{"id":132883,"date":"2016-01-07T17:01:18","date_gmt":"2016-01-07T15:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/?p=132883"},"modified":"2016-01-07T17:03:24","modified_gmt":"2016-01-07T15:03:24","slug":"laurin-klement-the-factory-with-a-cycling-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/01\/07\/laurin-klement-the-factory-with-a-cycling-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Laurin & Klement: the Factory With a Cycling Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

As start of the New year is usually the time of looking in the past or imagining the future, we\u2019d like to look back at the cycling dream that was behind what later became \u0160koda Auto \u2013 one of the biggest car producers in the world. It all started around Christmas time back in 1895 though and the humble beginnings were really somewhat different back then.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

V\u00e1clav Klement\u2019s first job was basically walking a cow in circles a at a blacksmith\u2019s shop all day long. Luckily his teacher saw that as a significant setback for one of his gifted students and got him a job as an apprentice at a local bookstore.<\/span><\/p>\n

Young Klement soon made a name for himself and moved to Mlada Boleslav, where he gradually took over one of the local bookstores. His true love was cycling though and he even started a small (and ilegal) bike delivery business in the back of his shop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

He rode a bike made by Germania at that time and it broke soon after the purchase. Klement wrote a letter to the manufacturer but Germania dismissed him in a very offensive manner. That was the last straw for Klement and he decided to found his own bicycle company.<\/span><\/p>\n

V\u00e1clav Laurin moved to Mlad\u00e1 Boleslav at that exact time with exactly the same plan. Since it was rather a small town back then, two bike manufacturers wouldn\u2019t really make sense, so both of them had a meeting and realised, they could start a factory together.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Klement-Laurin\"<\/a><\/p>\n

They experienced a few problems in the beginning and at one point even had to sell their new bikes to a second hand dealer in order to pay their employees, but it all worked out in the end.<\/span><\/p>\n

Klement\u2019s exceptional gift for business and Laurin\u2019s unbelievable technical skills made them a team no rival could match. Together they produced a legendary range of bikes called Slavia.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Laurin<\/a><\/p>\n

After a few years Klement brought home an engine powered bicycle from France and realised what an opportunity lied ahead of him. The factory changed its production and a soon L&K motorcycles were winning races all over Europe. From there it was a small step to making their own cars which became renowned for their quality and beautiful design.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1925 the company merged with \u0160koda Auto but its legacy lives on to this day. The most exclusive models made by \u0160koda Auto still wear the badge of Laurin & Klement.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As start of the New year is usually the time of looking in the past or imagining the future, we\u2019d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":132884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[328,329,334,330],"tags":[],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-132883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-outdoor-mountain","category-road-cycling","category-socialising-and-culture","category-urban-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nLaurin & Klement: the Factory With a Cycling Dream - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As start of the New year is the time of looking in the past, we\u2019d like to look back at the cycling dream that was behind what later became \u0160koda Auto.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/01\/07\/laurin-klement-the-factory-with-a-cycling-dream\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Laurin & Klement: the Factory With a Cycling Dream\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As start of the New year is the time of looking in the past, we\u2019d like to look back at the cycling dream that was behind what later became \u0160koda Auto.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/01\/07\/laurin-klement-the-factory-with-a-cycling-dream\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-07T15:01:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-01-07T15:03:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2016\/01\/FotorCreated-6.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"525\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Martin Mrazek\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/01\/07\/laurin-klement-the-factory-with-a-cycling-dream\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/01\/07\/laurin-klement-the-factory-with-a-cycling-dream\/\",\"name\":\"Laurin & Klement: the Factory With a Cycling Dream - 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