Excellent Peter! Big brother had/has the PX's,and I rode the UO's,dreaming of a PX 10 or other true comparable lightweight of the era. Harris Spracher Waynesboro Va.
"P.C. Kohler" <kohl57@starpower.net> wrote:
"The great constructeurs Singer, Herse, Routens and others never were household words."
Ah... well then.. can they ever be considered to have contributed to the "French Bicycle Culture" either in France or abroad?
In so many fields we tend to equate superiority with greatness. What was the greatest motor car in the history of the planet? A Ferrari or a Ford Model T? What defines greatness? Well if few have heard of you or it, greatness seems elusive at best. How can something that, whilst argueably superior, that few owned or rode contribute to a culture? Let alone define it.
To me, the greatest French bicycle of all time was the PX-10. Why? It was priced within the reach of most. It raced (and won) with the best. It symbolised the great bike boom in the USA which remains a wonderous transformation of the ultimate car culture into something well.. at least more cycle friendly. And it had real staying power... for a good 13 years c. 1965-1978 it was racing and winning. And it did so with its sloppy lugwork and finishing. That's part of its charm. It's like an old wooden tennis racket. The true racing bike, perfect only in its essentials. And finally, it belonged to a great brand, a "family" as it were of cycles that basked in its reflective glory. So if you were like me and could only afford a UE-8 at age 16, it was painted like a PX-10.
These were truly the machines that introduced much of America (and indeed elsewhere) not only to the delights of French cycle culture but to lightweight 10 speeds. Not just through the victories of Simpson, Merckx and Thevenet, but because it was same bike was the one the cool guy down the road owned or it was the one you really, really wanted. And you had to be content with your UE-8. If someone had offered me a Rene Herse.. I would have held out for that PX-10. And still would.
Peter Kohler
Washington DC USA