Romain's playful cruiser
Romain already owned a road racing bike, so he asked us to build a bicycle that would allow him to ride both on and off-road. So together we designed a machine with a modern and comfortable geometry, without any limits to the kind of terrain it can deal with.
This gravel bike is built with 650B wheels. This choice was made based on Romain's size. The modern geometry, with slack angles and short stem, was designed to fit its owner perfectly.
When choosing the materials we were going to use to craft this bike intended for off-road use, we had to main goals : sportiness and comfort. The front triangle is made of Columbus Life tubing, while the rear triangle comes from the MTB range of the same brand. This allowed us to clear tires up to 2.1" wide.
The head tube on Romain's bike measures 44mm, which makes it compatible with the Columbus Cross fork, featuring a 1.5" tapered steerer tube.
The seat tube measures 28,6mm. It is designed for a 27,2mm seatpost, which allows more flex, and therefore adds comfort.
The bottom bracket shell is a T47 standard. Increasing the diameter of the BB shell leads to increased frame stiffness, in an area where it contributes to better performance under acceleration.
For components, Romain opted for a beautiful and very limited edition by Chris King: Bourbon color. This is the fourth Victoire bike equipped with those collector components of proven quality, featuring a lifetime warranty.
The Chris King R45 hubs are the disc, centerlock version. The rear hub features a XDr freehub body, which allowed the use of a Sram 10-42T cassette.
The frame is made in France, and most of the components come from the United States: Chris King, Thomson and Enve. The G27 rims provide two major advantages: they come with a lifetime warranty (which is well-suited to our philosophy of offering durable designs) and they weigh only 320g.
The Chris King Threadfit 30x bottom bracket houses a crankset from yet another American brand: White Industries. Romain rightfully opted for a polished aluminum finish, as unlike other colors it will not wear out with shoe rub and mud (a common problem on bikes used off-road). The polished crankset also echoes the paintwork on the rear triangle.
Like all Victoire bikes featuring our new brand identity, #459 was painted at our shop. Romain wanted something subtle and slightly iridescent. So we created a progressive triple fade, going from an intense blue to a very light gray-blue. This last color was also used for the logos, and all three colors were chosen to complement the bourbon finish of the Chris King components. The paint received two layers of clear coat, and was then polished carefully in order to obtain a high gloss finish.
Here is what Romain has to say about the bike, after riding it for 500 km:
«The original idea was to design a machine for adventure, capable not only of cruising on American-style dirt roads, but also of riding the singletracks of the Chaîne des Puys and crossing unpaved Alpine passes. Another key aspect of my project was local manufacturing (I grew up less than a kilometer from the Victoire shop). This reflects exceptional know-how, and the components picked for this build are consistent with this approach, as they are all crafted in small batches (CK, Enve, White Industries…), as opposed to the ubiquitous fast-fashion within the bike industry.»
«Visually, the bike is superb…And after riding 500km in three weeks, I realize that it feels like no other bike I have ridden before. This bicycle matches all the specifications I gave Victoire, and more importantly it matches what I had in mind for this project: a bike that rides like a magic carpet, ready for adventure and comfortable everywhere, including when the pavement ends.»
«Regarding the paint, I was inspired by the Victoire bike showcased at the Chris King Open House last year, which also featured a fade. The final choice of colors is a tribute to those of the sky above the Chaine des Puys, during the summer time..»
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