St Etienne Bikes – the Brand
Who were St Etienne Cycles? Who made St Etienne bikes? There’s little information on this obscure company, even on French websites and forums, which is a sign that this marque was never a significant player in racing nor were prestigious models in France. They’re rare enough for many that the most common question raised about them by their owners is “who were St Etienne Cycles?”.
An Old Review of a St Etienne
Functional Models
They were taken over by Mercier in 1991, at least I’ve discovered that much; they made a range of models, mostly low and mid range bikes which were exported for a few years across to the United States; I used to surmise that they were made by the Manufrance brand, but now I’ve discovered that they were made by Cycles France-Loire, which branded them as “St Etienne Cycles” after buying the original company named Sibilia, in 1960. During the bike boom in America in the 1970’s the brand of St Etienne Cycles took advantage of the vast numbers of French bikes and parts bought across the Atlantic. The French city at that point must have been a hive of industry as exports of bikes increased five fold in just a few years. This example, a simple, functional 10 speed, was sold in France and was not an export.
The City of Bike Building
The first French bike was built in St Etienne in 1886. Simplex, Vitus, Mercier, Stronglight and Lyotard were just some of the famous brands based in St Etienne. The city has a tremendous heritage of bicycle building, parts manufacturing and racing, but alas this bike was not adorned with the high quality parts of its city. Instead it was built with a Solida cottered crank, Sulky brakes, a basic Simplex transmission and its pair of tubular wheels are were not original. The paint had suffered from exposure to the elements and I could tell the quality of the finish was not up to the standard of its more prestigious contemporaries.
Lost in Obscurity
Nevertheless this bike weighed only 24lbs, which begs the question of whether it was made of Reynolds or Vitus tubing. Although there is no decal, I suspect this could be the case. The Peugeot UO8, in comparison, weighed 28lbs, and many of the better Peugeot models made with mid range parts and full 531 tubes, weighed no less than 24lbs. Not bad for a bike for a cottered crank, and some of the more utilitarian parts of the French bicycle industry. Who were St Etienne Cycles? I would love to know more, but I do know that they once contributed to that great bike building city of St Etienne, even if they are one of the forgotten brands of French bicycle history.
Their decals from their earlier lugged bikes look just like Gitane’s – foil stickers – no clear coat. I also have a Roger Rivière that has a St. Etienne sticker even though they were supposedly made by Gitane. Is this just a cheaper brand that the famous racing brand made?
Hi Tim, I think now that Saint Etienne was a Manufrance brand, though I see what you mean about the decals. I have been reading some French bike forums and people mention Manufrance as the brand behind the brand, though some also mention France Loire..
I use to have one. I think I Bought it in 1975. They had two models. High end model used Reynolds 531 (or it claimed). They also claimed the bikes were hand made (I assumed the assemblers were trainees). It was a decent bike, but I had to replace it when I needed to replace the crank shaft. They used old French thread and the parts were no longer available in 1990s 🙁
I still have mine. A very well built and sturdy bicycle
For sentimentality I am trying to restore my fathers bicycle and am curious to know if anyone has a good source for the decals and badges should those be damaged in the restoration process
I have a Saint Etienne frame on hand, which I would Like to build up vintage style. Anyone who knows if it’s 27”/650 or 28”/700 wheels? Is crank thread BSA or IT?
Anyone know what the value of a St. Entienne 28″ bike in good condition?
i bought one in Amherst, Mass., in 1974 or 1975. A few years later (1976-1979) I was eating dessert at a small cafe in Lambertville, NJ; i mentioned the bike, and the shop’s owners said that they were the US importers of the bike before they left that work to open the restaurant.
Hi John, thank you for your comment, very interesting to read it. There’s very little information about the brand being exported to the US, I wasn’t sure that any were exported at all, so thanks again for that insight. Best regards, Dominic.
Somewhat related, I have a low-end, utility 1940s city bike, a Ravat, on which the head badge reads “St. Entienne” and in much smaller font at the bottom of the badge “Lyon” and some other city. Ravat made motorcycles as well, and information is easy to find for those. Finding Bicycle info about Ravat has been unsuccessful. I simply want to know the year of manufacture. Can anyone help? Second question: on the same bike there are light impressions of a label or badge left in the paint on the seat tube. Please see photo. Anyone have a guess what that reads? It might be inverted. THANK YOU.
Hi guys, I am the proud owner of a lovely St Etienne bicycle that I bought in France some time ago. It has squeaky brakes but I love it! It is so lightweight and easy to ride. I will upload a pic as soon as o can.
I bought one at Rick Case Honda in Cleveland, Ohio somewhere around 1975.
Rick Case got their hands on a ton of them and were selling them for $99.00.
I still ride mine.
Thanks for the info, interesting to know that someone was selling them in the US in the 1970’s. YOu don’t see many around these days. Cheers!
Anyone heard of Cycles Christophe, St Etienne? I have a bike which I purchased used in 1973 in Northern California. The bike had many high end parts added (Campy and Phil Wood) but the Stronglight crank looks original.
I owned both a Peugeot and a St. Etienne, successively, as a teen and had the bigger love on for the St. Etienne. Light as a feather and it flew.
I bought one new in 1971,still have it,just starting to restore
What about this one then? KTEM St Etienne. It is an all chromium plated frameset with Nervex variation type lugs. I purchased it at a cycle jumble in UK a few years ago.
It is nice but heavy.
Any thoughts anyone please.
Does anyone know what this is? It opens but only as far as shown . It has mirrors on both internal surfaces although one side is broken. There is a matching notch on the opposite side. The stamped round mark on the outside says Saint Etienne manufacture Francia SE with Armes et Cycles in the centre.
I own a St Étienne Cycles for one year now. You can probably gues why I bought it besides loving the French country and retro road bikes in general… 🙂 Bought it from a student in Amsterdam. He bought it when he was studying in Paris a fews years before that. It needed some new tires and a crankspie (don’t know the English word for it).
The bicycle is hanging in my garage, toghether with a Peugeot from 1981, Raleigh from 1985 and my modern road bike and mountainbike.
I’m not that impressed by the handling and te weight. But it looks nice on the wall.
No idea how I can determine the age.
Do you know how someone can sell a very old StEtienne bike?Is there an auction site,where it could be sold?It was made in the 1950s.
Hello, your bike sounds very interesting. For selling it, I think it depends on where you live and the market you have access to. In some places it is Ebay which can be the best marketplace to sell, or your local classifieds if you live in a city with a lively selling market. I don’t know of any single bike dealer who would buy it for a good price, but advertising it locally seems the best choice to me. Thanks.
I have a St. Etienne bike almost identical to the one pictured in this article. I bought it cheap in Glasgow and then rode it from the North Coast of Scotland to the South coast of England
It was very wobbly and flexy when loaded up with 4 paniers, but back home in Canada it’s proven to be an amazing city ripper
Thanks for the comment, is it a good model of St Etienne? Sounds like it’s done the miles! Cheers
I bought a St Etienne in maybe 1974 in Boston. Inexpensive. When I maintained the bottom bracket I found a little piece of brazing rod floating around down there between the ball bearings. On the other hand, when I finally ran into something or other, the whole head tube popped loose from the top and down tubes, there was no brazing in the lugs.
Still, it had been my happy daily transportation for a couple of years and I mourned its loss.
Thanks for the comment, interesting to hear that St Etienne bikes were sold in the early 1970’s in Boston. Shame it didn’t survive though. Best regards, Dominic.
This is an addition to my post a couple of years ago where I mentioned that the owners of a pastry shop in Lambertville New Jersey told me they had been the US importers of the bike. The shop was named John and Peter’s and I believe that was the two men’s first names.
This is an addition to my post a couple of years ago where I mentioned that the owners of a pastry shop in Lambertville New Jersey told me they had been the US importers of the bike. The shop was named John and Peter’s and I believe that was the two men’s first names. Thanks.
I’m glad to have found this thread. My first memory of a “real” bicycle was my brother’s St. Etienne. It was probably the summer of ‘71 and it was the first racing-style bike I’d ever seen. He bought it in New Orleans. I’m an avid cyclist still with several modern bicycles, one 23 years old, the rest more recent; but thinking about my brother’s St. Etienne always takes me back to the beginning.
Great comment, thanks for posting your memories of St Etienne bikes.!