The technical trial is an event which promote the bicycle framebuilding. It proposes builders to present a bicycle wich will be tested during practical stages.

This trial used to exist from 1905 to 1949 and permitted to french builders to become spearheads of the discipline.It has been relaunched by the magazine 200 associated to Victoire cycles. The subject of the first two editions was the light randonneur and was a real success.

This year, the trial is moving form Ambert to Bruniquel in Tarn et Garonne. The purpose changes to become the MTB for Bivouac, also called B roads.

This new subject, large and demanding offers a maximum of freedom to build singular proposals.

My name is Romain Thouin and I ride bicycles since ten years. Four years ago, I started to self-learn framebuilding.

I firstly proposed frames around me under the name of Air Cycles. Then I had the chance to be part of the two editions of the new technical trial because I was cycles Victoire's framebuilder. I left this job in september 2017 to go back to study and develop my practice of designer at ENSCI les Ateliers.

This year, I decided to participate to the technical trial, going back to Air Cycles, in order to confront my two disciplines: design and framebuilding. I hope to enrich each other with this adventure. The 2018's subject is really adaptated to a design approach. The notion of bivouac and so nomadism will require a complication of the proposal, and will permit not to limit my work to the only frameset.

I will work on the bikepacking and the content. I want to offer innovative proposal around the bedding. Also, and of course I'll work on the frame itself, to give it some innovations. For example, it will be coupled and I aim to approach autonomous energy. The lighting will then be a key question, for the machine and the camping. I want to solve it by only one object for both uses.

My school represents a useful support, both humanly and technically.
Also, my pilot, Loic Chieterra helps me a lot and is really committed since the beginning of the project.
Pierre-Yves Brun, founder of Bumbags will collaborate with us and be in charge of all the textile stuffs around the project.

Air cycles au concours de machines 2018