Mavic is celebrating its 125th birthday this year. We showed you some of the French brand’s new gear earlier, including its new Ksyrium 125 Ans special edition wheels and new bib shorts. But we also took the opportunity to poke about in the Annecy company’s attic of past products from the great, like the disc wheels Chris Boardman rode to victory in the individual pursuit at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, to the ambitious but a bit shonky, like its Mektronic electronic gearing from the 1990s.
Many of the company’s classic pieces were in display at a bash to mark the birthday attended by a gang of former stars who rode Mavic during their careers, including Irish greats Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche and Frenchman Laurent Jalabert.
Mavic was set up by two brothers in 1889 and originally called EMR until an investment a short while later changed it to Manufacture d’Articles Vélocipédiques Idoux et Chanel and gave its current name, Mavic.
In 1973, Mavic started providing the Tour de France with neutral service, thrusting the brand's yellow cars and motorcycles in front of millions of cycling fans.
Other memorabilia on show at Mavic headquarters for the birthday celebration included special wheels built ahead of the 1980 Paris-Roubaix, a 3G tri-spoke carbon front wheel from 1982 (four years before Look made a frame from carbon) and prototype clipless pedals.
Click through the gallery for a closer look, and a walk down memory lane.