Don,
>I have seen a few bikes with nice lugs, and many mixte frames. All of
>these bikes are badly worn, with upright handlebars. Today I saw one
>with a AVA-type stem and hubs with wingnuts - probably one of the best
>bikes i've seen here. Peugeot and Gitane are a big rarity here. Most
>brands are ones i never saw importd into the USA. I am staying at
>Montparnasse near the latin quarter (student area, near sorbonne).
>However, things are the same way 3 mi north of here. The city is not
>friendly towards bikes.
You are right, the university areas and the center in general do not
have many interesting bikes. In the "Faubourgs," you will see things
like 1940s Peugeot "porteur" bikes and other odd-balls, locked up
with multiple U-locks. Bike theft is a huge problem, so anybody with
a bike they consider valuable won't leave it out of sight for more
than a few minutes. To American eyes, Paris is not friendly toward
bikes, but having ridden quite a bit there, that isn't true. Unlike
here, a car doesn't immediately pose a threat, even if they come
within inches of you - they see you and they know how wide their car
is. Maybe you'll see my friend Jean-Pierre cruising around on his
1970s Herse porteur!
>
>Monday I will go to Alex Singer. It's near the arc d'triomphe, where
>much of the real estate lists for 1.5 - 2M E$. I suppose you get a
>bicycle made for you just as somebody would tailor a suit. Many of
>the stores in that area display grand total of 20 or 30 items of
>merchandise in the entire store.
Alex Singer is in Levallois-Perret, not near the Arc de Triomphe. And they are closed on Mondays. I hope this reaches you in time. Refer to Vol. 1, No. 4 of Vintage Bicycle Quarterly on how to get there - it's not easy to find.
Enjoy your visit! Even without bikes, Paris has a lot to offer.
--
Jan Heine, Seattle
Editor/Publisher
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
http://www.mindspring.com/