Thomas' Victoire Bellevue XCR
Thomas' Victoire Bellevue XCR
GENESIS
Thomas rode in BMX in the 80’s, then in MTB the next decade, and he is now riding on the road for 7 years :
I take part into some classic sportives, like Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and also Brevets. I like long distance riding, spending the whole day on the bike. I’ve always ridden on steel bikes. For my Victoire, I wanted a bike with a classic style, timeless, with thin tubing but also modern parts. I also wanted a steel fork like on my Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra.
I wanted a fast bicycle, but comfortable for the long days on the saddle and the Belgian roads that are not always smooth. I also wanted a dynamo hub to be free to ride whenever I want. It's also a big safety advantage to be able to ride with lights during a whole day.
TECHNICAL SPECS
Thomas’ Bellevue is close to our Véloce by its sizing. The diameter of the tubing - Columbus XCR stainless steel - is the biggest compatible with a 36 mm head tube. It improves the stiffness, like the triple-triangle construction. The steel fork, handcrafted in house, offers a perfect filtration of the road bumps. We get a bike both comfortable and efficient.
The frame gets the different eyelets to fit fenders and racks. It also features internal routing for the lights. This Bellevue is mounted with a Shimano Dura-Ace 9100 groupset and ENVE SES 4.5 rims laced on Chris King R45 and SON Delux12 hubs.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The bike is comfortable, efficient, reactive and fast. The next step will be a BRM 300, and maybe a Super Randonnée in the Ardennes.