Pegas is the name of a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

produced in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

since 1972 when the first adult model came on the market.

History

Production started in 1972 in Mechanical Plant Tohan (''Uzina Mecanică Tohan'', originally an armaments factory), the first model for adults coming to market that year. In 1975 Pegas introduced a bicycle for children and a

stationary bicycle A stationary bicycle (also known as exercise bicycle, exercise bike, spinning bike, spin bike, or exercycle) is a device used as exercise equipment for indoor cycling. It includes a saddle, pedals, and some form of handlebars arranged as on ...

for indoor exercise. In the 1980s series Pegas diversified to multi-speed bicycles, including the five-speed Pegas 1027 Campion. In the 1990s it introduced 18-speed

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

s and hybrids, as well as a stationary bicycle equipped with electronic readouts.

Name and logo

The brand's logo, the winged horse

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

, is borrowed from

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

as a "symbol of poetic inspiration" and of courage, swiftness, and adventurous spirit. One of the plant's slogans is taken from a letter written by French writer

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

: "Pegasus walks more often than he gallops; talent consists in making him take the desired pace."

Workshop Pegas

In 2012, no-one owned the rights to the Pegas name, so Romanian Andrei Botescu quickly registered the trademark. Raising 70,000 euros ($77,000; £55,000) from savings, family, friends, and bank loans, he quit his medical research job and set up his business Workshop Pegas. Mr Botescu had no prior experience of either making bicycles, or running a business, but after taking on a specialist bike designer, his company was up and running. In 2013 the firm sold 500 bicycles, which then doubled in 2014, and reached 3,000 in 2015. To help build up sales, Mr Botescu was savvy with his promotional work, setting up a Facebook page, a YouTube channel and Instagram account. In January 2019 Pegas in collaboration with an experienced Romanian and US innovation team who has several projects funded on crowdfounding networks in the US presented a new project at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, one of the largest technology fairs in the world: a smart training bicycle called Xmera - bionic bike. The product's website reads tha
Xmera
is a hybrid vehicle that can be used both as a classic and an electric bike, with a long battery life, sensors that monitor movement through a mobile app and help locate the bike in case of theft, as well as an emergency SMS service. The Bionic Bicycle project involves the integration of an additional sensor that records the variation of brain waves with the help of a bicycle helmet and can use the information to change the intensity of the electric motor assistance voluntarily without the need for mechanical action.

References

{{reflist Bicycle models Mountain bike manufacturers Cycle manufacturers of Romania Romanian brands