An interesting comment by Bertin enthusiast Carl Valero arrived in my inbox this morning. He informed me that Cycles Bertin has been revived. The sale of the original company in 1993 was followed by a period of management by a large firm which may not have been fully engaged with the company’s heritage. A move to Auch was followed shortly after by the closure of the management company and the end of Cycles Bertin as a commercial firm. However, Michael Bertin has been instrumental in managing a resurrection of the company in 2017.
Where the old company was a wholesale, design and manufacturing concern based in St. Laurent de Blagny in the Pas de Calais area (La Grande Marque de Nordiste!) the new Cycles Bertin is located in Quimper, in the Finistere Department in Brittany. Quimper is the location of the design and specification of the new range of Bertin bicycles which appear to be then built elsewhere. The steel framesets are constructed in France but I do not know the manufacturing attribution of the alloy framed utility bikes or the carbon fiber framesets and bicycles.
The old look of Bertin’s sales format was best seen in the 2000 catalogue of the Bertin range in its final year before the old company was closed. The scan below shows the cover of that end of the line catalogue.
The new Cycles Bertin format is as up to date and 21st Century as you would expect of a company muscling its way back into a crowded market place.
https://www.cycles-bertin.com/
Bertin’s current approach is based on a strong reliance on an on-line sales format with an integrated shopping cart and shipping program combined with a range of 31 shops scattered around France. Sales are currently focused on France, Corsica and the EU. This sales effort is supported by a racing team and other cycle sport activity as well as ongoing research and development for niches like a cyclo-cross frameset. Facebook is also in the mix helping spread the news of the revival.
https://m.facebook.com/Cyclesbertin/
Just so you can get an idea of the presentation of the new products, take a look at a Bertin C 16 with a Columbus Zona steel frame to get a hint of the new Cycles Bertin offerings. There is lots of the epected carbon fiber but I rather favour the steel and older style graphics of this one. Perhaps, in time, sales will not be restricted to just Europe but opened up to other enthusiasts. There are many of us around the world who still remember and respect the work of Andre Bertin and his original team who first created a World renowned cycling heritage.