French bicycle industry
The
French bicycle industry and the
history of the bicycle are inextricably intertwined. Spanning the last century and a half, the
industry has seen
two "bike booms" come and go, and continues into the 21st century, albeit in a less dominant position in the market today.
The earliest known forebears of the bicycle were called
velocipedes, and included many types of human-powered vehicles. One of these, the scooter-like
dandy horse or
celerifere of the French Comte de Sivrac, dating to
1790, was long cited as the earliest bicycle. Most bicycle historians now believe that these unsteerable hobby-horses probably never existed, but were made up by
Louis Baudry de Saunier, a 19th century French bicycle historian.
The 19th century
The most likely originator of the bicycle was the
German Baron Karl von Drais, who rode his
1816 machine while collecting taxes from his tenants. He patented his
draisine, which was a
pushbike powered by the action of the rider's feet pushing against the ground.
Scottish blacksmith
Kirkpatrick Macmillan shares creator's credit with von Drais, for adding a
treadle drive mechanism, in
1840, which enabled the rider to lift his feet off the ground while driving the rear wheel.
In the
1860s, the Michaux family,
Parisian coach builders, began to develop a new drive mechanism for the bicycle; taking bicycle design in a different direction, they placed pedals and cranks on an enlarged wooden front wheel with iron tires, which was mounted on a heavy steel frame. The credit for their innovative use of a crank and pedals remains in dispute.
Pierre Lallement, a
Michaux mechanic, claimed to have collaborated with
Ernest Michaux on the design, while
Pierre Michaux - Ernest's father - claimed to have developed the idea after modifying a draisine brought in for repairs. Years later, in
1893,
Henry Michaux credited the design as an adaptation of the crank-handles the inventors had seen on a grinding wheel. In any event, Pierre Michaux established
La Compagnie Ancienne Maison Michaux et Cie. in
1861. The Michaux factory produced two crank-and-pedal driven velocipedes the first year; the following year, they produced 142 of the machines.
Perhaps owing to the dispute over the invention, in
1865 Lallement emigrated to
America, where, with the financial backing of
James Carroll of
Ansonia,
Connecticut, he recorded the first U.S.
patent on a bicycle, in
1866. Meanwhile, by 1865, the Michaux family was manufacturing 400 velocipedes annually; their bicycles were on display at the first international bicycle exhibition in
1867, and by
1869, the Michaux factory, with a daily production of 200 velocipedes, began selling in the
United States. Because of their wood and iron construction, these velocipedes earned the sobriquet
"Boneshakers." The first boneshaker race was held in
1868, in Paris'
Parc de Saint Cloud; the winner was
James Moore, a friend of the Michaux family. Moore also won the 123 km
Paris-Rouen race in 1869, finishing in 10 hours and 40 minutes.
However, tensions between
France and
Prussia had been building since the
Austro-Prussian War of
1866; by
1870, those tensions erupted into war. With the
Franco-Prussian War underway, bicycle production at the Michaux factory was suspended in favor of production to support the war effort. As a result, the next innovations in the development of the bicycle occurred in
Great Britain. Prior to the Franco-Prussian war, the Michaux family had reached an agreement with
Rowley B. Turner of the
Coventry Sewing Machine Company to manufacture 400 Michaux velocipedes, to be sold in the French market. With the outbreak of the war, Turner arranged instead to sell the velocipedes in England.
James Starley, a foreman at Coventry, began to make improvements to the Michaux velocipedes; by 1885, the Starley
Rover, a
safety bicycle manufactured by Starley's nephew,
J. K. Starley, was the first recognisably modern bicycle.
The Golden Age of Bicycles
While the bicycle had already gained popularity among wealthy young men in cosmopolitan cities such as
London,
New York, and Paris, the advent of Starley's safety bicycle ushered in the
"golden age of bicycles." A bicycle craze swept through Europe and North America during the
Gay Nineties; suddenly, the bicycle was safe, affordable, and available for transportation and leisure for the average person. Remarkably, although France was swept up in the bicycle craze, bicycle production remained centered in
England and the United States. However, the seeds were sown for the rebirth of the French bicycle industry.
In
1881,
Paul de Vivie, a young man of twenty-eight, bought his first bicycle, an
ordinary. By
1887, de Vivie had decided to devote his attention to his avocation; he sold his business, and moved to
Saint-Étienne, where he opened a bicycle shop and started a magazine,
Le Cycliste. Velocio, as de Vivie was known, began to import bicycles from Coventry; within two years, however, he had begun to produce his own bicycles. His first model, the
1889 La Gauloise, was the first bicycle produced in France.
French bicycle manufacturers have included:
*
Alcyon, established in
1902, ceased manufacture in
1928.
*
Alleluia*
Alex Singer*
Automoto*
Bertin*
Louison Bobet, manufactured during the
1960s and
1970s.
*
Caminade*
Chas Garin*
CNC*
Cycleurope*
Cycles Aluminium begins manufacturing aluminum-framed bicycles in
1890.
*
Cyfac, a contemporary French bicycle manufacturer.
*
Decathlon, French sporting goods chain.
*
Dilecta*
Follis, established in
1903, continues to manufacture bicycles today.
*
La Fontan*
Raphael Geminiani*
Gitane, established in
1930, continues to manufacture bicycles today.
*
Gnôme Rhône*
Helyett*
René Herse, manufactured hand-built bicycles from the
1940s until the mid-
1970s.
*
Hurtu*
LeJeune*
Jeunet*
LaPerle*
Lapierre*
LOOK, established in
1951, began manufacturing bicycle frames in the
1980s.
*
Motobécane, established in
1923, filed for bankruptcy in
1981, ceased manufacturing bicycles after
1984.
*
Mercier*
Michaux, manufactured velocipedes from
1861 until
1870.
*
Peugeot, first manufactured bicycles in
1882; bicycles manufactured by and sold under the
Cycleurope name since the late
1980s.
*
Roger Riviere*
Rochet*
Routens*
Stella*
Sutter*
Terrot*
TIME*
Urago, ceased manufacture in the
1980s.
*
VéloSoleXFrench bicycle component manufacturers have included:
*
AGDA*
Atom*
AVA*
Christophe*
CLB*
Cyclo France*
Hurét*
Hutchinson*
Idéale*
Lapize*
LOOK, established in
1951, began manufacturing clipless bicycle pedals in the
1980s.
*
Lyotard*
Maillard*
Mafac*
Mavic*
Maxicar*
Michelin, manufacturer of bicycle tires since the company was established in
1889.
*
Nervar*
Nervex*
Normandy*
Phillipe*
Prugnat*
Rigida*
Robergel*
Sachs*
Sedis*
Simplex*
Stronglight*
Super Champion*
TA*
TIME*
Velox*
Vitus*
Wolber*
Zéfal*
Bicycle*
List of important cycling events*
EBykr: Classic Lightweight Bicycles*
Classic Rendezvous: French Bicycles*
Sheldon Brown: French Bicycles
