In the 1890’s USA, bike were with no doubt cool and a symbol of modernity which showed other people that you had a respectable social status (as you said) but in France, it just showed you were like anybody else : too poor to have a horse drawn carriage or even just a horse, and were using the normal way of transport of the time. And it is not because in USA they had this symbol that it was the case in other countries. Their mechanism is absolutely not the same.Īs I explained, bicycles in France in the 1890’s were not “cool” nor anything else (in fact it was a substitute for the horse, which was really considered cool but was too expensive for most people). In 1999, one year before the collapse of Manufrance, there was still written “cycles” on their guns… And i’m sure you agree bicycles were not a symbol of social status in 1999.Įon, be carefull : the “Le Français” is an original design which is not comparable with the “Le Gaulois”. Their gun began to be widespread and their exceptionnal quality made Manufrance recognized for its guns, which then began to be their principal source of income. Manufrance, which was a bicycles manufacture, made firearms (which was absolutely normal at this time : even local and small workshops with no connection to firearms manufactured guns from time to time) to give with the bicycle (as all other french bicycles manufacturers of the time), not as a “bonus” but as a mean of personnal defense. Those guns were the so called “velodog”, which means “ bicycle dogs”. In France during this time, many wild animals, especially dogs and sometime other animal (like european wildcats, which seem to be peacefull cute creatures but are capable of killing a red deer – which they commonly eat, hence their nickname “loup cervier”, litterally “red deer’s wolf”), were likely to attack people on the road, especially if they were rabic (I don’t know if it is correct… I mean “which have rabies illness”).Īs a result, bicycles were sold with a gun to protect the biker in the rural roads. Neither was the “velodog” a bonus for buying a bike : it was a need. In 1891, the bicycle had the shape it has nowadays and less than few years later it was common all over France. It was the mean of locomotion of people living in rural places (either rich or poor people). Moreover, having a bicycle in France in 1890’s – 1900’s was not a symbol of social status. It is absolutely not for “cool” or “social status” reason. Indeed, it is normal that the word “cycles” appears on the gun : the company wrote its entiere name. “Manufacture d’armes et cycles de Saint Etienne” means “manufacture of guns and cycles of Saint Etienne” : it was the real name of Manufrance. Axel, it is not because bicycles were a status symbol that “cycle” was written on the gun.