I really love this thing. I seriously thinking of buying it sometime next year. I always thought of buying a mixte (I know my penis will fall off), but since the top tube is already somewhat lower on the standard model, that might work. Anybody know if the generator is for the front light only (or also the backlight - hard to see if it even has a back light).

I stopped by a local Trek dealer over the weekend, and was told that the 2010 models were on the floor, but he wasn't going to be stocking the Belleville. Seems like a bad decision to me. Though I only wanted a look and won't be buying one, I'd expect plenty of customers to fall in love with it.

It's more likely this.......... (from the Wiki)


"Belleville is a neighbourhood of Paris, France, parts of which lie in four different arrondissements. The major portion of Belleville straddles the borderline between the 20th arrondissement and the 19th; the remainder lies in the 10th and 11th arrondissements.

It was once the independent commune (municipality) of Belleville which was annexed by the City of Paris in 1860 and divided between two arrondissements along its main street, the Rue de Belleville. Geographically, the neighborhood is situated on and around a hill, the highest of the French capital. The name Belleville (literally "beautiful town") is most likely derived from belle vue (beautiful view)."

Or, whlle the name is certainly derived from the Paris neighborhood, I think it may be via this.
I wonder if anyone at Trek has done the minimal research necessary to find out that Belleville is a working class, very heavily Arab & African area, the sort of place where women in full burqas are a common sight: interesting marketing association. Mostly likely, they just stole it from VO because it sounded French.

Better than Electra stealing a whole line of parts and accessories form them. Poor VO, I should give them more of my money.

I agree that Electra has borrowed heavily from VOs play book, but even with their superior distribution and marketing, I don't think they will have a major impact on VOs business. I'm fairly certain that the pricing and limited availability will limit the success of this venture. That's a shame because I'd love a set of the TA ripoff cranks. :love:

And you are upset because VO makes (slightly) cheaper knock-offs of Brooks saddles, Nitto handlebars, and Honjo hammered fenders? I mean, it has all been done before, long before.

Anyway, back to OP. Belleville is on my radar, especially after one of the shops in town offered $500 for last year’s model (which is exavtly same, it’s a carry-over). But here in Idaho market for retro-urban bikes is small-ish, so by autumn I couldn’t find any in stock to try. Most dealers never even ordered it.