Welcome to The Velo Collective
The definitive resource for vintage French bikes.
If you love vintage French bikes, there are lots of reviews and restorations, bike repair tips and information on this site dedicated to classic bikes. You can also find posts on other vintage European, Japanese and American road bikes, many with links to videos on our Youtube channel. Thanks for visiting!
Peugeot Camargue Mixte Bike
Peugeot Camargue Often in the depths of winter you can find a used bike for a good price. Last month I saw this nice French mixte bike for sale on Ebay, locally advertised, and wondered if the seller would take an offer for a quick...
Motobecane Super Champion 1975
Motobecane Super Champion - a Gem I received an email from Rafal from Poland, who told me about his beautiful Motobecane Super Champion from 1975, similar to the one I blogged about last year here. Both share the same deep red colour,...
Mystery Vintage Bike
Mystery Vintage Bike James got in contact with me with quite a special bike that he has just restored, the identity of which remains a mystery. He's done a great job of restoring it, part by part, rebuilding it with obvious care and precision, but there...
Peugeot Pro Team HLE
What’s in a Name? Whenever the word “professional” is used for a model of a road bike, you expect something really good. Am I wrong? I think I’d expect a replica of a professional team bike, like the old Raleigh Professional and the similarly...
Vintage Carlton Bike for sale: a Pro Am and Courette
Vintage Carlton bike for sale - now sold Patrick write to me with a vintage Carlton bike for sale, in fact there are two of them, both built with Reynolds 531 tubing, a Carlton Pro Am and a ladies' Courette, which is quite rare. Here are the...
Solida Crankset – Broken Once Again
Solida Crankset Woes I've had problems with Solida cranks before. Not that I don't like Solida cranksets, or have it in for them, they are pretty nice looking cranks and are as lightweight as the best of them. Yet, they must be cheaply made, because I've...
Bernard Dangre – A Mixte Restoration ( With Video )
The Project Allyn got in touch with me from Switzerland, who sent me pictures of her Bernard Dangre mixte that she was about to have restored. Admittedly, I haven't restored many ladies' bikes on this blog, mostly because a good example,...
The Best British Touring Bike
Four Classics The bikes are: A Dawes Galaxy A British Eagle Touristique A Nigel Dean World Tour A Claude Butler Dalesman All were built in the UK, before the UK stopped building things. Also, they all have racks and mudguards, though the bikes are...
A Velo De Mercier, but what’s the Model?
The Missing Catalogues Unlike the information on Peugeot and Motobecane, there are not many Mercier catalogues posted on the internet. I'm not sure why exactly. Mercier has a pedigree and reputation in France for great bikes and cycling...
Vintage Bertin Bike Restored
Vintage Bertin Bike Restored I don't think many people would be able to name an Andre Bertin model; his bikes were not exported in droves like many French brands like Peugeot and Motobecane. Americans do love their Peugeot PX10s and their...
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...
Bertin Vintage Bike that Felt Cursed
Bertin with 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...
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