Alexandre's All Trails bike
Alexandre is one of Victoire's neighbors. When the project of buying a new bike began to take shape, he contacted us directly, seduced by our working methods and our commitment to making durable and unique bikes. We worked with him to design the Victoire n°575, which will take him on all the trails of our beautiful region, and even further afield. We present it to you below.
Alexandre wanted a versatile bike that could handle all types of terrain. He wanted to be able to expand his playground and move seamlessly from gravel to long-distance. His future bike had to be both pleasant to ride, to avoid as much as possible the muscular fatigue associated with long outings, but also maneuverable and stable enough to descend the many puys of the Auvergne at good speed.
Comfort, versatility and stability were our objectives for this new project.
The steel frames we manufacture at Victoire offer cyclists a high level of comfort, even on rough roads. The elasticity of this material helps absorb irregularities, while maintaining good pedaling dynamics.
To keep the bike streamlined, we've integrated the seat clamp directly into the seat stays, an option our customers often choose. In addition, the cable routing is internal, bypassing the bottom bracket in a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and practical.
For night rides and long distances, it's essential to have lighting, ideally dynamo-powered. Alexandre's Victoire features a SON front hub, which powers a Sinewave Beacon 2 at the front, and a light directly integrated into the frame for the rear. We developed this option for the Concours de Machine 2022 on Victoire n°519. It protects the light perfectly from being torn out or damaged by a low-hanging branch or root.
For the groupset, what better than a Campagnolo Ekar GT, another success story from the transalpine cycle industry. Perfectly suited to Gravel, this one-by groupset is the evolution of the Campagnolo Ekar, released in 2019. This new, more accessible version improves on a number of key points:
- The cassette can now be fitted with a 48-tooth sprocket, particularly useful when the gradient increases during off-road use.
- The shifters have also been modified to improve ergonomics.
Alexandre's machine is equipped with an Ingrid crankset, a small Italian company that makes efficient components with sublime aesthetics. Entirely machined in Italy, these exceptional cranks also offer substantial weight savings compared to Campagnolo cranks.
When it comes to luggage, panniers made by our friends at What Happened in Slovenia allow Alexandre to carry everything he needs for his outings.
Thus equipped, Victoire n°575 can easily evolve from a pure gravel bike to the ideal mount for ultra-endurance racing, simply by changing wheels.
Alexandre's painting brief was very clear: he wanted the color to evoke his favorite whisky: a 16-year-old Lagavulin.
We applied Candy paint to the frame. This is a technique well known to American custom car enthusiasts. It consists of applying a coloured varnish over a metallic grey undercoat. The result is a color with great depth, reminiscent of distilled liquid.
Fascinated by Japan, Alexandre wanted an extra detail to link both his passion and his region, Auvergne. With this in mind, we designed a custom logo for him featuring the Puy-de-Dôme, stylized in the Japanese style as seen on many prints of Mount Fuji. The entire design was airbrushed by Max, one of our two painters. With its sober appearance, the painting of Alexandre's Victory is certainly unique.
Thanks to these two pairs of wheels, Alexandre has two bikes in one:
- The gravel wheelset features aluminum rims from Mavic, and 700*45mm Hutchinson Tundra knobbed tires.
- The second pair will be used mainly on roads and during long-distance events. The width of the tires is more narrow at 36mm, but still offering excellent comfort. The carbon rims, made in Germany, have a high profile for easy cadence on Audax Brevets or France Diagonales. The cassette is also adapted, with sprockets ranging from 9 to 42 teeth, compared with 10/48 on the gravel wheel.
My first impression was that it was aesthetically magnificent and, above all, that it matched the image I had of it in relation to the specifications. The paintwork is superb and the work on the logo is extremely fine. After a few weeks of use, I've had very positive feedback. The bike is a pleasure to ride on any terrain. The headset is very playful and makes me feel at ease.
My favorite detail is undoubtedly the logo, which for me symbolizes the customization of this handcrafted bike. The custom-made panniers with this capacity are also a novelty for me, and so far they've been a real plus in terms of practicality, especially in these wintry months, when it comes to clothes and accessories that are necessary on the downhill but cumbersome on the uphill.
