At NAHBS for the third year was Cyfac, a relatively little known French bicycle maker, but one with an illustrious history.
Standing for Cycles Fabrications Artisanales des Cadres (Artisan-made Bicycle Frames), the company, which is based in the Loire valley, south of Paris, has been around since 1982, and does all its design, production and finishing under one roof. Originally, it made high-end custom frames, handmade to individual professional’s measurements and badged up by other bicycle brands to be ridden by the pro peloton. At the high point, about a third of the division one riders were on Cyfacs – although you wouldn’t have known it, since they were painted in the colours of MBK, Peugeot and others.
Cyfac started off with lugged steel, but moved to fillet brazing, and were the first to TIG-weld aluminium for the pros (including Chiappucci and Pantani). Now, they make fully custom tube-to-tube carbon frames, to individual riders’ geometries, with proprietary tubesets and bespoke carbon lay-ups to suit each individual’s needs and riding style.
The top-of-the-line Absolut (pictured), can be built with or without an integrated seatpost, to custom or standard geometry, with or without BB30, integrated Di2 or no… take your pick. There’s also in-house finishing for custom paint jobs. The model on show had a nice French red-white-and-blue thing going on, over a matte-finish carbon weave.
Also on the stand was a stunning carbon tandem, made for a husband-and-wife team, with a custom supporting tube configuration (from the front seatpost back), that suits both the riders’ aesthetic desires and the company’s desire to keep the bike as stiff and responsive as possible.
An interesting feature was a belt drive on between pilot and stoker (which Bilenky had also done, on a steel tandem on display at his stand). Cyfac plans to experiment with a fully belt-drive tandem, using a Rohloff hub – if the customers want, that is…
A couple more shots after the jump.
