French bicycle industry
Encyclopedia
The french bicycle industry and the history of the bicycle
History of the bicycle
Vehicles for human transport that have two wheels and require balancing by the rider date back to the early 19th century. The first means of transport making use of two wheels, and thus the archetype of the bicycle, was the German draisine dating back to 1817...
are intertwined. Spanning the last century and a half, the industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
has seen two booms, and continues into the 21st century, albeit less dominant today.
Invention
The earliest forebears of the bicycle were velocipedeVelocipede
Velocipede is an umbrella term for any human-powered land vehicle with one or more wheels. The most common type of velocipede today is the bicycle....
s, and included many human-powered vehicles. One, the scooter-like dandy horse
Dandy horse
The dandy-horse, also known as hobby-horse, is a human-powered vehicle that, being the first means of transport to make use of the two-wheeler principle, is regarded as the forerunner of the bicycle. The dandy horse was invented by Baron Karl Drais in Mannheim, Germany, and patented in January 1818...
or celerifere of the French Comte de Sivrac, dating to 1790, was long cited as the earliest bicycle. Most historians now believe these unsteerable hobby-horses probably never existed, but were made up by Louis Baudry de Saunier, a 19th-century French bicycle historian.
The most likely originator of the bicycle was the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Baron Karl von Drais
Karl Drais
Karl Drais was a German inventor and invented the Laufmaschine , also later called the velocipede, draisine or "draisienne" , also nicknamed the dandy horse. This incorporated the two-wheeler principle that is basic to the bicycle and motorcycle and was the beginning of mechanized personal...
, who rode his 1816 machine while collecting taxes from his tenants. He patented his draisine, a pushbike powered by the action of the rider's feet pushing against the ground.
Commercialization
In the 1860s, the Michaux family, ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian coach builders, developed a new drive mechanism, placing 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 crank and pedals remains in dispute. Pierre Lallement
Pierre Lallement
Pierre Lallement is considered by some to be the inventor of the bicycle.-Early years:Lallement was born on October 25, 1843 in Pont-à-Mousson near Nancy, France....
, a Michaux mechanic, claimed to have collaborated with Ernest Michaux
Pierre Michaux
Pierre Michaux was a blacksmith who furnished parts for the carriage trade in Paris during the 1850s and 1860s. He started building bicycles with pedals in the early 1860s. He, or his son Ernest, may have been the inventor of this machine, by adapting cranks and pedals on the front wheel of a...
, while Henry Michaux told in march 1893 in the newspaper L'Éclair how his brother Ernest, together with their father Pierre have developed the idea in 1861 after modifying a draisine brought for repairs. The design was an adaptation of the crank-handles the two inventors had seen on a grinding wheel. In any event, Pierre Michaux's factory started producing crank-and-pedal driven velocipedes : two the first year, 142 the following year.
Perhaps owing to dispute over the invention, in 1865 Lallement emigrated to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where, with the financial backing of James Carroll of Ansonia
Ansonia, Connecticut
Ansonia is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, on the Naugatuck River, immediately north of Derby and about northwest of New Haven. The population was 19,249 at the 2010 census. The ZIP code for Ansonia is 06401. The city is serviced by the Metro North railroad...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, he recorded the first U.S. patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
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, began selling in the United States. Their wood and iron construction earned these velocipedes the sobriquet Boneshakers. The first boneshaker race was in 1868, in Paris' Parc de Saint Cloud; the winner was James Moore
James Moore (cyclist)
James Moore was a bicycle racer. He is popularly regarded as the winner of the first official cycle race in the world in 1868 at St-Cloud, Paris, although there appears to be no verifiable contemporary evidence for this...
, 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
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
building since the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
of 1866 erupted into the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
in 1870, and production of bicycles at Michaux was suspended to support the war effort. As a result, the next innovations occurred in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. 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 France. With the war, Turner arranged instead to sell them in England. James Starley
James Starley
James Starley was an English inventor and father of the bicycle industry. He was one of the most innovative and successful builders of bicycles and tricycles. His inventions include the differential gear and the perfection of chain-driven bicycles.-Early life:Starley was born in 1831 at Albourne,...
, a foreman at Coventry, began to make improvements and in 1885, the Starley Rover, a safety bicycle manufactured by Starley's nephew, John Kemp Starley
John Kemp Starley
John Kemp Starley was an English inventor and industrialist who is widely considered the inventor of the modern bicycle, and also originator of the name Rover....
, was the first recognisably modern bicycle.
Golden Age
While the bicycle was popular among wealthy young men in cities such as LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and Paris, Starley's safety bicycle
Safety bicycle
A safety bicycle is a type of bicycle that became very popular beginning in the late 1880s as an alternative to the penny-farthing or ordinary and is now the most common type of bicycle. Early bicycles of this style were known as safety bicycles because they were noted for, and marketed as, being...
ushered in the "golden age of bicycles." A bicycle craze swept Europe and North America during the Gay Nineties
Gay Nineties
Gay Nineties is an American nostalgic term that refers to the decade of the 1890s. It is known in the UK as the Naughty Nineties, and refers there to the decade of supposedly decadent art by Aubrey Beardsley, the witty plays and trial of Oscar Wilde, society scandals and the beginning of the...
; suddenly, the bicycle was safe, affordable, and available for transport and leisure for the ordinary person. Although France was swept up in the craze, production remained centered in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and the United States. However, the seeds were sown for the rebirth of the French industry.
In 1881, Paul de Vivie
Paul de Vivie
Paul de Vivie, who wrote as Velocio , was publisher of Le Cycliste, an early champion of derailleur gears, and father of French bicycle touring and randonneuring.-Background:...
, a man of twenty-eight, bought his first bicycle, an ordinary. By 1887, de Vivie decided to devote his attention to his avocation
Avocation
An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...
; he sold his business, and moved to Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon...
, 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 1889 La Gauloise was the first bicycle produced in France.
French Bicycle Manufacturers
French bicycle manufacturers have included:- AlcyonAlcyonThe Alcyon was a French bicycle, automobile and motorcycle manufacturer between 1890 and 1957.- Origins :Alcyon originated from about 1890 when Edmond Gentil started the manufacture of bicycles in Neuilly, Seine. In 1902, this was complemented by motorcycle production and in 1906, the first cars...
, established in 1902, ceased manufacture in 1928. - Alleluia
- Alex Singer
- Astra
- AutomotoAutomotoAutomoto was a French motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1902, which joined with the Peugot group in 1930 and was fully absorbed by 1962. Prior to World War II Automoto sourced engines from Chaise, Zurcher, J.A.P., and Villers. AMC engines were also used after 1945....
- BertinBertinSt. Bertin is a saint and abbot of Saint-Omer.He was born near Coutances. At an early age he entered the monastery of Luxeuil in France where, under the austere rule of St. Columbanus, he prepared himself for his future missionary career...
- Louison BobetLouison Bobet (bicycles)Louison Bobet, a line of bicycles produced by famed French cyclist Louison Bobet following his cycling career.-External links:*...
, manufactured during the 1960s and 1970s. - Caminade
- Chas Garin
- CNC
- CycleuropeGrimaldi IndustriGrimaldi Industri AB of Stockholm, Sweden, is a company with many holdings, including:* Alpha Sweden* Cycleuropa Group - The company manufactures such brands as: Bianchi, Crescent, DBS, Everton, Gitane, Kildemoes, Legnano, Micmo, Monark, Puch, Spectra,* Contento* Grimaldis Mekaniska Verkstad*...
- Cycles Aluminium begins manufacturing aluminum-framed bicycles in 1890.
- CyfacCyfacCyfac International is a manufacturer of bicycles in La Fuye, in the Loire Valley of France. The name is an acronym that translates from French to "Handmade Bicycle Frames". "Cy" represents cycle , "f" for fabriqué , "a" for "artisanal" , and the final C stands for cadres...
, a contemporary French bicycle manufacturer. - Decathlon, French sporting goods chain, design and made by the biggest manufacture in UE, Polish Kross.
- Dilecta
- FollisFollis (bicycles)Cycles Follis, founded in 1903 and previously based in Lyon, France, is a long-established artisan manufacturer in the French bicycle industry. Cycles Follis builds a range of bicycles, but is particularly well-known for its tandem and racings. The Follis bicycle company is no longer in business as...
, established in 1903, continues to manufacture bicycles today. - La Fontan
- Raphaël GéminianiRaphael GeminianiRaphaël Géminiani is a French former road bicycle racer. He had six podium finishes in the Grand Tours. He is one of four children of Italian immigrants who moved to Clermont-Ferrand. He worked in a cycle shop and started racing as a boy...
- GitaneGitaneGitane is a French manufacturer of bicycles based in Machecoul, France; the name "Gitane" means gypsy woman. The brand was synonymous with French bicycle racing from the 1960s through the mid-1980s, sponsoring riders such as Jacques Anquetil , Lucien Van Impe , Bernard Hinault , Laurent Fignon ,...
, established in 1930, continues to manufacture bicycles today. - Gnôme Rhône
- Helyett
- René HerseRené HerseRené Herse was a highly regarded builder of ultra high end touring and racing bicycles. His works are still sought after by collectors and riders.-Career:...
, manufactured hand-built bicycles from the 1940s until the mid-1970s. - HurtuHurtuHurtu was a pioneering French car made by Diligeon et Cie based in Albert, Somme from 1896 to 1930. As well as cars, the company also made sewing machines and bicycles....
- LeJeuneLejeuneLejeune, LeJeune or Le Jeune is a surname, and may refer to:* C. A. Lejeune , British writer* Claude Le Jeune , French composer* Iry LeJeune , American musician* Jean Lejeune , French priest...
- Jeunet
- LaPerle
- Lapierre
- Look, established in 1951, began manufacturing bicycle frames in the 1980s.
- MeralMeralMeral is a common Turkish given name. It is a variant of Maral. In Turkish, "Maral" means "female deer". Meral has the same meaning as "Maral".-People:* Meral Yıldız Ali, Romanian female Turkish table tennis player* Meral Ece, British politician...
- Cycles Mercier
- MotobécaneMotobécaneMotobécane was a French manufacturer of bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, and other small vehicles, established in 1923. "Motobécane" is a compound of "moto", slang for motorcycle; "bécane" is slang for "bike."...
, established in 1923, filed for bankruptcy in 1981, ceased manufacturing bicycles after 1984. - Michaux, manufactured velocipedes from 1861 until 1870.
- PeugeotCycles PeugeotPeugeot was a manufacturer in the French bicycle industry through the 20th century.-History:Peugeot was a French manufacturer of bicycles founded by Jean Pequignot Peugeot who, in the 19th century, made water mills...
, first manufactured bicycles in 1882; bicycles manufactured by and sold under the Cycleurope name since the late 1980s. - Cycles Philippe, first manufactured bicycles in the 1970s
- Renault
- Roger RivièreRoger RivièreRoger Rivière was a French track and road bicycle racer. He raced as a professional from 1957 to 1960....
- Rochet
- Routens
- Sauvage-Lejeune
- StellaStella (bicycles)Stella was a French bicycle manufacturer founded in 1909. The company sponsored Louison Bobet, a French professional cyclist. Bobet won the Tour de France in 1953 and 1954 while riding Stella bicycles....
- Sutter
- TerrotTerrotTerrot was a motorcycle manufacturer in Dijon, France.Charles Terrot and Wilhelm Stücklen had founded a machinery factory in Cannstatt, Germany in 1862, and Terrot added a branch factory in Dijon in 1887, and in 1890 the Dijon factory added bicycles to its products.In 1902 the Dijon factory made...
- TIME
- Transfil
- UragoUragoUrago was a famous "hand made" bicycle maker in the French bicycle industry located in the city of Nice, in the French Riviera on the Boulevard du Riquier. The company ceased to exist in the 1980s. The two Urago brothers were famous for the quality of their hand made frames.-External links:*...
, ceased manufacture in the 1980s. - VéloSoleXVéloSoleXVéloSoleX is a moped, or motorised bicycle, which was originally produced by the French manufacturer Solex, based in Paris, France. The company manufactured centrifugal radiators, carburetors, and micrometers, before branching into assist motors and bicycles...
- Vitus (bicycles)Vitus (bicycles)Vitus is a French bicycle manufacturer best known for its steel cycle frame tubing, and its frames built with aluminium tubes joined to aluminium lugs by bonding - a construction method the company pioneered in the late 1970s . Compared to modern aluminium bicycle frames, early Vitus aluminium...
French Bicycle Component Manufacturers
French bicycle component manufacturers have included:- AGDA
- Atom
- AVA
- Christophe
- CLB
- Cyclo France
- Huret
- Hutchinson
- Idéale
- Lapize
- LOOK, established in 1951, began manufacturing clipless bicycle pedals in the 1980s.
- Lyotard
- MaillardMaillardThe Maillard was a French automobile manufactured from 1900 until around 1903. Two models, a 6 hp and a 10 hp, were available; these were upgraded to 8 hp and 12 hp in 1901. Maillards were also built in Belgium under the name Aquilas....
- MafacMafacMAFAC, or Manufacture Arvernoise de Freins et Accessoires pour Cycles , was a French manufacturer of bicycle brakes and tool kits. MAFAC was founded in post-war France under the name "Securité", which changed to MAFAC in Fall 1947. Initially MAFAC made cantilever brakes, brake levers, and tool kits...
, high quality manufacturer of brakes, racks, and tool kits until the 1980s. - MavicMavicMavic is a French bicycle parts manufacturer, its name an acronym for Manufacture d'Articles Vélocipédiques Idoux et Chanel, founded by Charles Idoux and Lucien Chanel. The company is noted as a manufacturer of bicycle wheels. Mavic is based in Annecy, France...
- Maxicar
- MichelinMichelinMichelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
, manufacturer of bicycle tires since the company was established in 1889. - Nervar
- Nervex
- Normandy
- Simplex
- Stronglight
- Super ChampionSuper ChampionSuper Champion was a brand of very high quality French bicycle rims. Super Champion was eventually purchased by tire manufacturer Wolber. In the 1980s Super Champion's line of rims included:...
, manufacturer of high quality alloy rims until the 1980s. - TA (Traction Avant)
- TIME
- Transfil
See also
- BicycleBicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
- Kogswell Porteur/Randonneur, a modern interpretation of classic French design
- List of road bicycle racing events
External links
- Classic Rendezvous: French Bicycles
- French Bicycles by Sheldon BrownSheldon Brown (bicycle mechanic)Sheldon Brown was an American bicycle mechanic and technical authority on bicycles. He contributed to numerous print and online sources related to bicycling, bicycle mechanics and maintenance, including his own website — and received numerous awards for his contributions.-Biography:Brown...