Welcome to The Velo Collective
The definitive resource for vintage French bikes.
When Motobecane Became MBK: a Review of the Super Sprint
Fall of the Giants Motobecane shares a similar history to Britain's Raleigh brand, and sadly both companies no longer produce bikes in their respective countries. Both Motobecane and Raleigh became behemoths in the cycle industry throughout the 20th century, mass...
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J’Accuse: Halfords and their Policy Against Bike Boxes.
I'm not Stating the Obvious Everyone knows that Halfords is a big corporate entity, expensive and holding a large piece of the pie of the British bike market. They sell cheap bikes and generic tools and prices in the their bike stores are heavily marked up, which...
read moreRemoving a Stuck Crankset By Extra Force
Some Caveats This method has been useful to me a number of times, with the problem of unyielding crank arms. With s bike stand, you only have so much force you can use with one arm. You may find that you are rotating your crank puller ( with a wrench ) but have...
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The 1980 Dawes Galaxy – Reborn in Pictures
Bringing it Back to Life Here is a list of the issues this 1980 Dawes Galaxy had when I bought it: Rear Wheel out of True Headset Loose Bottom Bracket Seized Hubs Bearings Rough Brake Calipers Loose and Untensioned Chain Clogged with Dirt Tyres Flat Mudguards...
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After the Touristique, I came Across a Dawes Galaxy..
Post Touristique Blues The best bike I've ridden for a while? The British Eagle Touristique. It surprises me, that a British touring bike from the early '90s made such an impression and makes me want to find another to replace it. It's very unlikely. I paid just...
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Restoring the Anquetil Super Vitus 971
Not Without Problems.. Just because you may have come into ownership of a really lovely vintage road bike, it doesn't mean to say restoring it will be a series of happy moments. Looks are deceiving. Sometimes, the most wretched looking bikes prove to be easily...
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A Rusty 1976 Peugeot PFN 10
Surprise! Sometimes, when you go to see a used bike, your first impression is sheer disappointment. Perhaps because the photos of the bike weren't very clear on the ad, or the description wasn't accurate. In this case, the owner had placed one single photograph of...
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A Jacques Anquetil Super Vitus 971 Review
The Rider Jacques Anquetil is France’s greatest cyclist, five times winner of the Tour and winner of 8 tours in total. For 19 years, he dominated his sport with his graceful riding style, and was considered a very intelligent and articulate rider. His era was the...
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The River Ride: Cycling on the Dordogne
Let's Get All Folksy I don't know of any French folk songs about rivers or journeys, but this ride could be sung like one of those old American folk tunes: I took my Bianchi down to the river Where with every twist And every turn My trail followed with her.. Well...
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Riding a Steel Bianchi in the Dordogne
The Bike: Late 1990's Bianchi, Full Cromo Tubes and Forks 57cm 24 Speed, 3 x 8 Campagnolo Mirage Groupset Rigida Rims, Steel Spokes Riding in the Region The Dordogne isn't like the flat and wide open spaces of Normandy. It is a hilly, rocky place, that affords it...
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British Eagle Touristique, a Classic or Not?
The Touristique British Eagle are not a celebrated name in the British bike industry. Search on forums for British Eagle bikes and you'll come across descriptions such as "decent" and "competent" for the models that this brand produced. Yet, if there is a bike...
read moreRemove a Quick Link or Master Link from a Chain – Video
Removing a Quick Link They are a clever piece of modern bike technology, simple and effective, but they can be a real pain to remove once they are fitted. Quick links can prove to be quite stubborn to removal methods by hand, especially ones that have been on a...
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