The Alcyon was a French

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

and

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manufacturer between 1903 and 1954.

Origins

Alcyon originated from about 1890 when Edmond Gentil started the manufacture of

bicycles A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...

in Neuilly,

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. In 1902, this was complemented by

production and in 1906, the first cars were shown at the "Salon de l'Automobile" in Paris, France. Also in 1906 it founded the professional Alcyon cycling team which was active until 1955, including winning the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

6 times.

Motorcycle racing

In 1912 Alcyon competed at the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May and June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907 Isle of Man TT, 1907. The event begins on the UK Spring Bank Holiday at the e ...

races with a 348cc

single-cylinder engine A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, motorized bicycles, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, power tools ...

featuring two inlet valves and two exhaust valves. Both bikes failed to finish the Junior TT race. Alcyon had local success in France during the 1920s, with riders such as Marc Jolly, Marcel Mourrier, Jean Durand and Lucien Lemasson winning races. During this time too, this bicycle brand got its nickname "l'intrépide Alcyon".

Voiturettes before the World War I

Two models were shown in 1906, one a two-seat light car with single-cylinder 950 cc engine and a larger four seat model with 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine. Both engines were bought in from Gentil. The cars were advanced models with 3-speed gearboxes and shaft drive. However, the single-cylinder models were dropped in 1912 and larger models of up to 2120 cc were added to the range. By then, most of the engines were obtained from Zurcher. The company moved to

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is a suburb of Paris, from the Kilometre zero, center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the ci ...

in 1912. In 1954

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absorbed Alcyon. 1930sAlcyonAlcyonette-Barber

Cyclecars between wars

In 1914, the company's name was changed to ''Automobiles Alcyon''. After the war, the first model was a 1914 cc four-cylinder model, some examples of which were tuned and sold by the Lyons agent as Alycon-GLs and performed quite well in competition. However, the car was not a success and did not sell well, so in 1923, Alcyon moved into the production of

cyclecar A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive motorized car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the c ...

s, using 500 cc

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...

flat-twin A flat-twin engine is a two-cylinder internal combustion engine with the cylinders on opposite sides of the crankshaft. The most common type of flat-twin engine is the boxer-twin engine, where both pistons move inwards and outwards at the same ti ...

engines in a design bought from SIMA-Violet. Later the company manufactured another cyclecar of similar design, thought this one featured a single-cylinder engine. This proved a complete flop, and the company failed in 1928. Alcyon never sold cars again.

Trophée Gentil (1946-1963)

In 1946, the "Gentil Trophy" was created in memory of the founder of Cycles Alcyon, who died that year. It was awarded for the "achievement of the year", and took the form of a work of art created by Carlo Sarrabezolles. Each National Federation expressed its choice and the winner had to obtain 70% of the votes to obtain this honorary title.

List of winners

*1946: Émile Masson *1947:

Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the World War II, Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champio ...

*1948:

Briek Schotte Alberic "Briek" Schotte (7 September 1919 – 4 April 2004) was a Belgium, Belgian professional road racing cyclist, one of the champions of the 1940s and 1950s. His stamina earned him the nickname "Iron Briek" (''IJzeren Briek''). He was World ...

*1949: Reginald Harris *1950: Ferdi Kübler & Hugo Koblet *1951: Prize not awarded *1952:

*1953:

Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the ye ...

*1954:

Louison Bobet Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 – 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 195 ...

*1955: Stan Ockers *1956: Ercole Baldini *1957: Roger Rivière *1958: Charly Gaul *1959: Rik Van Looy *1960:

*1961: Jean Jourden, Henri Belena & Jacques Gestraut *1962: Jo de Roo *1963:

The company also gave its name to a race, the Grand critérium Alcyon, open to independent and aspiring riders under U.V.F. regulations.

References

External links

Alcyon motorcycles (in French)
{{French bicycle manufacturers Cycle manufacturers of France Cyclecars Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1890 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1954 Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France 1890 establishments in France 1954 disestablishments in France Companies based in Île-de-France