[CR]French Bicycle Culture in France

(Example: Component Manufacturers:Chater-Lea)

In-Reply-To: <MONKEYFOODkKIBXEHt300001bdf@monkeyfood.nt.phred.org>
References:
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 16:41:01 -0800
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "Jan Heine" <heine93@earthlink.net>
Subject: [CR]French Bicycle Culture in France

Just like Toei et al., seem to be revered only by a very small group of enthusiasts in Japan, with "mainstream" cyclists blissfully unaware, so it was in France.

The great constructeurs Singer, Herse, Routens and others never were household words. At a time when hundreds of thousands of bicycles were sold every year in France, the all the dozens of constructeurs combined never even made 1000 bikes in the "boom" years of the late 1940s, and many less in the 1960s, if one counts only top-of-the-line cyclotouring bikes.

The father of my childhood friend in southern France has cycled recreationally for many decades, riding with friends every weekend, doing centuries, etc. He's owned a lot of nice _racing_ bikes, his latest being a early 1980s NR-equipped Colnago. When I mentioned René Herse and Alex Singer to him, he had never heard of them. And when I showed him photos, he was at a loss to appreciate a bike with fenders and lights... Same with a self-confessed "cycling enthusiast" hotelier in Rheims. In fact, they had not even heard of Paris-Brest-Paris!

Le Cycliste had a readership of no more than 2000 even during the greatest years. That is 1/3 of the readership of the Rivendell Reader!

So even in France, many never heard of these amazing machines. Maybe that indicates they aren't that great after all? Or is it just due to a lack of advertising?

No wonder these bikes are so rare!

By the way, I never intended to say that French cycling culture consists only of constructeurs. Just like the Japanese contribution to cycling isn't limited to Toei. (I have an old Panasonic in the basement, lugged!)

If we are to find out more about the Japanese constructeurs, somebody has to go and do the research! Volunteers? -- Jan Heine, Seattle Editor/Publisher Vintage Bicycle Quarterly c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles 140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C Seattle WA 98122 http://www.mindspring.com/~heine/bikesite/bikesite/