Duralumin History & Use in Bicycle Building

Durable but lightweight materials have appealed to bicycle builders since the beginning of bicycle time. From steel alloys to aluminum alloys to carbon composites, the nexus of these two build qualities is something of a holy grail among materials engineers. That’s because durable and lightweight translate to fast and expensive in most every language worldwide….

Cycles Automoto: Setting the Standard

Cycles Automoto History Cycles Automoto was a pioneering French manufacturer of bicycles and motorcycles founded at the turn of the 20th century. Well regarded for thoughtful design and meticulous construction, Automoto grew in popularity until merging with the Peugeot group in the early 1960s. Nicer Automoto bicycles — of which there certainly are some — are…

Stronglight: Eyes on the Future

When first contacting Stronglight for information about the company, I received a charming but curious response. My requests had included, naturally, a timeline, a list of events the company sees as particularly important in its history, the position the company sees itself occupying in the present and future of cycling, a bit about its marketing practices,…