Julien’s Tireless
A fan of endurance races and multi-day adventures, Julien contacted us to build his next ride. Together, we designed a machine to suit his needs: ready for going far, fast, and for a long time—whether racing or taking it slow. Here, we present Victoire n°581, an endurance bike on which its owner will hardly ever feel tired.
For long rides lasting several days, the most important factor is the bike’s comfort. What’s more, the bike will often be loaded so that Julien can be self-sufficient for several days, carrying everything needed for riding day or night, come rain or shine.
We also designed the bike so that it could be used as an agile, responsive gravel bike. Here, we present the technical choices we made.
The frame geometry reflects our take on a hybrid gravel and long-distance machine, similar to our Distance 45 model. Of course, for Julien’s build, the exact geometry is fully custom after a day-long bike fit at our Clermont-Ferrand showroom.
The tubes used for the frame are Colombus Life, made from Omnicrom steel, an alloy developed specifically by Columbus. However, as with all our frames, the tube junctions are in stainless steel: the bottom bracket, rear dropouts, and head tube reinforcements. By doing so, we eliminate a potential source of corrosion, making our bikes as durable as possible.
To carry everything needed for endurance races of over 1,000 kilometres, Julien’s bike is equipped with a rack system entirely designed and handmade in our Beaumont workshop, in Auvergne. You might already have seen this solution on other Victoire bikes, such as the Victoire no.491 belonging to Julien, the founder of Victoire.
These front and rear racks allow you to carry all you need to be completely independent for several days. Our bikepacking experience in our beautiful hilly region, as well as across France and Europe, guided us in this design. Climbing a hill with a loaded bike often means riding out of the saddle and swinging the bike from side to side. Our racks are specially designed not to interfere with these movements: there’s no need to avoid hills—so long as your legs last, you can tackle any terrain.
Another advantage: the rack structure is very lightweight, compact, and quick to remove. Stripped of its bags, Julien’s Victoire turns into an agile gravel bike.
In addition to the racks for panniers, we equipped the frame with WhatHappened bags, handmade in Slovenia. These small bags let Julien store snacks, tools, a light jacket, or anything else he might need quickly during a ride.
On multi-day rides, keeping electronic devices (GPS, phone, torch for camping) charged is crucial and can often be stressful. Julien’s bike is fitted with a SON dynamo, which lets him recharge all his devices during the day.
The dynamo also powers the front and rear lights, so you can ride by day or night. The rear light is directly integrated into the frame—a feature you might have seen on previous Victoire n°575, n°566, n°537 and n°519 models. Placed this way, the light remains clearly visible regardless of the bike’s load, and it’s protected from being knocked off by low branches or roots.
Julien’s bike is fitted with the Campagnolo Ekar GT groupset, one of our favourite single-chainring, do-it-all transmissions. The single-chainring setup makes maintenance easier while still offering gear range for any terrain, whether bikepacking or gravel riding.
We chose an Ingrid crankset for its robustness and its unique aesthetics. The honeycomb structure was originally developed to lighten the crank arms and now forms part of this Italian manufacturer’s distinctive look.
For the paint job, Julien decided to trust us and went for a "surprise" finish. From just a few hints, our team was free to express their artistic ideas. This option lets us offer exceptional paintwork at a lower price than a fully custom specification.
Julien wanted to be surprised, with paintwork evoking the Pyrenees mountains, and a yellow shade similar to that on Morby, the founder of Victoire’s mountain bike.
We chose three colour gradients: "Morby yellow" for the sky, the silhouette of the Pyrenees in pink, and finally the green forests. Each colour layer features a gentle blend, which gives the whole look vibrancy and life. The sharp-eyed might even spot the true outline of several Pyrenean peaks!
Finally, the Enve logos on the fork and Victoire on the down tube are partly blended into the forests, a visual effect that adds depth to the paintwork.
After a few weeks and over 1,000 kilometres, Julien had the chance to try out his Victoire in both bikepacking and gravel configurations. He honoured us by sharing his impressions.
The comfort is just insane! I feel like it’s even comfier than my carbon Gravel with 45mm tyres. The Enve wheels are really pleasant and make the bike very stable. The weight distribution is great—you’re perfectly positioned on it. The rear panniers disappear straight away thanks to your removable rack system. There’s no wobble from side to side when you ride out of the saddle.
Now, in the lighter setup or when the bike is stripped down and you want to push hard on a short (80km) ride, it responds really well—even though it’s a bit heavier than a pure road bike. It’s still as nimble as you’d want and is really a pleasure to ride. It’s an amazing compromise between a range of riding styles.
