Grégoire's veined arrow
Grégoire is a frame builder here at Victoire. He practices triathlon and gravel bike championships. He wanted a bike that would fit perfectly with his practice and esthetic wishes. Therefore, he created for himself a very powerful gravel bike, efficient enough to bring it to the gravel bike World Cup. Grégoire also wanted this bike to be able to change into a bike packing bike, to go on bike trips with his girlfriend who has a Distance. Inspired from Victoire 491 de Julien, this bike geometry was designed with these criteria.
Just like its big brother, le Victoire 491, Grégoire's bike is made from hydro formed tubes which provides a nervous pedal force. The important drop offers a sportive geometry, perfect for competition.
Sheaths and hoses run through the frame, just like almost every Victoire. Protection strips brazed with stainless steel onto the head tube prevent the paint from friction damages. This head tube is 44 mm standard so it fits the modern carbon forks with tapered head..
As always at Victoire, every element in contact with mechanical parts are in stainless steel : COUPELLES DE DIRECTION, bottom bracket, seat clamp, internal cable, dropout and even the PLOTS DE FIXATION flatmount standard's rear brakes. This contact area is then polished by hand to ensure a perfect mounting and setting, and to prevent from paint damage.
This sportive and clean looking bike was designed to evolve with his owner's practice. Grégoire decided to add some bindings on the rear triangle to be able to carry a light rack, inspired by the one on Victoire 491. The fork is equipped with eyes for easy retrofitting of minimalist custom carriers. Grégoire also went for some holes for internal cable for lighting solutions option if he ever need a hub dynamo connection for his long rides.
Grégoire chose the Campagnolo Ekar group, the lightest gravel group that exists, with a large transmission range to be able to ride everywhere. Eco-conscious and interested in sustainable development, Grégoire didn't want any electronic features on his bike. The Ekar group, made in Europe, will give him liability and efficiency while respecting his convictions.
In order to control his bike's pace during a competition, Grégoire can count on his Campagnolo brakes, known to be the most reliable road brakes. He chose to ride with 160mm disc on the front and 140 on the back.
Again going with Campagnolo, Grégoire chose the new Levante wheels. These wheels, designed for gravel are light, wide and have a significant internal duct. The extra air volume created by the wide gap between the brackets offers an important confort, as well as a speed and durability gain. Crucial criteria for,Grégoire.
Their clean and sleek finish goes very well with the Ekar group, for which they were designed by the Italian brand.
Gregoire chose every component (handlebar, stem, seat post, fork) from the american brand Whisky. The relationship between Victoire and Whisky has developed at Chris King Open House in 2019 where we presented Victoire 417 de Xavier. Since then, we work regularly with this brand who sells good quality components know for their light weight, reliability and simplicity.
We wanted to blend these components with the rest of the frame so the stem was painted in our workshop with the same color as the bike.
Regarding the paint job, Grégoire gave all freedom to Julien, Victoire's founder. His only wishes were : some green, some gold, some chestnut leaves, reference to his origins from Ardèche. This paint job took thirty hours to make.
This metallic base is composed of two colors : dark green on the front and gold yellow on the back.
Onto this bicolor metallic base was painted a chestnut leaves camo pattern. Each leaf of this vegetal mesh has a different size, shape and vein, to avoid a repetitive pattern look.
A varnish coat has been applied onto the painted leaves to set them and make a very strong paint. This varnish was then matted before painting logos with the same gold color as the back, for a nice balanced look.
Over the logos, there are two coats of varnish with different sizes of sparkles. A last top coat was added on top before manual polishing and buffing.
My case is different from an usual client because except for the paint job, I made this project myself (design, frame building, mounting). So I was able to discover the bike step by step. The real surprise was the paint job. Even if the aesthetic choices were defined with Julien, I was still unsure about the end result, and it was well beyond my expectations !
After the first ride, I am very happy with the sensations ! The bike is very responsive on acceleration. I found it very efficient downhill, very easy handling with the hands at the bottom of the handlebar, but also reliable and comfortable. Delightful !
If you come and visit us, you most definitely see te n°521. You are more than welcome and Grégoire will be happy to show you around our workshop and showroom and explain our savoir-faire. But you might see his bike somewhere in massif du Sancy !
Grégoire ended 25th out of 200 competitors for the gravel world cup in Millau ! Lined up with road and MTB professional.
