> By "ceremonial" lock ring tool, I assume you mean > the ceremony of opening a beer bottle. Rather odd > a nation better known for wine than beer would have > conceived such a truly brillant multi-use tool. > Maybe the Helicomatic stuff was made in Alsace.
Or perhaps they expected the beer drinking bike racers to come from places near the Belgian border, such as Lille or Roubaix? Or perhaps they needed the bottle opener to satisfy their distributors in Belgium and the Netherlands? I really don't know the whole story, but it was brilliant and way before it's time for a bicycle tool. (Assault rifles already had bottle openeners built into their stocks for several years.) Cheers - literally... Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA)
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