Norris,
Thanks for all that information. Since you mentioned "GUID (Ets R. Chalaye) based in St Etienne in the same building as CLB"... I have to another question.
Is the same company that produced the Chalaye tandem stoker stems? These were so much nicer than the pieces produced by Pivo, plus they were available in several lengths. Yet the Pivo pieces seemed to be used more frequently. (By the way it's _possible_ that Velo Classique/MPI still has a lifetime supply of the Chalaye stems.)
Best regards,
Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA)
> Fred, you can stop scratching your
> head and furrowing your brows now as to
> whether the French handlebar makers CTA and ATAX were one
> and the same
> company; they were not.
>
> Rather surprisingly the French cycling industry when at the
> height of its
> more recent production in the 50s to 70s was able to boast
> seven
> manufacturers of reasonable to good quality bars and stems
> and several more
> producers of cheaper mass-market varieties. The
> brands/makers were:
>
>
> ATAX - see Philippe below
> AVA, based at Noyon in NE France
> BELLERI based at Sorbiers just outside St Etienne in the
> south
> CTA based at the oddly named Conches-en-Ouche in the
> NW
> GUID ( Ets R. Chalaye) based in St Etienne in the same
> building as CLB
> MAVIC based at St Trivier near Lyon
> Philippe ( marketed by ATAX) basred at Oullins in the
> southern suburbs of
> Lyon
> PIVO based at Montreuil in the eastern suburbs of Paris
>
> As far as CTA were concerned, their product range was
> somewhat similar in
> intended destination as the products of Belleri - ie at
> best the sports,
> amateur course - mid-range bikes, although BELLERI did
> manufacture in the
> late 80s/early90s a range of superb stems and bars to match
> anything coming
> out of Italy, and under an English-sounding brand name..the
> project was very
> short lived...too little too late..
>
> Other brand names such as MILREMO, JPR ( jean-Paul Routens)
> , RIGIDA surface
> from time to time. Milremo were produced by either ATAX or
> PIVO, JPR by
> Belleri ( I think) and RIGIDA was a sub-brand of ATAX. I
> suspect that MAVIC
> sub-contracted their bars to Belleri
>
> As for CTA...I think it means Compagnie Technologie
> Aeronautique..OR
> Cintrage Tubes Acier..more research needed, I'm afraid.
>
> Norris Lockley
>
> Settle UK