Kronan (Swedish: ''The Crown'') bicycles are marketed by Kronan Trademark AB, also known as Kronan AB. Kronan AB was established in June 1997 by three former-students, John Wahlbäck and the Avander brothers, Henry and Martin. In autumn 2003 the company was bought by the Brunstedt family with Mary Brunstedt as the company's current CEO.

History

Kronan began when John Wahlbäck sold surplus

Swedish military The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

m/42 bikes, to supplement his income as a student. They decided to manufacture a copy of this after selling all their original stock. Kronan bought the original drawings from the Swedish Ministry of Defense and commissioned a Taiwanese manufacturer to build bicycles to these specifications. The current Kronan Bicycle has been modernized slightly, but has the same basic design as the original. It is assembled in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

using parts from Asia. The original Kronan factory was in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

. Until about 2000 Kronan bikes were only available in a limited number of colors, with a single gear and

coaster brake A bicycle brake reduces the speed of a bicycle or prevents it from moving. The three main types are: #Rim brakes, rim brakes, #Disc brakes, disc brakes, and #Drum brakes, drum brakes. Most bicycle brake systems consist of three main components: ...

s. New models have been added with 3-speed SRAM hub gears and drum brakes. Other variants include a child's bike (Kiddo), a traditionally-styled bike (Kranny) and a tricycle (Kargo). All these bikes have a

bottle dynamo A bottle dynamo or sidewall dynamo is a small electrical generator for bicycles employed to power a bicycle's lights. The traditional bottle dynamo (pictured) is not actually a dynamo at all (which creates DC power), but a low-power magneto tha ...

front light (the rear is operated by a battery) and

pannier A pannier is a basket, bag, box, or similar container, carried in pairs either slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to the sides of a bicycle or motorcycle. The term derives from a Middle English borrowing of the Old French ''p ...

s as standard.

Models

* Diamond Frame, single gear, coaster brake * Diamond Frame, 3-speed, front roller brake, rear coaster brake * Step-through, single gear, coaster brake * Step-through, 3-speed, front roller brake, rear coaster brake * Step-through Unitube, 5-speed, front roller brake, rear coaster brake (USA only - no longer available)

Specs

*Frame: Cromoly diamond and step through with 1 or 3 three speeds *Forks: Cromoly *Wheels: Miche, aluminum *Rear hub:

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1-spd or SRAM T 3-spd S3 Spectro with

. *Chain: KMC 108 links *Crankset: Shimano steel 46T *Pedals: Aluminum spindle *Tires: Continental ** Men's bikes: 26 × 1½ × 2 (54-584) 650B ** Ladies' bikes: 28 × 1⅝ × 1¾ (47-622) 700C *Saddle: Cushioned w/ vinyl upholstery *Rear light: Darkness & motion activated. .06 watts. Stainless steel cover & cage *Front light: Front wheel

Bottle dynamo A bottle dynamo or sidewall dynamo is a small electrical generator for bicycles employed to power a bicycle's lights. The traditional bottle dynamo (pictured) is not actually a dynamo at all (which creates DC power), but a low-power magneto tha ...

generator - 6 volt, 3 watts *Brakes: Drum brake SRAM T3 *Luggage carrier: Painted steel w/ 2 chrome spring clips and airpump holder. Pump included! *Bell: Stainless steel w/ Kronan logo *Fenders and chainguard *Colours: ** Men's - blue, black, brown, and occasionally green, and red. ** Ladies - red, pink and black. All Kronan bicycles have following basic equipment: large tires for more comfort in the city, a rear license plate, extra large saddle, coaster brake and front hub brake (As of March 2007, all Kronan models are equipped with a hand brake), dynamo powered front and automatic rear light, rear rack (7 inches (18 cm) wide and 18 inches (46 cm) front to back), stainless steel chain and spokes, steel frame with extra coating for protection, and rims and fenders/mudguards in steel in same color as frame, internal gear hubs, kick stand, bell, and air pump.

Accessories

* Frame mounted wheel lock * Front rack - frame-mounted and measures 12.5 inches (32 cm) deep by 16.5 inches (42 cm) wide with 35 pound capacity. * Front basket - wire or wicker *

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brand Saddles and bags * GMG Dutch child seat * RackPack Carradice Bags

Corporate advertising

Several companies have incorporated Kronan bicycles into their employees and customer reward programs, or purchased a fleet of Kronan bikes for use by employees and customers.
These bicycles usually have a signboard underneath their crosstube advertising the company. *

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Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

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ABB Group ABB Ltd. is a Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to create ...

* Wallpaper magazine *

Dagens Nyheter ''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record. History and profile ''Da ...

References

* * * {{cite web , url=http://www.benvanhelden.nl/Condorclub/Fiets/Sweden/History%20Army%20Bikes%20Zweden.html , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040520195244/http://www.benvanhelden.nl/Condorclub/Fiets/Sweden/History%20Army%20Bikes%20Zweden.html , url-status=dead , archive-date=May 20, 2004 , title=A small history of Bicycles in SWEDEN , accessdate=July 26, 2006 , last=Stenqvist , first=Åke

External links

Kronan Cykel
(Swedish)
KronanUSA

Kronan video on YouTube

Kronan video in Spanish

(Spanish)

Cycle manufacturers of Sweden Manufacturing companies established in 1997 Swedish brands