were nice to me once they saw that I was an American on a traditional Norwegian bike brand. Once you go DBS you never go back, I also had a diamanté bike for a few days but it was stolen fairly quickly from the bike rack because I had used a cheap lock I got at the Klas Olsen store. But they can keep the diamanté, I love my DBS!

thank you.
i worked in a schwinn shop ( large one ) for a couple years in the 80's, and schwinn was a dominant force in quality reasonably priced real bicycles ...

Grimaldi never did anything for DBS. Jonas Øglænd started producing bikes in 1868. They also made Tempo mopeds and motorcycles. They made their mark on Europe with those "badly built gas pipe bikes". Exported them all over Europe. I would love to have a 5 speed to cruise on. I am willing to bet there are a higher percentage DBS bikes surviving than most of their peers.
BTW, I have never heard an American sneer at Schwinn.
As for Norway being a backwater for cycling in the 60's and 70's, I have 2 words, Knut Knudsen. Also, Norwegians moved by bicycle, moped and bus in the post war years. Imports were limited and few Norwegians even owned a car.

Uhmm.....not much I can contribute on DBS Norwegian bikes:rolleyes:........but then my highschool prom date was our school's Norwegian exchange student from Bergen, and dang!, she was beautiful!!...:):D

...it's a Fauber crank. I disassembled one and posted some photos of the process on here a few months back, just because there;s not much about the process in English language on the internet.

http://www.bikeforums.net/19139045-post24.html

It's a very durable, bombproof design, much more so even than the Ashtabula cranks that are on so many bikes in the United States (including those Schwinn's people embrace with mixed emotions).

You can't pull the crank without pulling the cups (but you can open it up to regrease it). And without the designated proper tool, the only way to do so is with a pin punch and a hammer. The threading is counter-intuitive as well.

Stick around. You will hear it.