Bikes We Like: Skeppshult of Sweden

It all started in the village of Skeppshult, Sweden back in 1911. A chap by the name of Anders Samuelsson started building bikes. He opened up a factory in 1920 and the bikes were continued to be made, largely unnoticed by the rest of Sweden, let alone the rest of the world, until 1989.

That was the year that two businessmen bought the Skeppshult company. Kjell Sture and Peo Helge didn't know much about bikes, but they knew a good investment when they saw one.The company was in good shape when they bought it but the brand was unknown. They upgraded the facilities, retrained the employees with more skills and to use the new gear and off they went.When the rest of the world was buying mountain bikes back in the early 1990's [thank goodness THAT fad died out], Skeppshult refused to budge and merely continued making the same bikes. It paid off. And then some.

What's more, when other bike companies started moving their operations to the east, Skeppshult bucked the trend and merely invested more money in their home-grown operation.We think that is cool. Scandinavian design, still based in Scandinavia.Skeppshult rolls on. Creating quality bikes with a bespoke attitude. Their latest model, the Z Bike [below], was crafted by designer Björn Dahlström and signals an updated version to their traditional frame, with exceptional shock absorbing abilities to boot. Not to mention it being a design icon for the new millenium.Let it be known. We like the bikes of Skeppshult. We like Scandinavian design. Lykke til, Skeppshult.

http://www.skeppshult.se/


[The photos featured are press photos from the company's website.]

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