Boussoles à la page A new cycle Bicycles are riding higher and smarter than ever, with the rise of the e-bike. Several new French companies are surfing the trend. In France, bicycle sales have leveled off after a period of rapid growth. Worldwide, around three million vehicles are sold each year. “It’s declining slightly,” points out Grégory Sand, co-founder of Moustache Bikes. “But on the other hand, the electric bike is selling very well. That’s the sector that’s undergoing the biggest growth. With almost 338,000 units sold, it now represents 40 percent of total bike sales.” One thing’s for sure, e-bikes have broadened the appeal of cycling. Whether you’re sporty or not, whether you live at the top of a hill or somewhere flat, riding pedal-assisted bikes has become a truly pleasurable activity. “The bicycle has also Le cycle haute couture Établie sur le créneau made progress in terms of image,” says Florent Tomasini, de l’ultraluxe, il faut trois mois à Maison an expert in bicycles who has founded his own workshop Tamboite pour fabriquer artisanalement ses in Annecy, called La Torpille. “It’s been fashionable for at least bicyclettes rétrochics. Elles sont conçues sur ten years now.” “The bicycle has gone from being a utilitarian mesure, comme des robes haute couture. La fabri- object to a status symbol,” adds Audrey Lefort, president of cation est implantée à Paris, dans un atelier au Coleen. It was partly the fashion for fixies that shifted perceptions. fond d’une cour, près de la place de la Bastille. These stripped-down bikes made themselves at home in the urban Pour définir la meilleure position au guidon, la loft. The bicycle has gradually morphed into the ultimate design morphologie du futur propriétaire est décryptée object, going so far, when fitted with a motor, as to having its et auscultée comme chez un tailleur. Elle va influer batteries tucked away in a leather pouch under the seat. directement sur la forme finale du cadre. Les finitions sont plus que soignées, avec selle en Electric effect Taking advantage of the aura of these stylish new buffle, guidon et câbles de poignée de freins mounts, which enable riders to cycle faster and farther, a number gainés de cuir… Ce vélo d’exception propose en of small French manufacturers have blossomed, making vehicles option une assistance électrique fort discrètement with or without motors, most of the time with the help of crowd- intégrée – à partir de 11 000 €. funding. These new ventures are dotted all over the country: Moustache Bikes is based in the Vosges, Coleen on the Basque The haute couture bicycle Maison Tamboite coast, Cycles Victoire in the Auvergne, La Torpille in Annecy and occupies the high-end luxury niche. It takes the LaFraise Cycles in Roubaix. As for Le Vélo, Mad In France, company three months to craft its elegant retro it assembles machines in Machecoul, south of Nantes, while the bikes by hand. They are made to measure, in a Pari- workshop of Maison Tamboite is bravely attempting the unthink- sian workshop located at the back of a courtyard able by assembling its little gems in Paris, not far from Bastille. near Place de la Bastille. To determine the best posi- tion for the rider, the future owner’s body shape is The French touch These small businesses that have appeared analyzed and examined as if by a tailor. This directly recently are not revolutionizing buying practices in France, how- influences the frame’s final shape. The finishes are ever. “Most of the electric bicycles sold in France are still made exquisitely crafted, with buffalo hide saddle, and abroad,” points out Tomasini. These newcomers are aiming at handlebar grips and brake cables clad in leather. the top end of the market, and even the luxury sector, often with This exceptional bicycle is available with a very artisanal designs that are turned out at the rate of no more than discreet built-in electric motor. From €11,000. several hundred each year. Moustache Bikes, with its 28,000 bikes sold in 2018 (up 30 percent), is unusual in this respect, and half of these are exported. In 2019, 45,000 bicycles are expected to come out of the workshop in Golbey, in the Vosges. Although Moustache Bikes admits to buying its frames in Taiwan, By comparison, the output of Le Vélo, Mad In France, with its the design, R&D, conception and assembly are done in-house, and anticipated 1,000 bikes this year, seems very modest,as many parts as possible are made in France. “As soon as we can and even more so the dozen or so made by Tomasini each year. handle an operation ourselves, we do so. By 2020, we should have a machine for making wheels and a paint spray booth.” A change of gear The “made in France” label is still poorly Of course, there’s a cost to making a bicycle in France. But Audrey defined for bicycle manufacturers, while the “Swiss-made” desig- Lefort points out that things are not so simple: “Working with nation, so common in watchmaking, appears to be much better foreign suppliers is not always easy. There can be unpleasant sur- structured. For Frédéric Jastrzebski of Maison Tamboite, it’s prises. When you receive a batch of defective parts, it is more important to distinguish between bicycles that are simply assem- awkward to return them and get a refund from a Chinese supplier bled in France and those that are genuinely manufactured in the than with a company 10 kilometers away from your workshop.” country. “The former are, for the most part, put together with Indeed, working with local partners makes it possible to constantly parts manufactured in Asia, like big construction toys. The latter, improve both manufacturing processes and product quality. on the other hand, are built from raw materials directly trans- So whether it’s for cruising down wide boulevards or along formed by the bicycle makers or by regional subcontractors.” country lanes, you can enjoy ever more beautiful French bicycles. 88 tellieT tîoneB ©