Cycles Follis — short history (founding → closure)

Origin & early years

Founded by Giuseppe/Joseph Follis in 1903 (originally in the Turin area of Italy), the business relocated to Lyon, France in the early 1920s after the political situation in Italy changed. The firm built artisan, made-to-measure frames and slowly developed a reputation for high-quality finish and reliability rather than mass production.

Interwar → post-war development

Under the next generation (François Follis) the company expanded its workshop activity. After WWII Follis grew into a modest regional manufacturer and, at times, experimented with motorised cycles and related patents. In the 1940s–1950s the company also patented techniques (including lugless frame ideas) and supported small racing teams.

The 1950s: competition, Forestier, tandems

The 1950s are widely regarded as Follis’s “golden” era: they produced high-quality racing frames and became especially noted for tandems and competition machines. The marque actively sponsored riders and teams — most famously the association with rider Jean Forestier, whose successes in the mid-1950s (including Tour-stage wins and classics results) were used in Follis marketing and model badging. That period left the most surviving, collectible examples (including Forestier-badged competition frames).

Later decades, export push & US presence

In the 1970s Follis pursued export and promotion (notably into the US market) and enjoyed some racing visibility there (for example with riders/importers like the Stetina brothers campaigning Follis bikes). The company continued to make hand-built, made-to-measure steel bicycles rather than switching to mass production.

Family stewardship and closure

The firm remained family-run into the 21st century: Myriam (the founder’s granddaughter) and her husband Jean-Claude Chollet ran the business from 1973 until retirement. Follis celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2003 (a small numbered centenary run was offered), and the workshop finally closed in 2007 when the couple retired.

Established in 1903, this bicycle building business was known for it’s artisan approach, gaining a particular reputation for its tandems. In the 1970s, a strong USA importing and promotional effort was entered into, with such notable racers as Wayne & Dale Stetina successfully campaigning the bicycles on the USA race scene. The USA success ended in the late 1970s, but they remained in business until 2007.