Jean-Louis's wishes were similar to those of his brother François. He wanted a touring bike in the spirit of those used by cycle tourists in the 20th century to cross France. Like his brother, he requested that all the fixings on his bike be attached using dropouts added to the frame and fork. We usually use brazed-on eyelets on our bikes, which makes the pair Victoire n°568 and n°569 unique!

As with his brother, he wanted to benefit from modern materials or components whenever possible. So, we approached this project as a marriage of vintage feeling and modernity.

In keeping with the long tradition of the grand touring bikes of his illustrious forebears (René Herse, Jo Routens, Alex Singer), the frame and fork of Jean-Louis's Victoire are steel. This material allows for good absorption of road irregularities and is just as appropriate for use on a bike today as it was 100 years ago.

A few modern touches, however, allow the frame to be quickly dated. The rear light is directly integrated into the frame dropout, a protection method we developed for the Concours de Machine 2022 (during which we won the best craftsmanship award).

The mudguards are carbon, a resolutely modern material. To prevent any rattling noise, they are attached with a small leather eyelet: this brings a vintage touch, while being very effective.

A few elements differentiate Jean-Louis's bike from his brother's. In addition to the integrated rear light, he opted for a reflector positioned on the rear mudguard. He also chose a saddle with vintage aesthetics, a model from Selle Idéale.

The light blue hue chosen by Jean-Louis evokes the metallic colour of René Herse touring bikes of yesteryear. While François was inspired by Jo Routens, it's his predecessor from Levallois who has Jean-Louis's favour.

The rear rack is also different from the pannier rack on François's bike. Jean-Louis's is minimalist and suitable for carrying two side panniers.

The three bottle cages will make it possible to go far without worrying about when the next resupply is, or to take a small tool kit in one of the three bottles.

The drivetrain is decidedly modern and similar to his brother's. The Campagnolo Ekar groupset is perfectly suited for a touring bike: easy to use thanks to its single chainring, and extremely efficient (so much so that we also fit it on full road bikes!). And its disc brakes are among the smoothest we know, even if a little anachronistic on a touring bike.

The Ingrid crankset completes the build, providing a more vintage look than the original Ekar crankset.

As with his brother's bike, we've chosen a White Industries headset, whose finesse wonderfully matches the look of this post-modern touring bike.

To finish off this marriage of modernity and classicism, Loup Loup Pass tyres from René Herse and a Berthoud bag were obvious choices.

Jean-Louis came to collect his bike from our workshop in Beaumont with his brother, who had inspired his project.

We wish them many enjoyable rides at the handlebars of these two tributes to the framebuilders of old, to which we've tried to bring our own touch of modernity and originality!

The unveiling of the bike in the workshop began with a long, silent appreciation of all the precise details, recognising all the finer points discussed over many months beforehand.

Then I allowed myself to examine the whole bike, the construction details by Marco, and the smoothness of the paint and varnish finish.

The blue-grey of the frame works perfectly, having been chosen to make a nod to the colours of Herse or Singer frames—and in my view, it works very well.