What Happened to The French: Fin d'une époque?

[Woz]

I CANNOT believe Vitus didn't make the list. SHAME on you

always wanted a 992 - the peak,

and Time products, the famous fork', the famous pedals, the wound tubes

and christophe straps, the list goes on

Christophe is now a brand under Zefal:
https://www.zefal.com/en/toe-clips-and-toe-straps/214-christophe-steel-toe-clips.html

 

[Woz]

Probably like a few here, the scare of Mavic "almost" going under a couple of years ago (due to a weird holding / management structure) felt like a blow to the stomach.

Don't really know how they are doing at the moment especially with the general crisis of the bike industry.

Nice to see they are still on the shelves of Decathlon - the Crossrides have always been competitively priced there.
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/brands/mavic

 

[Woz]

Vitus was a brand, not a company.

A good read using your browser's translate.
https://encycloduvelo.fr/vitus-atelier-de-rive/

"the company employed 190 employees in 1990, only about fifteen when Look bought it."

Today just another brand name dusted off and gone elsewhere:
https://vitusbikes.com/blogs/stories/vitus-heritage-a-legacy-of-innovation

 

[Woz]

Wolber:
https://www.soissons.fr/2022/12/08/wolber/

At least for the pneumatics, was under Michelin from 1972, plant doors closed in 2000. 451 employees.

Not sure what happened to the rim / wheel business that was a legacy of Super Champion.