Welcome to The Velo Collective
The definitive resource for vintage French bikes.
Mercier Rose with Shimano 600 Groupset
The Bike and the Car I’d had my eye on this pink Mercier bike for a few days, so on the morning when I finally arranged to meet the seller and see the bike, I felt quite determined to buy it. It was about a 25 mile drive to the seller’s house, deep in the...
Felix’s “Arosa”: A Christmas Present for Donat
I Bet You.. ..£5 that you haven't seen one of these before. It has nothing in common with De Rosa, the Italian brand par excellence. This is an entirely different kind of objet d'art. I'm not going to lie, I had never heard of this brand when Felix got in touch...
Niaz’s Alan Competizione, Carbinio and Peugeot Bikes.
Alan and Peugeot Niaz wrote to me recently with some pictures of his superb French bikes, with some excellent informative background about them. He's kindly agreed that I can share them on this site, as they are two great examples of the best French bike...
French Steerer Threads-Retapping, Extending, Repairing
A Tale of Two Threads Here is an email I received recently from Carles, with an interesting but difficult problem with his Vitus bike: “I recently ended up in your website, which I found super useful. I had the bad luck of ending up with a vitus with italian...
A Vingage Atala Rizzato – Completely Restored
A Bike for Séraphine I’ve only ridden an Atala bike once, back in the days before the housing market in Seattle was still affordable and the Capitol Hill district of the city was more bohemian than tecchie. I owned it for a few weeks, but there was no lack of...
Manufrance Hirondelle Restoration By Jimi
Manufrance Bikes If you go looking for a vintage bike advertised on French classifieds, chances are you’ll easily come across a Manufrance for sale. A ubiquitous sight on French roads for many decades, the company was founded way back in 1885. The model...
Phillip’s Jacques Anquetil Bike
Monsieur Chrono This is a 1980’s Jacques Anquetil bike sent by Phillip, who is going to improve some parts of it and find out some more about the bike. I wrote a blog about an Anquetil find which I enjoyed restoring here, though with its Vitus frame and Shimano...
A Ride Along the French Mediterranean
Sun, Sea and a Dedicated Bike Trail The coast towns of Marseillan, Agde and Sete are holiday resorts with miles of sandy beaches and lots of attractions. It’s an area filled with camping sites which must get very busy in the summer. We stayed on the Marseillan...
Cool Vintage Bikes in Vintage French Towns
Peugeot HLE, Beziers With its undeniably 1980’s paintwork, this Peugeot was one of the few vintage bikes I saw around the town of Beziers, in south west France. I don’t think the owner of this bike has much concern about the originality of its...
Riding Vintage Around Lake Annecy, France
Going Alpine I’m not one for climbing large mountains in some pursuit of my own cycling fantasy. I admire those who do make it up Alpe D’Huez or Ventoux, but I would much follow the meanderings of a lazy river, or in this case, follow a bike trail around...
The Best Vintage 3 Arm Crankset?
One to Look Out For This is a Spécialités TA Professional 3-arm crankset, and frankly, I believe it's the nicest vintage crankset of its type. This particular crank came off a 1979 TI Team Raleigh Pro, in the celebrated red, black and yellow colours, built by...
Raleigh Professional v Schwinn Paramount
Those Were the Days I once owned a Raleigh Professional and a Schwinn Paramount at the same time. Yes, I was living the American dream, of having two of the most prestigious vintage bikes that were sold in America in my garage. Not a British garage, mind, which...
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