New Product Partnership with Victoire Cycles
Monday, March 19, 2012 at 12:59PM NEWS - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MERLYN MECHANICS ANNOUNCES NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH VICTOIRE CYCLES
French Company Debuts New Hub Design that Offers Less Friction and Splined Cogs for Simple Gear Changes
(CHATTANOOGA, TN — APRIL 6, 2012) Merlyn Mechanics is proud to announce an exclusive national distribution agreement with Victoire Cycles. Victoire Cycles is a French based company that focuses on high-end hubs, cogs, lockrings and stems largely for fixy and urban style bikes. All products are manufactured near their offices in Clermont-Ferrand, France and then hand polished before anodizing and laser etching. Merlyn Mechanics is the sole U.S. importer and distributor for Victoire in the United States and will be offering an array of Victoire products available for bike shops and consumers. Currently, Victoire is making track and polo hubs, threaded and splined cogs, lockrings and stems dedicated to the art of Bike Polo. Victoire is also developing several other lines of hubs, cranks and frames to be released later in 2012.
“We’re proud to be working with Victoire Cycles. Their hubs are of the highest quality, and the finish is absolutely exquisite,” says Merlyn Townley, an industry veteran, custom wheel builder and owner of Merlyn Mechanics. “With an array of colors, drillings from 20 to 36 and custom capabilities, we think that Victoire will be a huge contribution to the hub market in the U.S.”
Founded by a group of friends, riders and mechanics, Victoire launched a product line to improve upon existing industry parts and adapt new design aesthetics for the cycling community. With some of the lightest and strongest high-flange hubsets available on the market, Victoire also offers solid materials, design and hand finishes. “Our parts are CNC machined in France so we can ensure quality production, aeronautically heat treated 7075-T6 alloy and then finally hand polished and anodized before the final laser-mark,” said Julien Leyreloup of Victoire. “We think extensive prototyping and involving ourselves in the process directly, from start to finish, ensures a premium product.”
The Victoire Product Difference:
Materials: Aero grade, 7075-T6 alloy is used for every part of the hub, which is 300% stronger than alloys most commonly used in the industry.
Manufacturing: All parts are CNC machined in France with the highest tolerances.
Hubs: Victoire centers their flanges in the middle of the hub, to provide a stronger wheel with equal tension on each spoke as well as one size spoke for both sides of the wheel. The Victoire flagship product is a High Flange front and rear hubset, weighing in at only 470 gr (205 gr front and 265 gr rear), with titanium bolts, stainless steel washers, 7075-T6 alloy spacers and hard anodized lockring (9 gr). The rear hub features a splined interface, that fixes the cog directly into the body and helps eliminate loosened cog problems. This revolutionary design allows for fast removal to easily change hub ratios. The cogs are machined from 7075-T6 alloy to keep the weight down, polished by hand to make them smoother and finally hard anodized to make them last. Victoire also offers a Low Flange front and rear hubset, weighing in at 409 gr (169 gr front and 240 gr rear), with a larger flange diameter on the drive side and a smaller one on the non-drive side, to create maximum efficiency paired with a low weight.
- Spoke holes are chamfered so the head of the spoke fits perfectly into the hub body, which creates a stronger surface and increases the strength of the wheel.
- Available as 28, 32 and 36 spoke holes and custom drilling available upon request.
- Finishes are available in Silver and Black, with custom color options available on request.
Cogs: Designed with a splined interface to eliminate loosened thread on hubs, the interface has 16 splines and no sharp edges to distribute and diffuse the effort on all surfaces. They are available in one tooth increments from 13 to 20 teeth.
Lockrings: An essential part of fixy bike, the lockring is designed to work with either the Victoire rear hub or any track hub that use the 1.29X24 TPI left thread. Both strong and light, the Victoire lockring is larger than most models available on the market. Made with 7075-T6 alloy, it is 7mm thick, anodized to improve stiffness and can be locked with a lockring wrench or a 36mm wrench.
Stems: Dedicated to the art of Bike Polo, the S-42 stem is machined from solid block, 7075-T6 alloy and uses an innovative clamping system for easy installation. Also, weighing in at 4.8 oz, this stem is half the weight of a classic BMX stem and a short length (42 mm) for maximum maneuverability and control. Finally, eliminating the back bolt helps riders avoid knee injuries while in the field.
Victoire promises additional products to be announced in 2012, bike polo specific hubs, cranks and frames.
For more information about Victoire Cycles or Merlyn Mechanics, visit: victoire-cycles.com or merlynmechanics.com.
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Merlyn Townley has 30 years experience in the cycling industry and has been a specialist in neutral support for bicycle racing since 1988. Working both as a bicycle mechanic since 1982 and providing neutral support for over 1,000 national and international races, Merlyn has represented companies such as Mavic, Shimano, Pedro’s, Campagnolo and SRAM NRS. Merlyn is also the originator of neutral support for Cyclo-cross worldwide according to the Union of Cyclists International (UCI). He has also served as a mechanic/team manager for over 20 teams worldwide, including the Dansko Woman’s Pro Team, Australian National Team, the U.S. National Team, the Japanese National Team and the MG X-Power Cycling Team. In addition, Merlyn served as head mechanic for the Odyssey 2000 cycling tour, a one-year, worldwide cycling expedition that encompassed 45 countries on six continents with 250 riders. Additional races include Mountain Bike World Championships, the Tour of Canberra, Paris/Brest/Paris, the Harold Sun Tour and the Cape Epic, among many others. One of only 11 category one licensed bicycle race mechanics worldwide, Townley has also organized and taught the East Coast certification clinic for USA Cycling’s Race Mechanics.
Merlyn Mechanics is a custom bicycle wheel building company, providing “built-to-order” wheels to cycling fanatics, bike shops, manufacturers, frame building companies and their customers. With 30 years experience in the cycling industry, Merlyn Mechanics has constructed wheels for road, track, mountain, Cyclo-cross, ’round the world touring and has a wide range of experience with highly specialized race wheels. One of only 11 category-one licensed race mechanics worldwide, Merlyn Mechanics has developed a unique wheel building technique that marries old world craftsmanship, with new world technology, crucial to the durability and performance of highly stressed wheels. Based in Chattanooga, TN and established in 2009, Merlyn Mechanics also offers an on-line retail shop with unique cycling related products, resources for the professional race mechanic. For more information, visit: merlynmechanics.com.
CONTACT:
Heather Huston, PR and Marketing
