windhchaser

just wondering

Litespud

I think I saw Jean-Marie Le Pen, former president of the Front National, and author of such quotes as "I am not saying that gas chambers did not exist. I did not see them myself. I haven't studied the questions specially. But I believe it is a minor point in the history of the Second World War" referred to as "Le Turd de France"

Litespud

I would speculate that in the earliest years of the Tour, competitors (and winners) rode relatively unspecialized bikes which were probably available to the general public. Only as the stature of the Tour grew did higher-tech (for the time) and more expensive bikes come into play, although I would think that that came to a halt when USPS competed on what I believe were stock Trek OCLV frames. Not cheap, but not expensive in the context of the custom bikes/frames that top-level riders had been using up to that point. Current rules restrict equipment to what can be bought by the public, yes?

badger1

I doubt it, but one never knows.

However, in the spirit of this new-era CV19 thread in General Cycling -- just one of dozens -- quite a few early/mid Turd d'France participants were smokers, and without question many of them would have liked more than a few drinks. So, there is that.

Doug64

https://classicrendezvous.com/France/..._bike_test.htm

Bernard Thevenet-- This is actually an older PX10 not the newer model discussed in the link above. You can see the fender stay mount on the rear dropout



This is my bike that I raced in the early 70s, a Peugeot PX10 It was upgraded similar to the bike above. Basic bike was $270 with about $200 worth of upgrades; Wheels, Simplex Super LJ derailleurs, Spidel roller bearing headset. I never won a race on it

windhchaser

great input everyone. i was watching a tv show where they was even talking about the weight of its paint

ramzilla

BITD the magic number was 20lbs. for a steel bike. And, there were plenty of them. Bottecchia, Peugeot, Gitane, Paramount, Colnago and, many more.

Outrider1

Now that's a slow pitch over the plate.

fietsbob

Le Tour is not a Solo race, Its a Team Effort .. the bikes are just a part of it..

alcjphil

It is very doubtful that any Tour De France winner ever used a bicycle that was significantly inferior to the bikes used by other competitors. The prestige of the race ensures that all riders are using high quality bicycles

georgiaboy

Jean Robic 1947

Not saying he rode a “cheap” bike but he had bikes built by some old school French frame builders (Alphonse Thoman) who preferred French tubing over the more preferred Reynolds 531.

AnthonyG

Hey Windy. How have you been?

The Tour De France has for a long time been a marketing exercise to sell stuff by the sponsors just as much as its an athletic event so sponsors invariably put the riders on the best and most expensive bikes because that's what they want to sell.

windhchaser

fine ty i hope your good to.

TiHabanero

I do believe the use of stock OCLV frames came about from the cost of making one-offs for specific riders. With screwed and glued frames or steel frames the cost is significantly less especially if frame angles are unchanged over the range of frames.

Sy Reene

I would find it a teensy bit entertaining to see a Team Viathon entered in the next tour. Kinda that Ford V Ferrari feel.

hillyman

https://pelotonmagazine.com/gear/hampstens-huffy/
How about a cheap name on a handmade bike?
I don't think a Tour winner but still unbelievable allowed

Outrider1

That has to garner many second, and third, looks!

livedarklions

When was the last TdF where someone won by riding a single bike throughout the race?

IDK the answer to that, but I'll bet someone does.

branko_76 

The kind of race you win on a cheap bike

indyfabz

Are you familiar with the day on the Gavia he talks about in the article? Epic.

Craptacular8

Noticing that he was carrying both a frame pump and what appears to be a spare tubular....would the riders of the day not have a team car to take care of flats, etc?

PJay120

It was won on a pretty heavy-looking single speed, one year - many years ago. Back when you did not have to have a helmet, and back when the final stage was a time trial, not the slow parade down the Champs. It's not the bike; it's the engine.

leob1

It was common back when steel ruled, that riders would have their frames made by their preferred builder, then painted in their sponsors colors and logos. Which is probably how this came about.

DMC707

As has already been mentioned, the days of riding re-badged bikes is pretty much over -- (The Serotta "Huffy's" , PEgoretti built Pinarello's for Banesto, Lance even used a Litespeed in Trek colors for time trials ) --

Stock bikes now - while not cheap per se' - are certainly a lot more attainable by the average guy now. There seem to be so many teams riding Specialized now and an S-Works Tarmac or Venge is 10k. Definitely not cheap, but cheaper than pro caliber Pinarello's and Colnago's

unterhausen

Did people racing Huffys overlap with carbon forks? People are still having bikes painted the Huffy colors because it was a great era for U.S. cycling. The history of racing bikes labeled Huffy is fairly well known. Serotta, Mike Melton, Yamaguchi and others built some of their bikes. And after True Temper made some bad tubes, riders had others build frames for them.