robertj298 

I've never ridden one but I can't think of any other mechanical device from
France that is any good.

ehcoplex

repechage

Quite a trolling statement and possible question.

Why don't you rephrase that, "I am biased and do not own one, so why should I bother?"
Because beautiful women appreciate them.

John E

Find one to test ride before passing judgment one way or the other.
When my Nishiki Competition frame broke after 20 years and 40K miles, I bought a pair of Sugino French-threaded BB cups and transferred most of the components as upgrades to the Peugeot UO-8 a coworker had given me. In many ways, this near bottom-of-the-line Frenchie rode better than the Nishiki, despite its Ishiwata double-butted CrMo tubing. I broke that UO-8 frame a few years later -- perhaps some curse in the components I had moved across. French frame with Japanese derailleurs and cranks -- not a bad way to go. (Aluminum French cranks from Nervar, Stronglight, and TA are world class, by the way, as are Lyotard platform pedals and Mafac brakes.)

Anyway, for what it's worth, my all-time favorite road bike is still my Peugeot PKN-10, which I would have kept if it had been one size smaller. Absolutely delightful to ride.

markk900

No

thinktubes 

cb400bill

I think that you would easily find on this forum many thread about the wonderful bikes from Motobecane, Moser, Gitane, Stella, Peugeot, Rene Herse, Singer, Follis, Mercier to name just a few.

Do some digging.

cb400bill

And read this from Sheldon Brown.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/velos.html

Moe Zhoost

They are about the same level of junk as the bikes from the rest of Europe, Asia, and North America. I know nothing about South American or Australian bikes so I won't comment.

tricky 

I really like my Peugeot pepper grinder.
France also has a huge military industrial complex. All the countries buying bombs, ships, planes, and nuclear submarines from the French can attest to their mechanical prowess.

3alarmer

...sometimes they are. Nobody is perfect.

Sedgemop

I like vintage drums and hardware at least as much as I like vintage bikes. A French bass drum pedal, the Asba Caroline, is one of my favorites. They were ahead of their time in terms of speed, sensitivity and durability. And, like most French things. they look pretty great for being a functional object. They're pretty collectible now. I'm keeping mine.

ASBA

bikemig 

Here is some counter programming

What's so special about French bikes?

nlerner

They’re pretty good at wine making.

xiaoman1 

rogerm3d

Is the tour de france an important race? I've never watched it but I can't think of any other french races that are relevant /S

sd5782 

With your luck, you will probably find a nearly unridden high level French bike soon. I haven’t seen loads of French bikes here in the Midwest so have little experience with them. I did pick up a nice Peugeot UO14 but haven’t ridden it much since the weather is cold now. I may offer an opinion in the spring.

MaxKatt

and Time.

thook

french bikes. i think it's japanese bikes that are junk. ginsu comes to mind

"is that a real japanese knife? or is that a sears taiwapanese knife?

C9H13N 

The French build some of the world’s best nuclear reactors and jet aircraft, I’m sure they could make a decent bike or two.

ehcoplex

They seem to be outperforming the US in the aircraft department in recent years.

jonwvara 

C'mon you guys, we all know that French bikes are great--I've owned a bunch of them--but they do have some peculiarities. That is sort of a French thing. I man, look at the Citroen automobile. People used to rave about how advanced the engineering was, and so forth, but the average knucklehead mechanic would have no idea how to keep one running well.

Actually, that's mostly based on what I have heard from my motor-head younger brother. But he's an engineer, so he must be right.

This much is certainly true: The average bike-shop mechanic today wouldn't have a clue about how to remove a Simplex rear derailleur without busting it. If you were him, you'd think French bikes were all junk, too.

EDIT: I smell a rat in that initial posting.

thook

they make a lot of really great items. i'm mostly familiar with the kitchen ware

thook

i've had two peugeot cars. mostly great cars, but some of the electrical stuff was not the best. however, this dynamic is true for every maker of car i've owned and know of

El Chaba

Sure, they are junk. This one has the most sublime ride of any piece of junk that I have ever ridden. The original post makes perfect sense. What would the French know about bikes ? ( wow)