Jean-Frédéric wanted a light and strong bicycle to ride on the Sancy volcanoes. He came to our workshop for a bike fitting and by chance it was the day of n°397 Jean-Philippe's Victoire delivery. Jean-Frédéric liked this bike so much that we decided to do big changes on his upcoming bike set-up.

His bike is a pure sportive road bike, and we spent a lot of thinking on the technical and aesthetic details.

Jean-Frédéric's frame was made from stainless steel, XCr tubing. XCr is by far the most exclusive tubing series on the Columbus catalog. The exclusive and unique characteristic for the whole bike industry of the new Columbus XCr set is that the stainless steel tubes are seamless, made starting from a solid billet, machine-perforated and cold drawn countless times, to obtain the final required thickness. This way the very high mechanical characteristics are uniform and constant in the whole round section of the tube. Thanks to the special chemical composition of this new alloy, the grain structure is not altered by welding during the frame construction. The maximum characteristics are granted also in the joint areas.

Like most of the Victoire bicycles, the routing of the cables are made internally. This step requires a lof of work and care from the frame builder : during this operation, he will braze into the main tubing some really thin ones that will route the different cables from one end to the other, and cancel every noise possible.

The seatpost clamp, almost invisible, adds a lot to the aesthetic of the bike. Since you cannot see any bolt when you look at the bicycle drive side, you obtain a clean and pure look, while keeping strength and functionality.

At first, Jean-Frédéric wanted a white, immaculate bicycle. Then he changed his mind during the bike fitting. As a fan of the american spirit, the 50's look, and the Indian Chief motorbike, Jean-Frédéric gave us a big challenge but also let us a lot of freedom. The main idea was to evoke the motorcycle with the paint scheme. We suggested a reminder of the American suede on the Indian's luggages, using the saddle and the handlebar tape.

The main colors are glossy, non-metallic and inspired by the Indian chief Vintage colors. The gold used to fill the gap between the green and white is metallic, with a lot of small sparkles, and really enhances the whole paint job. The shape found on the top and down tube reminds of the motorcycle tank.

Jean-Frédéric's racer has a Campagnolo Super record EPS group with 12 speeds. All made in Europe, this group is the current reference in weight/efficiency rate. Winner of several Tour de France, it was the first 12 speeds group in the world.

Jean-Frédéric's Victoire has 100% french wheels: The Mavic rims where laced in our workshop, the tires are FMB. Hubs are also from Mavic, one of our special partner.

Handlebar, seat tube and stem are Enve. Julien painted the stem matching the colors of the bike.

I chose Victoire :

because they make bicycles that I would like to have myself, the bikes are beautiful, and also I like to encourage local French business, especially the one next door.

Even if I am not a champion I need a good bicycle, a light and reliable bike. I often ride by myself, without any assistant, sometimes for more than 200 km. Except for the inevitable flat tyre, the bike can not have any problem. Reliability and sustainability are crucial points for me.

My favorite bike (which I rode the most when I was 20 years old.) was alloy, with no speedometer, leather saddle.. It was confortable and light, and made in Saint-Etienne (Manufrance) not far from my home. 

I wanted a bike which reminded me of it. But I also wanted a nice bike, Thant I would be proud of, with a retro look. The difficulty on this one was to give the aspect of a restored vintage bike but when you look closer, the connoisseur sees the work behind it and the components.