Hirondelle, a very long-lived swallow

HIRONDELLE, A VERY LONG-LIVED SWALLOW.

Saint-Étienne was known as a center of production of swords and knives since the medieval era, its importance as a strategic center of war production grew until 1764, when the Manufacture d’Armes de Saint-Étienne was founded.

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The company immediately expressed large production capacities, so much so that about 12,000 weapons were produced annually since the year of the French Revolution in 1789, in this regard, at that time the city was renamed Armsville.

The production of weapons for both war and hunting purposes increasing yearly until reaching the end of the 19th century; in this period, thanks to the installation of new production lines, two productions are also introduced: fishing equipment and cycles.

The style of the Manifacture D’arms et Cycle was immediately recognizable in fact in 1889 they presented the Hirondelle Superbe characterized by a curved frame supplied with a single curved featured by an ovoid-section.

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To tell the truth, a frame shape very similar to the Hirondelle Superbe was introduced by the American Rambler a year earlier in 1888, the model presented overseas was better from a frame point of view as it had the fork with the tube stearing housed inside of the frame while the Superbe’s steering was provided with a pivot.

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The architecture of the steering designed for the Superbe was transformed into the weak point of the whole bicycle as it was subject to breakage due to the excessive over-weight that weighed on the pivot, however today, despite the rarity of the vehicle in question, many more Superbe models are known compared to the model of the American Rambler.

After studying the various shapes of the frame, Hirondelle opted for a common frame shape, as can be seen from a rare Hironelle path-race model from the end of the 19th century, this example is characterized by the classic shape of the time which was a frame equipped with an upper tube inclined towards the rear wheel recognized among enthusiasts with the name of inclined frame.

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Over the years, the world of cycles production evolves, especially in France, by including the retrodirect system in the productions of major brands such as Terrot and Manifacture D’Arms et Cycle.

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The Retrodirect bicycle has constituted since the 20s of the 20th century the most successful model of the Saint Hetienne house, the operation of the retrodirect is very simple.

The retrodirect chain, thanks to a sprocket placed in the lower part of the rear stay, touches both the sprockets mounted on the rear hub.

To understand how the speed change works, you have to follow the movement of the chain with your eyes.

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In fact, as can be deduced from the movement of the chain, the higher speed is reached by pedaling clockwise while the reduced speed is activated by pedaling in an anti-clockwise direction, in this way the smaller sprocket makes the chain pass by guiding it to the spool placed on the frame which in turn guides it towards the higher speed on the rear hub, activating the reduced speed.

The bicycle is equipped with: wooden mudguards, elastic handlebar with four steel rods and a pair of patented sports brakes each equipped with metal elements to which the skates are dircetly connected.

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This model remained in the catalog for several years even in the post-war period and there were numerous versions and updates, in fact in the 1930s the house also patented a derailleur placed on the front crankset which had been equipped with a double plates; this arrangement made it possible to reach the number of four speeds.