mtb-timeline

Hinault

Bernard “The Badger” Hinault, winner of 10 grand tours, one of the greatest cyclists of all time, and arguably cycling's most ferociously competitive champion, retired in 1986 and immediately lent his good name out to a French Supermarché brand. To be fair, the B. Hinault road bikes, which he also sponsored and started racing upon in 1985, were generally top-spec and worthy of Bernard's stickers. The MTBs were not.

It's likely Bernard partnered with Gitane to produce these VTTs, as they often shared the unique seat collar construction. Hinault MTBs were all outfitted with Shimano components, while Gitane's were not ¹⁾. They were only distributed in France.

The Hinault badge is nearly identical to the Gary Fisher twin mt. peak logo²⁾.

There are no online Hinault catalogs, despite there being dozens of books (and movies) about Bernard. His branded mountain bicycles never became noteworthy. The bicycles he rode in competition, manufactured by Look, Gitane and Cyfac, are all high quality, collectible and well documented.

The late 80's were flooded with cheap, forgettable shop re-branded MTBs of unknown origin. It's not worth documenting them all. Unfortunately, the trend continues today.

Left: Bernard Hinault going off-road in cyclocross. reddit
Right: Hinault on a Look AV 86 MTB, ca. 1988. retrobike

The 1988 Look AV 86 is perhaps the very first aluminum lugged carbon tubed MTB. It's contemporaneous with the Kestrel MX-Z, which was fully carbon. More research is needed. See also: https://generationmountainbike.com/project/1988-look-av86/, where it quotes Look in 1988, “[Bernard Hinault] was the one who introduced the mountain bike to France.” (?!) Note that this simple shot of Bernard on an MTB is already more interesting than all of the MTBs with his name on them.

resources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Hinault

Bernard Hinault, ca. 1985 balkanweb

1986 Montexel

1986 Montexel Tourney TY10, 1986, thus. 3×5 drivetrain. Bullmoose bars. Single piece cranks.

1986 Montexel velovintageagogo

1987 Montexel

Tourney RD-TY10, 1986→1993, 1986 thus. 3×5 drivetrain. Bullmoose bars. Front cantilever straddle cable catcher, which remains for the next few years. “This mountain bike was sold (as you can imagine) in a supermarket.” Almost the same as the 1986 model, but with an improved crankset.

1987 Montexel velovintageagogo

1989 Montexel

Shimano Tourney TY-10 (1987-1993, thus), 3×6 gearing. Delicate looking front fork.

1989 Montexel velovintageagogo

1990 Montexel

Shimano Tourney TY-10 (1987-1993, thus), 3×6 gearing.

1990 Montexel leboncoin

1991 Montexel

Date is mere guesswork. Shimano Tourney TY-20-GS rear derailleur (1989-1995) Straight-V solid brake bridge. Blinged out with a huge 2 pound chain guard, derailleur guard, shoulder strap/bag and a matching green spoke protector.

1991 Montexel leboncoin

1993 Montexel

Shimano STX RD-MC32 rear derailleur (1993-?). GT triple triangle design but with better cable routing. Ad states that this is a 1992.

1993 Montexel leboncoin