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History 101 
PostPosted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 9:08 am Reply with quote
Frenchbuilt
Joined: 18 Apr 2007
Posts: 443
When you set « destination » on your GPS in France it takes a bit longer finding the route. France has more roads per kilometer than any place on earth and sometimes the GPS proposes very interesting back roads such as the one which took me to Incheville.

I was driving back from the UK and crossed over at Calais (northen France tunnel under channel)
and decided to check up on some of the old bicycle and parts factories located on the way south toward Paris.

Incheville is where the abandoned Maillard factory still stands pretty much looking as it did the day in 1999 when Sram (owners of the Sachs group at the time) shut the place down. Actually they gave the place away, didn't even pack up and just left.





Of course, the town died. The other Sachs factories in a the area (50 kilometer radius) were also closed including the old Huret, Sach Huret and finally Sram factories in Chépy.

Imagine the Sram team coming in from ratty industrial Chicago and winding up in Incheville. The discovery of this delightful town on a small river with a hillside of little cottages pleasent people and a train station with real trains was certainly a culture shock and they surly thought they were in Disneyland Paris


Anyway Sram killed off the component industry around the north of france and the towns are dead but still delightful.

This is the little road to Incheville



This is the old railroad line which seems abandoned now. Not sure but probably used to ship from as was normal in france



Here is the old train station also shut down


This main factory produced or finished the pieces you have been using for years : freewheels, hubs, pedals etc. Atom Maillard Spidel, Normandy etc.


This site and smaller sites in nearby towns also produced much of the Sachs stuff and later on the early Sram bicycle components.


Flower shop here now

When was the last time you had a street named after you ?


All of these old factories I have seen or visited were painted with blue accents or stripes.
Sram or maybe Sachs found out that France actually has a national color which is blue so they probably though it kind of « french » to add blue everywhere.






This is the old main Huret factory in Chepy where Schwinn and others got their millions of derailleurs. You know the ones that bent but the Schwinn owners manual showed how to fix with a huge cresent wrench ! The town is pretty quiet though and of course the train station is just across the street and the local bar just next store.




Prototype Concept bike seen ! : Duravia (look them up to see advanced bike) http://forum.tontonvelo.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1210



At the post office across from the abandoned Maillard factory I spotted this concept bike !
It appears to be made up of parts from local manufacturers and built in the town of Lille about 100 kilometers away. It looks to be done to cut down on shipping costs and releave global warming or carbon footprint delimas and worries. Interesting idea, especially now, but I believe all of the production tools were sold for scrap, melted down or used as land fill or stolen by real Gitanes (not the bike guys)
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 1:15 pm Reply with quote
Blacktopdisciple
Joined: 28 Mar 2013
Posts: 7
Location: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Those photos are great. Many thanks for posting. Its always good to see where old bike bits were made.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 1:19 pm Reply with quote
Blacktopdisciple
Joined: 28 Mar 2013
Posts: 7
Location: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Those photos are great. Many thanks for posting. Its always good to see where old bike bits were made.
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101B 
PostPosted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 10:27 am Reply with quote
Frenchbuilt
Joined: 18 Apr 2007
Posts: 443
If people were a bit more interested in where the things they buy are made,
our economy would be in less of a mess.

I have been in lots of factories and maybe its not that great for many but I really cannot see how sitting at a screen for 8 hours a day is much better no matter what the subject might be.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 10:34 am Reply with quote
nicolas
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 543
Location: Paris, France
Magnifique visite !

_________________
"Ooooh Putain !!! C'est vous ?"
-Greg LeMond

www.greglemondfan.com
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 11:09 am Reply with quote
Blacktopdisciple
Joined: 28 Mar 2013
Posts: 7
Location: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
I have to agree. Manufacturing is so important as part of a mixed economy. Its sad that we lost so much of it in the UK during the 80's. In a way its kind of like it has become thought of as old fashioned to be a manufacturing country. The emphasis has been on design and development, for years now, but companies like Campagnolo and most recently BMC have demonstrated the importance of on site manufacturing.
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History 101 
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