Sometimes you make mistakes. When Itera closed you could buy them in bunches for next to nothing. Of course I should have put aside some in a barn, waiting for ebay to happen.
The story is quite fascinating. Two young engineers from Volvo (who had absolutely no experience of bicycles) gets the governement to give them some $50 million to take bicycle production into the 20th century instead of the antiquated methods of Crescent and others. Of course it was to be built with plastics, being a more modern material than steel, esp. in big scale production (as was their plans, they were about to revolutionize western bicycle production). Took them five years, maybe six, to put an end to the money.
The bike weight is ca 18 kg - 40 pounds and the frame is soft. That was not intended, but they faced necessity and called it "the Itera ride" and in fact some swore by it, others at it. Besides that, details are of good quality and the name Itera, indicating eternity, was not altogether misdirected.
Also bike history, some kind, although the classic spirit is missing.
Olof "don´t blame me" Stroh Uppsala Sweden
Steven Maasland wrote, smiling:
> As I am sure that our Swedish listmembers will agree, here is the pride of Swedish cycling production (tongue firmly in cheek). It is an Itera bike made by the company Wilhelmina Plast in the town of Wilhelmina which you will find on a map of Northern Sweden, near the arctic circle. I should know because I went to visit the factory in the darkest part of the winter of January 1983, heck the sun had already set at 2 PM. With the goal of stimulating industry in this remote area of Sweden, the Swedish government pumped large sums of money into the development of this stillborn bicycle made almost entirely out of plastic.
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> Just what every true bicycle collector needs to complete their collection.
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> Even though the bike was far from successful, the wheels did become quite sought after in the world of pacer horse racing. They were used on sulkies. I seem to recall that is also how Phil Wood got through some tough financial times (Sulkies and wheel chair hubs!)
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> Look at the auction and I guarantee that you will dream sweet dreams tonight.
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> http://cgi.ebay.de/