Near the Swiss and Italian borders in France, you’ll find Julien Fritsch building his stunning custom bikes. While there’s not a lot of information available about Jolie Rouge Cycles, the details on this fillet-brazed Jolie Rouge touring bike say enough.
Each of my bikes is an individual experience. Step by step, from design to realisation, I explore the possibility of creating high-performance, resilient and ethical bikes.
– Julien (Jolie Rouge Cycles)
The Jolie Rouge Touring Bike
This Jolie Rouge custom is built around the amazing Rohloff 14-speed internally geared hub. Julien has an interesting take on the Rohloff shifter: he has turned the grip into a shaped metal ring that you can grab. I don’t mind the concept but can imagine the shape is awkward to clasp in some gears – I guess I can’t really comment until I’ve tried it.
The colour-matched racks are custom made for this French touring bike. The front rack offers a uniquely-shaped top tray (isn’t it lovely?!) for a basket or randonneur bag, and down below there are a set of rails for some panniers. A Schmidt Edelux dynamo light is located directly under the tray and free from obstruction.
The dynamo cabling makes its way from the front light, through the frame and all the way up the rear rack. A compact-form Supernova E3 tail light neatly sits vertically off the rack. This is actually Supernova’s 10 gram (0.3oz) seatpost rear light that has been adapted for a rear rack. Small details under the bottom bracket shell show that the Jolie Rouge isn’t about pumping as many bikes out as possible. It’s a labour of love.
The front end is simple yet complex. The front brake cable makes it’s way right through the centre of the stem, acting as a hanger to support the outer cable. Brooks bar tape and a Spurcycle bell constantly remind you that you’re holding onto something special.
The complete Jolie Rouge touring bike is as elegant as they come. The cream paint job, colour-matched racks, art deco font, singlespeed drivetrain, toe strap pedals and stainless fenders really give this bike a classic vibe.
The bike is finished with a Brooks B17 saddle, Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour tyres, a Schmidt dynamo hub and some stainless steel fenders. Check out the Jolie Rouge Cycles Flick page for more images.
Click HERE To See More Custom Touring Bikes.
Very pretty indeed! However, another bike with a lot of gorgeous details that misses some important ones:
-the front brake cable going through the stem is something from the early 90’s mtbs that was discarded for a reason. Every time you want to change the handlebar height you need to re-adjust the brake. I tell you from experience (Matrix, Tioga Avenger and many others had that system)
-the front rack has no stop on the back of the loading platform. Whenever the load slides towards the bike, and it will, it will mess with the front brake cable. The rack is pretty, but as architects say, “Form follows function”
You are right! Most French randonneur bikes have what they call a “decaleur” to keep
the front bag away from the brake cables and handlebars. Here is a
close-up of an Alex Singer bike that has both a decaleur in front of the
handlebar and a front rack with a rear support hoop. They have eight decades of bikebuilding experience, so they should know their stuff.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/434ff7e32ed22e9198eec82cd7d5866e82291ea6ba34b16d5873f9861da0a98f.jpg