Being the first big industrial bicycle producer of France, Clément & Cie from Paris was a fast growing company with a lot of different models.
In 1886 they had two models of the 'grand bi' (that's how French call the ordinary).
The no. 1 was more luxurious and had tangent spokes.
The no. 2 was the machine you see in the pictures. It really looks a lot like the British machines from those days, if it wasn't for the quite oldfashioned way to mount the cranks - we see this construction on the old boneshakers from 1865-70.
This bike with serial number 2486 has been restored the way I like it best: removing later paint and preserving what's old. We see some nickle left on top of the handlebars and on the rear fork. This may indicate ist was once fully nickled. We also see the remains of a double yellow or gold lining on the rear rim. The name of Clement is visible on front ball bearing, on spring and rear hub. Striking details are the number of spokes in the rear wheel (30, where 18 or 20 was normal in England) and the non-slotted cranks. Pedals cannot move towards the centre, thus allowing shorter men to ride a bigger wheel. All other bikes have these slots.
Have a look at the original ball-bearing pedals, the owner of this bike found an illustration in the 1889 Clément catalogue showing exactly the same pedals.
Last pictures show the bike before restoration. Thanks to Max for the pictures.
This beautiful survivor has been built between 1885 and 1890. I have a theory about the Clement serial numbers (click here). Please look at it and help me out if you know more about this.
In 1886 they had two models of the 'grand bi' (that's how French call the ordinary).
The no. 1 was more luxurious and had tangent spokes.
The no. 2 was the machine you see in the pictures. It really looks a lot like the British machines from those days, if it wasn't for the quite oldfashioned way to mount the cranks - we see this construction on the old boneshakers from 1865-70.
This bike with serial number 2486 has been restored the way I like it best: removing later paint and preserving what's old. We see some nickle left on top of the handlebars and on the rear fork. This may indicate ist was once fully nickled. We also see the remains of a double yellow or gold lining on the rear rim. The name of Clement is visible on front ball bearing, on spring and rear hub. Striking details are the number of spokes in the rear wheel (30, where 18 or 20 was normal in England) and the non-slotted cranks. Pedals cannot move towards the centre, thus allowing shorter men to ride a bigger wheel. All other bikes have these slots.
Have a look at the original ball-bearing pedals, the owner of this bike found an illustration in the 1889 Clément catalogue showing exactly the same pedals.
Last pictures show the bike before restoration. Thanks to Max for the pictures.
This beautiful survivor has been built between 1885 and 1890. I have a theory about the Clement serial numbers (click here). Please look at it and help me out if you know more about this.
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