Adventures in frame-building, 400 vintage frames, Jean Prouvé, and my favourite bike shop in Paris - La Bicyclette

(Continued...)

The Savarino family own a bicycle store, La Bicyclette, located at 5 Rue Crozatier, in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, and run by Stefano and his older brother Enzo. As well as repairs and maintenance, they offered fixed gear models, such as the Cinelli Mash, when fixed gear was popular in Paris. And you won’t find electric bikes in this shop. They are also one of the few bike shops able to repair steel frames, which are sent to Seine-et-Marne to Stefano's workshop. “I welded a lot of derailleur hangers, to help out certain customers during the lockdown,” says Stefano, who does not hide his enthusiasm for this material. “I really enjoy riding steel frame bikes. For me it’s the perfect material to make a frame that’s comfortable, reactive, and durable.” The shop was affected too by the ‘gilets jaunes’ movement, but business has returned over the last year, aided by the creation of the “Coup de pouce vélo” project (govt. subsidised bicycle repairs, cycling lessons and parking facilities). “Sometimes we had more than a hundred people waiting outside the shop,” explains Lorenzo. That may sound like rather a lot, but maybe it's that too that we like, that certain Italian ‘excess’. Before that, Stefano had built his partner's bike. She needed a light and stylish city bike, and he needed to understand a slightly different geometry, for a step-through frame. The currency of exchange? A website where Stefano showcases his creations and explains his work, made by Marine, who acts as webmaster when she is not riding her magnificent red bike. Made entirely from Columbus Zona to ensure lightness and comfort, this single speed bike is equipped with beautiful accessories; Paul machined cranks, White Industries headset, Gilles Berthoud mudguards and Compass tyres, as well as a dynamo hub and Tektro brakes with Dia-Compe levers. Painting is the only outsourced part of the process, entrusted locally to Bobigny Epoxy.

As the conversation went on, it soon became clear that Lorenzo, Stefano and Enzo's father, was a vintage bike enthusiast, with an exhaustive knowledge of the many frame builders he’d met in his life, whether French or Italian. On the first floor of his old ‘barn’, now converted into a workshop, Lorenzo showed me an impressive collection of vintage bikes, some even dating from the 19th century, as well as vintage wheels, groupsets, components and cycling jerseys. Most of them were found at flea markets and bicycle exchanges, or at auctions for the rarer models.
Notably, he owns a royal blue Jacques Anquetil bike used by the champion himself, and with markings recalling his five Tour de France victories. He also owns a 1969 Eddy Merckx bicycle, which was also raced. Despite his efforts, however, Lorenzo has never found the actual race in which the Belgian champion rode this bike. Lorenzo now devotes a good part of his time to renovating old bicycles and to expanding his collection of exotic and rare bicycles and parts. His greatest pride was to show us on his Instagram account the complete renovation of a bike made by the famous designer Jean Prouvé. “My sons brought this bike to the workshop, and I couldn't believe my eyes. There are only a few models in the world. In restoring it, I had the impression of giving new life to a Rolls-Royce”, enthuses Lorenzo, who explains that an identical model was recently sold at auction for 55,000€…
Today Lorenzo has more than 400 bicycles and bicycle parts (derailleurs, brakes, wheels ...) stored, or rather piled up, in a farmhouse. He wants to eventually find a larger space to be able to exhibit these magnificent objects and to perhaps open a museum. Stefano also wants to offer stainless steel frames in the medium term. "I have lots of projects to develop my work: I want to train in TIG welding and offer stainless steel frames". As you can see, between the new creations and the old vintage, the Savarino's passion for cycling - father and son – is here to stay... Forza!