Brooklyn, Forget The Vespa. The Velosolex Is Infinitely Cooler!

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On Atlantic Avenue, an old French Solex

My own: from the 1960's

Steve McQueen even rode one!

Today's Velosolex

Forget those nerdy Vespa Scooters that are popping up everywhere here in Brooklyn. Those are so passé. What this Borough's coolest people need is the French VeloSolex. Now there is a true urban mode of transportation. Those babies look like ugly squat bicycles, but with a twist. Clever Frenchmen pimped it by attaching a little motor to the front wheel. Very high tech, n'est-ce-pas? Lift the motor manually and latch the lever on a hook, and you can ride it like a bike. When you need to get to your destination in a New York Minute, you can unhook the motor, press the gas lever, pedal hard and the little motor kicks in. Cool, no?

The Velosolex first made its appearance in France right after Word War II. It was the preferred transportation for students and factory workers alike: cheap to operate, cheap to buy and easy to park. Ugly? Yes, but so very practical. They were part of the French urban landscape, a part of every day life just as much as une bagette and les Gauloises cigarettes. Then in 1988, the company ceased production.

There are still some old ones to be found, like the one I spied right on Atlantic Avenue. My family still owns an old Solex, too. When we lived in France in the 70's, we used it at our farmhouse. It's still there, though my father gave it away at least two times because the brakes gave out. My mother, knowing how attached my sister, all our male cousins and I were to this thing, asked for it back. Thank goodness. That thing is a relic of my childhood.

The good news is that the company Magneti Marelli just bought the name Solex and started producing these bikes again. They are even available for purchase in the States. Boy, I sure would love one. I imagine myself zipping down Court, the wind in my face on my little motorized bike. Infinitely cooler then a Vespa, I say.

For info, click on Velosolex USA