All this conversation about "lesser esteemed" French bike constucteurs has almost made my head spin. And all this from a group largely biased toward M arques from the UK and Italy. Don't take me wrong. I deeply admire bikes fr om those countries, and own and ride several to be sure, but my heart b elongs to French bikes. I'm not fortunate enough to have a bike from any "c onstructeur" but I will, however, be scanning French Ebay from now on a fter seeing pictures of Peter's fantastic Berthoud. I'm convinced there is some sort of "Gallic feel" to these bikes, includi ng the French mass produced bikes of my youth. I agree with Peter that ther e is a certain "lightness" associated with French bikes. Not measured in Gr ams or Kilos, but something less tangible. I used to think it was just fr ame geometry, but now I'm not so sure. It's something that my friends ha ve confusedly called flimsy, but to each his own I guess. I'll bet I'm no t the only list member that has suffered a few rude comments about the inhe rent inferiority of French bikes and components.
Anyway. Thanks for sharing the pictures of the Berthoud and the Phillipe. I really liked the all French components. Both bikes, in their own way, are works of French art. OK, even if they are considered minor works.
Chris Van Scoyk Ankeny, IA
> From: kohl57@starpower.net> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Date: Mon
, 12 Jan 2009 21:02:46 -0500> Subject: Re: [CR] 70's French Constructeur
Bike - what rises to the top> > The subject of French "constructeur" bikes
is enough to tempt me out from > lurkerdom.> > The only frame I own in this
category is a c. 1980-1 Gilles Berthoud racing > machine I purchased on eB
ay (France) from Alex M. in September 2007 for what > I felt was an astonis
hing (and frankly insulting) price of $225. Why this > didn't attract more
is a headscratcher to me, not that I am complaining, but > I suspect no
one could get their head around a bespoke French racing frame > rather tha
n randonneur one. I certainly haven't seen one since and indeed > Berthoud
, still very much in business, now makes nothing but and seems more > f
amous for his bags than his bikes. This must be one of his earlier efforts.
> > Ignorant of whether this "rises to the top", all I can say is that I
don't > own a nicer machine than this. From her nicely filed chromed lugs t
o her > almost too shy markings (I wished she at least had a headbadge!),
all the > work went into the design and brazing I guess. It is quite and u
tterly the > lightest, most superb riding machine I own. I am not sure wh
y but I find > this "lightness" a feature entirely unique to French bikes w
hich has less to > do with actual weight than to a subtle and delightful fe
el. As I orignally > fitted her out, she weighed in at 20 lbs but I am in
the middle of fitting a > new "super legere" component mix:: Huret Jubilee
, Stronglight 105bis > chainset, Ideale 90 titanium saddle, CLB brake
set, Mavic Argent 7 rims etc. > which should get shave a 1/2 pound off. T
he frame is Vitus 971 so this is a > 100 per cent French machine save for t
he Czech Tufo sew-ups.> > Anyway that's my contribution to this genre. I do
n't think it's possible to > build a nicer bicycle, but what do I know?.
Photos, etc, are here for those > interested:> > http://tinyurl.com/