Welcome to The Velo Collective
The definitive resource for vintage French bikes.
1980’s Jacques Anquetil – Worth it?
The Anquetil Name I'm surprised that Jacques Anquetil never produced a high end series of road bikes after all his successes as a rider. It seems like multiple French brands built bikes boasting the Anquetil name on the frame, but these bikes were produced for...
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A Cursed Bertin with Columbus Tubing
A White Groupset This is a bit of a Champagne bike to me. Not only is it the colour of pink Champagne, which is a great shade, but it is rather flashy build with its white groupset. White groupsets must be great when you first buy a bike, but over time the finish...
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The Search For Monsieur Treboutte
The Colour Purple This is one of the most striking frame sets I've ever come across. Not because of any special features, like really ornate lugs, or unusually shaped tubes, but just because of its colour. Absolute gorgeous purple. Have you ever seen a more purple...
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Carlton Pro Am 12 v Peugeot PFN 10
Well Matched Why make a comparison between these two bikes? Well, because I owned both of them, and I think it's an interesting look at two bikes that were quite evenly matched in the early 1980's. The Carlton Pro Am was a 12 speed, mid-range racer made in...
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Video: Restoring and Installing a Bent Campagnolo Valentino Rear Derailleur
Video The Repair What seems to work on a bike stand may not always work when on the road, and this was exactly the case here. I thought I had trimmed the lo screw accurately enough so the chain could be on the lowest cog without hitting the spokes, but it...
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How it Turned Out: Restoring the Claud Butler Electron
Kept Indoors? I Don't Think So.. I asked the original owner of this bike, a person who'd owned it from new all the way back to 1976, if it had been left outdoors. I believe she took a slight offence. She replied with a resounding "no", looking rather peeved. But...
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The Claud Butler: The Wheels
The Worst of It Rusty, dirty wheels; I don't think there's a tougher task when it comes to restoring a vintage bike. In this case, there's even a question of whether these wheels are salvageable. You come to a point where you have to ask yourself "is it worth all...
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Claud Butler Electron Restoration Project
Buying the Bike The lady who sold me this bike seemed quite reluctant to part with it. She had advertised it for a fair price, in view of it's condition and the amount of work that would be required to restore it. Yet, at the point of sale, on a rainy Thursday...
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The Mysterious Motobecane Chatard
Not a Typical Motobecane This lovely bike was sent in by Jimi Roller via the Velocollective Facebook page, which you can visit here. It's quite an unusual bike, because it has the decals of Motobecane on the frame, as well as the name "Chatard". Jimi was trying to...
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5 Details to Help Sell Your Vintage Bike
Details are Important I loved this bike pictured above. It's actually one of the favourite bikes I've ever ridden, a Miyata 912 that was in really superb condition. It wasn't dressed up in Campagnolo, didn't have a flashy paint job or fancy pants lugs, it was just...
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Changing Centre Pull for Side Pull Brakes
Mafac and Weinmann So many vintage road bikes still have their Weinmann or Mafac centre pull brakes intact. They were once the staple braking components on many French bikes, from the introduction of Mafac Racer brakes in 1952, to their eventual demise which came...
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Are French and Standard Headsets Interchangeable?
Repairing Old French Threads If your older French bike has damaged threads, you have a problem. French parts are becoming hard to find, and not many bike shops will be able to retap your pre-1982 threads on your bottom bracket shell and fork steerer to the same...
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