Jordan Colin and Sylvain Fusillier launched Madnes Bicycles, in Grabels (Hérault) in the summer of 2021. Both design and manufacture mountain bike frames made of steel. A material chosen for its resistance and low environmental impact. Interview with the two co-founders.
One of your messages is that the frames you create are durable. How do you make them?
Sylvain Fusillier. They are made from steel tubes and plates. Steel is a lot less energy-intensive in terms of production than aluminum or carbon. It is infinitely recyclable. A carbon bike is basically carbon in plastic. And once the frame is cracked or you want to get rid of it, it goes in the trash.
Jordan Colin. When we think steel bike, we think heavy bike. That’s the first thing people tell us when they say the bike is steel. Not at all. In fact, at the weight levelwe are the same as an aluminum bike and we are even close to a carbon bike.
SF. And there is also another reason, which is that the steel material will have a much greater resistance to fatigue. For us, it’s bikes that are in high demand because it’s mountain bikes that are made for jumps, descents, etc It has been noticed that aluminum bikes, for example, after 5 years, they end up cracking and you can no longer use them. We have to throw them away.
Are your mountain bikes recyclable?
SF. Yes, apart from the painting of course. But the bicycle, once it is at the end of its life, it is put in the dumpster or scrapped: the steel can be recycled without any problem.
You manufacture in Hérault and you say you are 100% Made in France. However, this steel, it comes from Sweden and England.
JC. If we could supply ourselves in France, we would gladly do so. But currently, there are no suppliers who provide this kind of material for the cycles.
Can we just order the frame or the entire mountain bike?
JC For the moment, we provide the frame and the shock absorber because in terms of storage and initial investment, we cannot provide complete bikes. And it is above all also a supply problem the rooms. Because right now there is a huge shortage in everything derailleur, chain, fork, etc.
SF In fact, almost all bicycle parts come from China or Taiwan. There are transportation and production issues with Covid-19. And the problem is that all chinese suppliers will give priority to supplying major brands.
You started your business last summer. Have you ever been into mountain biking?
JC We have always bathed in it. At 14, we created our first prototype. What was the trigger was the dismissal of Sylvain, at the end of 2020. He worked in aeronautics. And it was an economic dismissal linked to Covid-19. As the bike was booming, we started.