Mercredi translates to Wednesday in French, the day of the week when many school children have time off from their studies and are encouraged to play outdoors. I thought that was a very clever and insightful name for Adeline’s framebuilding company. Only a year into building and only three years into riding bikes, this wasn’t the only time Adeline’s perspective impressed me. She’s had an interesting experience with bicycles in that time, many of which have shaped her outlook on not only the industry but what she would like to do with her brand.
Adeline began framebuilding at the Bicycle Academy. A small, yet thorough school that teaches the skills needed to build a frame. Adeline was one of these curious cadets, who signed up and began her first bike. A few months later and Bespoke Bristol landed on the calendar, prompting Shand Cycles to win the Columbus Award. At which point, Shand contacted Andrew from the Bicycle Academy, asking if he had any hopeful students who would benefit from the tubeset. Someone immediately came to mind.
Once Andrew gifted Adeline the tubeset, she rented a small space and was able to begin building frames for her teammates. Only a year later and she too found herself at Bespoke Bristol, where she won the hearts of Columbus and Chris King, prompting them to award her creations.
I had the pleasure of spending a few days with Adeline, where we were able to discuss framebuilding, racing, bike rides and the UK cycling culture. I can’t wait to see where she goes and Mercredi Bikes go this year! If you’re going to Grinduro Scotland, be on the lookout for Adeline on her new MTB she’s building. She’ll be racing against Tom Donhou and Ricky Feather at the event – all in good fun – but I’m rooting for the underdog!
