The Diamant was based in Chemnitz/ Siegmar and manufactured by Diamantwerke, which was founded in 1882 by Frederick and William Nevoigt to produce knitting machines. They manufactured their first bicycle in 1895. In 2002 Diamant ceased production in Germany, its plant was the oldest existing bicycle factory in Germany up then. At the same time the brand name was sold to Trek Bicycle Corporation.
In 1898 the Nevoigts designed and constructed a new kind of chain named Doppelrollenkette which is very similar to the chains used still today.
Also Diamant started early to support sports and produced so called Berufsfahrermodelle. Under the manager Max "Papa" lange more and more pros like Richard Huschke, Paul Koch joined the Diamant racing team.
In 1921 Adolf Huscke became German Champion on a Diamant lightweight.
Shortly before Olympic Games in 1936 the new lightweight Model Nr. 67 with an extraordinary light frame was presented and produced from 1939 until 1954. Ernst Ihbe and Carly Lorenz achieved the Gold Medal in the 1936th Olimpics on a Diamant Tandem.
Georg Umbenhauer, Erich Bautz and emil Kijewski joined the road team. At the end of 1936 Diamant became world champion in Zurich and won 20 out of 23 great races.
In 1943 Presto Fahrradwerke Guenther Co. KG ceased production and all materials and designs were handed over to Diamantwerke.
After WWII Diamant became part of 876 companies that should have been disasembled and transported to the USSR, but luckily remains in eastern germany. Thus Diamant was renamed to VEB Elite-Diamant in 1952 and handed back from the russian Awtowelo company to the GDR.
In 1954 the new lightweight Model Nr.167 was presented and build until 1959.
Gustav Adolf "Täve" Schur grew up near Magdeburg, took up cycling aged 19 and won the highest honors an amateur cyclist could reach.
Schur won the East German championships 6 times in that period and won the GDR tour 4 times. In 1953 he had a great stake in East Germany winning the blue jersey of the best team at the Friedensfahrt. His real breakthrough came in 1955, when he was the first East German to win the Friedensfahrt, considered to be the most prestigious amateur stage race. Schur won the Friedensfahrt once more in 1959.
Unfortunatley Schur was more deeply involved in politics and political motivated crimes than other sports people in East Germany. Between 1959 and 1990 he was a member of the Volkskammer and coach of the GDR sports school where young athlets were pumped with steroids against their wills and without letting these kids even know about these steroids and doping materials. After German reunification he kept to his views and joined the SED successor party PDS and was a member of Germany's parliament, Bundestag, between 1998 and 2002.
The 1970 Diamant track bike shown below is a Model 35 708 introduced in 1961 and produced until round about 1990
Bottom Braket: Renak
Headset: Renak
Crankset: Renak
Wheelset: Renak with Grunert tubular rims
Saddle:
Seatpost: genuine GDR patent style type in aluminium
Stem: GB Hiduminium spear point
Handlebar: Maes
Pedals: Renak Berthet copies
Frame tubing: Diamant
Fork tubing: Diamant
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