Cyclopast

19/12/2025

It had been a very long time since I'd bought a complete bike. I also haven't often had the opportunity to buy a handcrafted bike, and I think my professional year in 2024 will have definitively turned me away from modern handcrafted bikes, as the prices sometimes don't reflect the durability of bikes compare to those made before 1990. And then there are the egos of some bike manufacturers. Anyway.

Last year, probably after talking with someone I greatly admire, I realized that a bike is a complete package, and a handcrafted bike even more so. You acquire a project, a thought process, a work process; you support the lifestyle of a craftsman or a team you admire and love. It's not just a frame, but also a geometry, the artisan's interpretation of your desires and needs, the result of a collaboration. You're buying a selection of components and a wheel build, as well as attention to detail and, finally, ongoing support for your bike over the years. Also, I still have time to change my mind; chasing after bare frames to assemble seems less relevant now when it comes to buying a handcrafted bike: Singer, Dejouannet, Michel, Carré, Urago, Chiron, Doléac, and so on.

With this in mind, I wanted to make as few modifications as possible to this Bernard Carré, which I was able to acquire thanks to a network of people who share my vision of cycling. La Bardouille, Octave from Paris, whom I first met at the 2025 Singer Rally without really getting to know each other, then again at the Cezanne Rally, and even shared a delicious meal with a mutual friend, Olivier Csuka, followed by kilometers on the Gabriel Refait loop.

An alert on Le Bon Coin. A very attractive price of €180. An extremely friendly seller. And above all, Octave, quick to help me, to give me, a little enthusiast, a boost in acquiring this beautiful size 56 bike. Octave went to Fontainebleau, picked up the bike, and then took it to Marseille a few weeks later. I rode it for a few kilometers before giving it a little makeover, but so little as the bike was in such good condition. I added a touch of color with pink and sky blue cotton bar tape, installed Japanese-style (Ninja Maki), Nissen cable housing, Dia Compe brake levers, and two pairs of Kool Stop brake pads. No real need for anything more, the rest is like new. I'm also swapping in a pair of clincher wheels I had on my previous bike.

The bike is extremely pleasant, easy to ride in high gears, generously stiff when standing up without being too stiff on rougher sections of road. The riding position is intentionally aerodynamic, with a 560mm frame and a 110mm stem. You move around on the saddle to adjust your position according to the effort required, and the 415mm handlebars don't offer too many surprises in terms of available positions. While the current trend is for seatposts as high as the Eiffel Tower, this Bernard Carré offers a traditional design and, in my opinion, a more mechanically sound one: a 565mm seat tube for a seat height of 730mm in center, resulting in a 165mm seatpost (tube/rails/saddle). You'll notice that before the 1990s, commercially available seatposts were generally close to 180 mm. I'm curious to know what motivates manufacturers to release seatposts today that are close to 350, or even 400 mm. As for the rest, I note a bottom bracket height of 280 mm and a wheelbase (center to center) of 995 mm. I have no opinion on these measurements, but I'm noting them for potential future comparisons. I would have liked to measure the head tube and seat tube angles, but I don't know how; if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. One small flaw to note: the rear brake bridge is positioned a bit high (about 5 mm). The brake pad, therefore, sits on the upper edge of the braking surface and, after wear, risks touching the tire. I'll have to correct this by filing down the caliper where the brake pad mounting bolts pass through.

So all that remains for me is to ride this bike to appreciate and pay tribute to the work of Bernard Carré.

12/12/2025

Let's not forget the people who forged our future.

I started cycling like most people of my generation, by starting on a fixed gear. I miss those times, digging on forums or blogs to try to understand how a bicycle works, digging shops too, which were full of colorful parts, despite it being already too expensive for me. I somehow miss BLB, and I'm thankful that Nitto or Dia Compe are still doing nice, fair-priced, and colorful parts. I miss these never-ending night rides with people who may not cycle anymore.

It was so much fun. Era felt different.

Looking at these pictures & posts on https://fixedgeargirltaiwan.blogspot.com/ reminds me how time flies so fast, and how I wish I had taken more pictures of this period of my life. Because today I'm only left with blurred memories.

04/12/2025

Here is a small selection I have taken from 2020 to today, while working on Cyclopast. From Taiwan to Italy. From famous framebuilders to very discreet collectors. I have met countless people, most of them will never remember me or our encounter in a decade, but I'm proud to have collected their stories, to fix them in paragraphs for eternity.

Cyclopast is a series of books, published since 2020, focusing on traditional ( vintage, retro, steel ) bikes.

Artisans, manufacturers, travelers, collectors are all gathered in these books dedicated to people who love history and a specific bicycle culture.

These books are written, edited, and published by me ( Ernest ) and do not have any ads in them. They are printed in France but are written in English to have the widest audience possible.

They can be ordered by contacting me via email or phone.

or

They can be paid to download from Gumroad: https://cyclopast.gumroad.com/

The 2026 edition has been in preparation for a year and a half. It should be ready next spring. If I'm not too lazy.

24/11/2025

It was time.

It was time to ride a little over 100 kilometers in one go.

It was time for a beautiful day of cycling with a longtime friend.

It was time to take the time to ride this route between Toulon and Nice for the third time since September.

It was time to enjoy ourselves again under the southern French sun.

At my friend's urging, Pouf , we set off on a Toulon-Nice ride, 177 kilometers, which included, in order, the Port-Cros National Park and the famous Place de la Capte, Rayol-Comté of course, with its magnificent jagged coastline that begs for changes of pace and gear, making you want to fly, and finally the Esterel Massif with its glowing red coastline.

Nothing is to be disappointed, at least up to Cannes, and even venturing a little further to Ramatuelle and Gigaro beach allows you to extend the distance and increase the enjoyment. I guarantee you that the road to Collebasse and then the coastal road leading to Saint-Tropez are truly delightful, often free of traffic.

Of course, having acquired a Bernard Carré, this time in my size (55 cm square), it was also time for a proper test ride. Without changing anything except the wheels, I switched to clinchers; tubulars are just too old-fashioned for me. Aside from the gearing being a bit too difficult for me, Bernard Carré's work is exceptional under my legs. Acceleration is easy, the handling is precise, and the feeling on descents is serene. Great pleasure, then, on this beautiful bike, and I hope to have the opportunity to delve a little deeper into the history of this renowned manufacturer later.

19/11/2025

" This is Roland Cogotti's bicycle, which he had carefully restored and pampered. " - Patrick Moutaud.

Roland Cogotti, whom I never met, was a truly passionate spirit and a close friend of my friends Pouf and Patrick: " Roland Cogotti worked as a photographer in France and throughout Europe. His photos can be found on advertising posters, the covers of decorating magazines, and numerous catalogs. He also ventured into the world of publishing and published several books. " - cestcommelevelo.com

His Daniel Hanart Technicycle bike is the occasion to re-share a few paragraphs I wrote about Daniel Hanart in 2023.

• The story of a successful, passionate with a giant heart.

Daniel Hanart was born in the complicated end of world war two era in 1944. He quickly started work in 1959; he was only 15 years old and already began his career as an industrial boilermaker.
The same year Daniel Hanart had a license in its local cycling club: VC Pontois. This club is located in the town of Pont Saint Maxence, 60 kilometers from Paris. From 1959 to today, Daniel Hanart played an essential role in the club, accumulating 110 wins, including ten titles as a champion of Picardy ( track bike ) and two champions of Picardy titles in team pursuit cycling.

Everything started when Daniel restored the bike his dad, inspired by a rider from the VC Pontois club, who used to pass in front of his house every week. Daniel is excellent on a bicycle and started to race directly in 1959. He will need to gain experience and, after three years, win his first race. Daniel is also interested in track cycling, gathering local riders' experience, and watching world championships on TV. He won his first race in 1962. Eventually, Daniel received an offer to become a professional cyclist; unfortunately, after losing his dad, he supported his family by working. He declined the offer and continued to shine on the local scene. Finally, in 1975, he opened his bicycle shop and then, strong from his boilermaker experience, started to craft bicycles. His success as a framebuilder is evident:

1985 the hour record with Jeannie Longo.
1995 100 km record.
1998 won the French track cycling championship.

I'm currently trying to have more information about these titles.
Along with these brilliant successes, Daniel Hanart crafted numerous bikes for a wide variety of usage: "From 1990 to 2006, Daniel brought the Technicyle Paris brand to life while manufacturing more than 150 bikes for the 650 brotherhood, with shortened chainstays, and an incalculable number of track bikes, races, hikers for enthusiasts, hiker for the Porte de Vincennes Rando Cycles store, or other prototype self-service bicycles for the RATP. " - encycloduvelo.fr.

After a few years in other cycling clubs, he returned to the VC Pontois; he is very active, giving advice and following up with the people willing to train in the VC Pontois. He even became the president of this club in 1987. Recent pictures taken in March 2023 show him during a training of the VC Pontois club. Daniel never stopped to share his passion for cycling, even in 2009 when he was called back from his retirement to pursue his work as a framebuilder and share his skills and experience.

• Daniel is back from his retirement for Le Batard Custom Cycles.

In 1961, Guy Léger founded Cycles Leger. At first, the company specialized in bar turning and machining for aeronautics, electronics, and petroleum industries. But in 2009, Benoît Le Batard ( Cycles Leger and Le Batard seem to be under the same ownership now), the new owner, bought all the machines and tools from Alain Michel, another famous French framebuilder that we have presented earlier. Strong from his experience in the metal industry, he convinced Daniel Hanart to come back from his retirement to give his expertise to the newly founded Le Batard Custom Cycles. Today the company is crafting around 30 bikes per year, primarily custom-made. In 2018 the price for a complete frameset was around 1800€; it was also possible to order a complete bike with the option of using vintage components. The core value of Benoît Le Batard is clearly to bring back to France the frame-building savoir-faire, betting on high-quality steel from Italy like Columbus and Dedacciai or Japan with Tange without giving up on performances: "We only use the best in tubing, in this case Colombus or Deddaciai made in Italy, Reynolds from England or even Vitus, Amadeus, Tange... Then, our work design, assembly and welding allows us to produce frames as light (from 1 to 1.3 kg) as those in carbon, or almost. In addition to being cheaper, solid, and manufactured near France, steel has the immense merit of being recyclable, but also repairable, for only a few tens of euros." - Benoît Le Batard for lafabriquehexagonale.com. Daniel Hanart's creations are highly recognizable by their very short rear triangle and the curved seat stay. A quick look at the Le Batard Custom website witnesses this inspiration.

• La Confrèrie des 650: Daniel Hanart working on a randonneur frameset.

Daniel also crafted a bike for the famous Confrèrie des 650, an association dedicated to the passion of 650B wheels size: "Created in 1995 on the initiative of Henri Bosc, the Brotherhood of 650 intended to bring together the users of this standard which corresponded perfectly to their practice. Proof of the correctness of its analysis consisting in not abandoning a wheel diameter that has proven its effectiveness, its recent and relatively massive return by the United States (27.5 inches = 650B). In 1998, wishing to maintain the availability of semi-artisanal machines that neither manufacturers nor craftsmen wanted to ensure, the Confrérie launched into the production of its own randonneurs in a totally voluntary framework and, as a result, at an unrivaled cost. 450 "Brotherhood" machines are currently out and about in France and around the world. " - confreriedes650.org. You may already have heard about this association with our magazine, Sebastien Klein from Brevet Cycles, that we interviewed, also worked with the association, possibly around 2017, to produce a dedicated 650B touring model.

Daniel worked with the association in 2000 and worked on a dedicated frameset designed for a 650B wheelset. The frame used Vitus TXO tubes with a price set at 1677€. The groupset was a mix of Campagnolo Mirage groupset, Shimano brakes with Stronglight bites such as the crankset and the headset. According to some sources, Vitus TXO was a top-quality tube set with a 0.8 / 0.6mm gauge, similar then to the Columbus TSX, which was used for professional road racing, with a total set weight of around 1945 grams. To compare, SLX tubes set the weight of 1966 grams ( source: millfieldvelo.com.au )

• A legendary framebuilder that gathers passionate people.

Today Hanart's bikes are still very looking for. There are also great subjects of discussion. The forum Pignolefixe which gathers an impressive number of French collectors, has a total of 174 posts mentioning Hanart's work in less than three years.

As we said earlier, Daniel is still an active member of the VC Pontois club, where he advises the riders but also follows them during training or in local races. Moreover, he is swift to answer on social networks, which is an absolute pleasure when you have questions about his work.

These frames are still precious; currently, on LeBonCoin, there is one Hanart selling for 1200€. You can also find two Technicycle. On the contrary, it seems that Ebay doesn't host any frame from Daniel Hanart.

Photos source:

Patrick Moutaud from Briko-Bike

Sources:

https://encycloduvelo.fr/technicycle/
https://www.thespoken.cc/heritage-paris-007
https://confreriedes650.org/les.../790-2/evolution-2/
https://www.classicrendezvous.com/France/Vitus_history.htm

07/11/2025

While trying to write something on André Sablière I spent numerous hours with Matthieu Pelardy. As usual, it is a deep conversation revolving around bicycles, André Sablière's name obviously, but not only, as Matthieu is really a man of culture when we hit the subject of cycling. Today, again, he makes me discover the name of Roger Roche, another "forgotten name " of the French cycling industry, despite his obvious talent for manufacturing memorable and groundbreaking bicycles.

The example below speaks for itself: " Roger Roche was a small craftsman settled in Saint-Etienne (France) during the 70's and early 80's who only built high-end road frames. He became famous as a technical advisor for the Vitus 979 Duralinox frame. The bike shown has a special seat tube and very short chain stays: 385 mm. All internal brake and gear cables. 8.36 kg as on the picture. " - Jack_Brown

As I often said, Cyclopast tries to focus on little-known framebuilder, or people who participated in the cycling scene from the beginning of cycling to the XXI century. The task is monstrous, life is short, and I will undoubtedly never be able to cover everything. But I really hope to be able to highlight all these small manufacturers who may be forgotten today, as we often speak of the same eternal names, such as Bianchi, Colnago, DeRosa, Peugeot, Gitane, and so on.

This Roger Roche from 1981 has been completed, and a photoshoot was 8 years ago; if the owner still has it, I will be very happy to hear his story.

Big thank you to Jack Brown aka W***y Lee for sharing this content on Flickr ( https://www.flickr.com/photos/jbakawylee/ ) he also has a beautiful Urago from 1967 by the way !

13/10/2025

Here are some catch following my research on Marcel Dejouannet.

1 - Dejouannet's tandem during the salon SF (?) 1986.

2 - Concours des remorques 1940, mentioned by Dejouannet during his life in Paris.

2 - Charles Lacquehay won the Polymultiplié in 1923, Marcel and Martial will craft their first bicycle and work in Sèvres until 1959, before buying Charles Lacquehay's concession in Bressuire.

4 - Francis Duteil was the road cycling amateur champion in 1976 and 1979; he racked up an impressive 255 wins from 1962 to 1989. Here is a photo of him during the National Championships of France - Road Race in 1982.

07/10/2025

I really love to explore the less crowded places of our cycling history. I believe that Dejouannet's name, which has once shone, may have been a bit forgotten. So when I realised that through small connections I could write a little something on him, 30 years after he stopped crafting bikes, I shook my network to see what I could find.

I started locally with a friend ( Marc Ouvrard ) of mine, who led me to Alain Famelard. At the same time, I asked Olivier Cuska from Alex Singer, and he gave me several email addresses that allow me to gather, with Alain Famelard, various little details. But this is when I learnt that Dejouannet had two daughters, and that the research took a new turn. A turn that led me somehow to Captain Gerard, who noticed that Dejouannet's daughter was on Facebook. I finally came in contact with her,and she kindly agreed to send me the documents she had on his father and grandfather.

Here we are now with a good volume of newspaper extracts, a few anecdotes from different people all over France, and the Gallica BnF to explore with keywords such as Dejouannet or Grand Couturier du Cycle.

Apparently, a French pastry chef who had ( or still has) a bakery in New York, ordered two Dejouannet during his life. Maybe some of you have already heard about this person. Also, Dejouannet manufactured a few bicycles for the US. Maybe you heard or saw something?

This story will be readable in the next Cyclopast (probably spring 2026).

05/10/2025

This is what we live for.

To forget reality for a weekend. To meet around a shared passion. To share miles and never say goodbye. I'm starting to believe that the traditional cycling scene is very close, this small core group that I meet again and again, from Paris to Marseille, on a Singer rally or on a Cezanne.

There are the old-school athletes, the poets of the miles, the passionate collectors, the ingenious craftsmen, and the lovers of beautiful stories.

I belong to this last category: knowing without owning, detaching oneself from equipment to embrace knowledge. A knowledge that I crystallize in my Cyclopast magazine, and God knows, a weekend like this is rich.

So, simply, thank you to Gabriel, Clara, the Refait family, Martinez, and Negrel.

Then to everyone I met and especially to the Singer team with whom I spent a sumptuous weekend on the bike or around a good beer.

An article on this event will be available in the next Cyclopast Book. ( 2026 probably ;) )

25/09/2025

A French article ( that you can translate into English ) which tries to explain why the vintage cycling market is down. For some, business owners mostly, it will be devastating, but for people like you and me, it may be the beginning of a more affordable period.

Since I started my magazine in 2020, I have seen countless businesses related to vintage cycling close down: shoe manufacturers, framebuilder, apparel brands, but also events. These were the early signs of a sick market, which reached its peak.

Le Bon Coin is still a fabulous source for French people, if you have the expertise, obviously. It is clear also that bikes were overpriced Peugeot PX10 or Vitus are the best examples, paying 350 or 450€ when an Alain Michel, or a Benard Carré could have the same price is kind of illogical in my opinion.

Anyway, this is probably a new chapter for the market now. A healthier one, I guess. Greed is gone, or at least as move to another niche, and the lack of profitability will also clean the niche of all the opportunists; only the truly passionate will stay.

Très (trop ?) florissant au début de la décennie, le marché du vélo vintage connaît un énorme retour de manivelle. Un effondrement aux multiples causes. Explications.

12/09/2025

I was able to find some interesting excerpts via Gallica relating to Alex Singer's participation in the 1939 Grand Prix Duralumin.

He really made an impression with a 12.975 kg tandem piloted by the Lechevalier couple.

In addition to this tandem, there was another tandem in the prototype category, that of the Singer couple, which weighed 13.270 kg, and two other tandems in the regular production category (I don't know the difference between the regular production and prototype categories, although I imagine I have an idea). These two regular production tandems were piloted by the Delloup and Lagnaux couple.

The four tandems finished this four-day event without a single mishap. If you have time to read the full articles, which span from August 13, 1939, to August 17, 1939, you will see that there were many abandonments, raising the question of the welding method, as one journalist put it.

Here is the link to the Auto-Vélo newspaper from August 13, 1939. The stories are on pages 1 and 4. Then, simply scroll to pages 14, 15, 16, and 17: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4635569b

Here are some selected excerpts with photos.

Yes, I know it is in French, that's why my Cyclopast Magazine is in Englis,h but take a bit of time to be crafted :)

09/09/2025

Currently preparing the next Cyclopast Volume 5. This serie of books started in 2020 focus on vintage cycling with some digressions to the modern world when someone or something worth it.

Here is a batch of documents captured during our research on the technical trial, the Groupe Montagnard Parisien and Cycles Alex Singer. Source: Gallica.

Photo 3 text:

"The cycle tour organized from August 19 to September 3. [...] Alex Singer will launch a formidable trio of cyclosportives: HEZEAU - S**A - LAGNEAUX."

[...]

"I'm no longer young enough to play captain [said Alex Singer]. If I'm taking the start, it's to stay true to my usual approach. I believe I'm closer to my men by starting important events with them.

None of them can rebel when the needs of the event force me to give advice, advice that isn't always accepted with a smile when the person giving it is following in a car.

This method has worked very well for me, and for the Tour Cyclotouriste, I didn't want to change it."

Thus, the Levallois-based manufacturer took with it two other tough guys—in his own words—Marcel le Baron and Jean Burchielli. All three will have no other ambition than to launch an attack against the formidable trio of Raymond Hezeau, Ernest Csuka, and Albert Lagneaux.

These three men, aged 31, 22, and 38 respectively, are excellent cyclists who have already distinguished themselves numerous times in all cyclosportive events. [...]

"One more reason," concludes Alex Singer, for them to give it their all with the utmost determination to do well. "They should put in a very strong performance, but they will be keeping a particularly close eye on the "Hugonnier - Routens" team, which will be, in my opinion, one of the most formidable [...]" - L'Aurore: organ of the Republican Resistance, August 7, 1950 via Gallica.

Volume 3 still available in paper version.