having shed my tears yesterday for bike shops of yesteryear.. well not that too long ago, I thought I should do something useful for Jim Brissette who is visiting Paris shortly, and just for the record, so to speak.
The relatively huge size of the landmass of France compared with the UK tends to dictate how bicycles are sold. Where I live in the north within a 2 hour drive from my home going westwards I would pass through towns such as Burnley, Blackburn, Bolton, Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Chorley .. a huge conurbation, and most of them with at least a couple or more good bike shops. It's easy for the bike-buyer to visit a dozen of these shops in an afternoon. On the other hand the towns and cities are spaced widely apart and buyers find it a chore to drive long distances to find a choice of bikes. For this reason bike prices are higher than in the UK.
Turning to Paris.. I have found 220 bike shops in and around Paris, all of them within fairly easy reach. In the 90s the independent dealers united into groups in an attempt to counter the competition from supermarkets, and chains of sports shops such as the massively successful DECATHLON -a chain that sells some superb high-end bikes. The result is a number of such chains of bike shops trading under the banners of BOUTICYCLE (possibly the biggest and sellers of Look, Vitus, Specialised, Shimano) VELO & OXYGENE, VELOLAND, VELOVERT, CULTURE VELO etc.
All these chains are represnted in and around Paris..and all sell the same stuff as the others in their chain.. and of course there is the GIANT chain too. Many top dealers have found it necessary to join these chains to survive.And of course retail space in the central arrondissements of Paris is incredibly expensive. Those shops I mentioned in the last contribution on the Ave de la Grande Armee were only a couple of boulevards away from the most expensive Avenue in Paris Ave FOCH, where the likes of Joan Collins, Brigitte Bardot, Sylvia Kristel (of Emmannuelle fame) had their Paris pads.
The other quality shops in Paris were nearer the stations such as Fletcher-Speciale CNC near the Gare du Nord, and La Roue d'Or, not far from the same station.. where shops were cheaper. These days most of the top shops and frame-builders are in the suburbs but still easy to get to.
Here's some addresses:-
in or near the centre La Gazelle Etoile - not far from the Arc de Triomphe - at 13 ave. de la Grande Armee ( possibly was Boisis?) Cycles LAURENT, 9 boulevard de Voltaire (metro Republique-Oberkampf) This shop belongs to the Archambaud family. I think iot is this one that usually has a number of good S/H bikes for sale. Also had a superb shop in the suburbs. - Rando Cycles, 5 rue Fernand Fourreau, 75012 - usually good for touring bikes and frames -CARNAC Pro Shop 56 rue Balard 75015 -FRANSCOOP 47 rue Servan 75011 (metro St Maur) - long established with good choice and prices) -Velo & Oxygene, 72, ave de la Grande Armee (see La Gazelle Etoile) (metro Etoile) -Cycles a Gazelle, 47 Bvd. Jean-Jaues, 92100 Boulogne-Bilancourt ( This used to be a first class shop with own frames)
For good shops in the suburbs try:-
Alain Michel, 57 rue Andre Tessier, 94120 Fontenay sous Bois.( possibly one of France's best framebuilders, still going strong on steel, used to build Excells for Lemond. Top quality) -Bouticycle Darnois 92220 Bagneux ( still has own frames) -Cycles AJP Place du Coubat, 93160 Noisy-le-Grand - Cycles La France 71 route d'Orleans N20 Montlhery (used to build T-d-F frames in the 80s) -Cycles Levancon 16 ave du General Gallieni, 93380 Pierrefitte sur Seine (framebuilder) -Cycles Perigois 20 ave Gabriel Peri 95870 Bezons ( 10 mins from La Defense)
If you fancy a bit of a run out into the Loire valley - maybe about 1 to 1.5 hors from the centre of Paris you MUST visit
Cycles Pilorget, 99 rue d'Alsace ZAC des Provinces 45160 Olivet ( excellent shop and frames made on he premises) Ets, DURET (Geliano) 18 rue de Clemont, Argent sur Sauldre ( this is a small shop in a back street but with a huge warehouse outside at the back. Jean-Marie makes all types of wonderful bikes. I imported from him for a period of twenty years. At the Milan Show in 83 or 84 the "small Italian builders such as Rossin, Faggin, Daccordi voted Gelianos the best bikes of the Show) - Cycles Pierre Perrin 10 Ave d'Arpajon, EGLY ( renowned frame-bulder)
And.. look this one up in the telephone directory for the address! In the 90s three well-known Parisiens, Laurent Fignon, Alain Prost (Formula 1) and a media tycoon Alain Cadiou, decided to set up a top shop. Hence PROFICA was born. There used to be some superb understated stuff there.. Now owned by Veloland at Issy-les-Mollineaux where the Tour enters Paris during the last stage.
And when you have finished visiting all these shops and just want to ride your bike why not do what Fignon, Prost and the other rich and notables do on Saturday afternoons and sometimes Sundays... go to the Bois de Boulogne.. not that far from the Tour Eiffel, meander through the vast park, and locate the short oval circuit on which everyone tries to burn up everyone else.. you never know who might be on your wheel.
If you are lucky enough to be in Paris on the last day of the Tour, try to have a walk up to the top of the Champs Elysees. More often than not there will be a large van parked there, selling a wide selection of ccycle clothing. Usually the salesman is GIanni Marcarini, former pro with Peugeot in the 60s and big friend of Moser and Merckx.
Tomorrow I set off for France, Paris. the Loire valley, l'Alpe d'Huez on a type of bicyle safari. The idea is that instead of driving Pange Rovers and hunting wild animals, you drive big white Ford vans and hunt down Singers, Herses, Routens.. load them up and then sell them to the Japanese on eBay.
I have booked slightly over 6 weeks "on the road" but without a lap-top I reckon I shall feel a little naked. If all goes well I might just ride up Mont Ventoux and the l'Alpe.
Norris Lockley .. Settle UK ...saying Au Revoir et A Bientot