RE: [CR]"Bespoke" French Builders of RACING Bikes

(Example: Production Builders:Peugeot)

Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message
Subject: RE: [CR]"Bespoke" French Builders of RACING Bikes
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2005 12:01:46 -0600
Thread-Topic: [CR]"Bespoke" French Builders of RACING Bikes
thread-index: AcX7Tu8lVjbI+pQdSxu3Q/9pm/6AbAAB9RhA
From: "Spielman, Steve - Centreville, MD" <Steve.Spielman@md.nacdnet.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>


If I can generalise.....It seems to me that many of the French racers thought of a bike as a weapon as opposed to a work of art (not that some weapons aren't both....and that some racers wanted both!) when compared to, say, their counterparts in Italy. Having said that, I have seen FABULOUSLY built bikes by Lejeune, Motobecane, and Gitane(!)in addition to the previously mentioned Peugeot Prestige (Service Course) shop. While many of these larger companies certainly had great artisans in their employment, I have often heard rumours that many of them contracted out the building of these top models. I have never felt that it detracted from them in the least. In fact, it adds to their intrigue and cache. One name that has often been mentioned as a company who performed such work was always CNC, who apparently made something of a specialty of that sort of thing....much in the way that Cyfac does today. If that is true, maybe it is CNC who is responsible for the affection that many of us have for certain French marques as opposed to the company whose name is on the downtube....

Steve Spielman Easton, MD

-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of kohl57@starpower.net Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 11:54 AM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]"Bespoke" French Builders of RACING Bikes

OK, it's circa 1975-83. I want to buy a primo quality, custom made Frenc h RACING bike. All caps because I don't want anything like a "demi course" or a "randonneur". Or an all-chrome fancy pants bike to pose on les boulevards. I want something that could (or should) be raced. Somethin g on which to hang all those delicious Spidel-Simplex-Maillard-Mafac components

of the era. Fast, light, aggressive. And French.

So who would I have gone to? Were there indeed any such French makers during this time? Other than the Prestige division of Peugeot or the oth er big makers? Most of what I've seen of the famous Herse and Singer et. al. don't seem to fit the bill.

Peter Kohler Washington DC USA

--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web.com/ .