“Yeah, I like the idea!”
This answer still echoes in the air of the workshop as I think back to the meetings with Michel. These meetings during which we took the time to think about the Manivelle 50 in every detail, and to take advantage of the freedom of expression that Michel allowed us in the direction of the project. A Truss? fork Okay. An integrated stem? Okay. An internal routing taking up the ideas developed for the CDM22? Okay.
If he was able to trust us so much on the design choices, it is because he had well identified his need. Michel has an experience that commands respect, or rather that makes you want to know more, to listen to him tell his adventures, his TCR, his crossing of Europe, all his projects often self-created and proposed to his friends.
His request: to make him the bike to keep going, without thinking of the limits that show off when life moves forward. Michel put it this way: “it will be my ultimate bike”. It is part of our job to transform the pressure that such a great expectation can transmit into a momentum, an energy.
Let’s talk a little about geometry. Michel has been cycling for a long time. And when a practice has a long history, a whole bunch of habits come naturally, good or not so good. When it comes to designing a bike for a person with well-established habits, especially in terms of positioning, we have to juggle between what we would go for in our theory, and what exists, so as not to propose a posture that solicits the cyclist’s body in too different a way. Also, Michel had knee surgery after a bicycle accident two years ago. His perseverance got him back in the saddle very quickly and he was very well looked after, but still, his mobility and pedaling were not quite the same. The result is a significantly low seat height, which had to be reflected in the whole geometry for a good weight distribution and a pleasant pedaling dynamic, because Michel has no plans to stop riding long distance.
By the way, today Michel is starting the Desertus Bikus with his Manivelle No. 50, just one week after the delivery. A timing not necessarily anticipated but which arrives at the right moment since his previous bike, until then indestructible companion, had just declared several breakages difficult to repair before the delivery of the Manivelle N°50 and the beginning of the event. Do bicycles also have feelings?
Good luck Michel, thank you for your trust and your always sunny mood. You asked us the question, and we are sure of the answer: you can do it!
Fork : Custom made Manivelle . Low offset truss // Frame: Custom Manivelle, Columbus Life // Group: Campagnolo Chorus, 48-32/ 11-34, hydraulic disc // // Front wheel: DTSwiss RR 511, SON 28 hub // Rear wheel : DTSwiss RR 511, Aivee Classic hub // Handlebars: Ritchey venturemax wcs// Headset: Hope // Saddle: SMP Strator // Tyre: Panaracer Gravelking // Stem: Custom crank // Seatpost : Ritchey wcs // Handlebars :Lizard Skin // Lighting : Son Dynamobend //
Delivered to the workshop on 14.04.23