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Here are two of my Romet Jubilats: a Jubilat 2 and a Zenit.

Romet was the big bicycle manufacture under Communist Poland, but has since faded to become just a brand. I do actually have one actual Romet Jubilat 2, one that was given a generic branding to sell through a supermarket chain store in the final year of Romet as a company, one that was branded to sell through a bicycle retailers - complete with a website address on it and different forks, and a mysterious Zenit with 3-speed derailleur instead of the usual single speed coaster brake hub.

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Tigger is my favourite, the supermarket bike, built when I was just starting to get back into bikes as an escape from having to live and work in the same 40 square metre apartment with my wife 24/7. As you can see, Jubilats are folders, so we can pop it into the back of the car and taker it places where I can ride and wifie can do some Nordic walking.

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And this is the Zenit, a slightly modified Jubilat frame to take the wider derailleur hub, cables kind of going where they will and, unusual for a Jubilat, a rear rim brake. It is three speed because they saved money and bought hubs with only three sprockets fitted, the smallest and largest sprocket spaces just left as bare thread. It does not say 'Romet' anywhere but the dork disk, which I found on a Kross bike and put on to replace the broken unmarked one on it. The chainwheel is unusual as well, it is a type usually fitted to Romets fixed frame bikes. Finally, on the seat tube and steering stem it is marked 'Kowalewo', the village where the Romet small bike factory used to be, which in 1993 when this bike was built was firmly Romet.

I was going to convert another Jubilat I had to derailleur, but then I bought this as part of a job lot of three, only the second Zenit I have seen in 25 years. There must be plenty out there, as sometimes I see frames advertised, but since the Jubilat was such a common bike in towns and villages it is hard to spot them. At the moment I am on the look out for something cheap with a 3 speed coaster brake hub so I can dump the brakes, but in the meantime I have a 6 speed gear set I can spin on, when I get round to it.

I am sure that the neighbours will not miss the brake squeal.
 
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