EXHIBITION “THE CYCLE IN SAINT-ETIENNE, A CENTURY OF KNOW-HOW”, France 
The exhibition „LE CYCLE À SAINT-ETIENNE, UN SIÈCLE DE SAVOIR-FAIRE" in 2014 and 2015 offered a unique insight into the history of bicycle production in Saint-Etienne to all lovers of two wheels.
From the end of the 19th century, Saint-Étienne became a leader among designers and manufacturers of spare parts for this new bicycle industry. The 1920s are considered the golden age of cycling in Saint-Étienne and saw the development of big brands that became iconic: Ravat, Automoto, Hirondelle, Cyclo and then Mercier and many others. Companies have built their reputation thanks to technical innovations or active involvement in key areas of cycling practice, which are sports, races and cycling tourism.
Address: 2 Pl. Louis Comte, 42000 Saint-Étienne, France
Contact: https://mai.saint-etienne.fr
Universal museum - MUSÉE 1900 – France
Regional museum of agriculture, technology and crafts.
Contact: http://www.moulin-de-chalier.fr/evolution_des_moyens_de_locomotion_terrestre.html
The Castle of the Dukes, Bar-le-Duc – France
Town museum in Bar-le-Duc is located in very nice part of famous town where Ernest Michaux was born. It is not bicycle museum, but very rare example of velocipede made by company Michaux Pére & Cie is there.
Musée du Velo - Saint Usuge, France
An extremly small museum where you will feel giant admiration for riders "Tour de France and their heroic performances.
Contakt: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/23424368
Musée Clément Ader – Muret, France
Ader was an innovator in a number of electrical and mechanical engineering fields. His name very often sounds with early velocipedes, motorcycles, cars and aeroplanes.
Contakt: http://www.mairie-muret.fr/le-nouveau-musee-clement-ader-les-grands-hommes
Musée Carnavalet, Paris – France
The mechanical drive of vehicles is a fascinating story provoking endless debates as to whether it is the forerunner of the bicycle, i.e. the motorcycle or the automobile.
Wheelchairs are a major advance in enabling independence for people with walking difficulties. The first self-propelled wheelchair has been attributed to John Joseph Merlin, the ‘ingenious mechanick’, in the early 19th century and his ‘gouty chair’ is exhibited at Kenwood House. Research would suggest that comparable chairs existed in France as early as 1751 and the French Revolutionary, Georges Couthon, used one to get around Paris. A later design, also attributed to Merlin, the invalid wheelchair, features large wheels with outer hoops for the occupant to grasp and this is the true ancestor of the modern wheelchair.
Contact: https://www.carnavalet.paris.fr
Address: 23 Rue de Sévigné, 75003 Paris, Francie
283/A. Musée Carnavalet, Paris
Château de Montfleury, Avressieux - France
Château de Montfleury is a charming place and a magnificent castle. We must say about the part of the museum with historical bicycles: QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY, IS IMPORTANT. Many fakes, remakes, copies, failed imitations .... certainly not the right place for experts.
Address: Château de Montfleury, 73240 Avressieux, France
Contact:https://www.chateau-montfleury.fr
The Collection Schlumpf – Mulhouse, France
Cité de l’Automobile, Musée national de l’automobile, Collection Schlumpf is an automobile museum located in Mulhouse, France, and built around the Schlumpf Collection of classic automobiles. It has the largest displayed collection of automobiles and contains the largest and most comprehensive collection of Bugatti motor vehicles in the world.
There are hundreds and hundreds of cars on the display but there are no bicycle. One velocipede is in the deposit. Only one, but very and very important for history. Michaux serpentine velocipede from time period March 1868 – May 1868 when Ernest Michaux takes additional premises at19 Rue Jean Goujon still as a sole trader. We know only two examples of surviving velocipede from this time and this Michaux address.
Michaux, 19 R. JEAN GOUJON. AV. MONTAIGNE 29. MICHAUX, BTE S.G.D.G., A PARIS
Collection Schlumpf Cité de l´automobile national museum – Mulhouse
Address: 17 rue de la Mertzau, 8 100 Mulhouse, France
Contact: https://www.musee-automobile.fr/en/
Musée A Bicyclette 40, lit et Mixe, France
Musée A Bicyclette 40, located in Lit-et-Mixe in the Landes region, exhibits a unique collection of vintage bicycles and cycling-related objects collected by Pierrick Vincent. This small museum traces the development of the bicycle between 1868 and 1950 and is housed in a bicycle shop.
Address: 69, Avenue du Marensin, 40170 Lit et Mixe, Francie
Contact: http://www.abicyclette40.fr
Exposition „Les cycles BLAIN ont 50 ans“, Luzinay, France
Cycles Christian Blain, now known as Cycles Blain, was founded in 1975 by Christian Blain and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, Gruppetto Rhône-Alpes has organized a weekend celebration dedicated to the brand and its founder, Christian Blain.
Fantastic exhibition, many authentic bikes and artifacts. It is a great pity that the exhibition could not be open to the public for a longer period. Hopefully there will be another opportunity to see these gems and share the joy with local cycling enthusiasts.
Photos: with thanks Le Gruppetto Rhône-Alpes, Georges Sylvestre, Paul Baruzzo…
Address: Rhône-Alpes , France
Contact: https://www.legruppetto.net
