The Gladiator Cycle Company, Clément-Gladiator (from 1896), was a French manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles and cars based in Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, Seine. Throughout its productive life from 1891 until its demise in 1920 the company was variously owned by: the founders Alexandre Darracq and Paul Aucoq; from 1896 by a London public listed company Clément, Gladiator & Humber renamed in 1901 Société Française des Cycles Clément & Gladiator and from 1906 by ' Vinot et Deguingand'.

Cycle manufacture

Gladiator cycles

The cycle manufacturer was founded at Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, Seine north east of Paris by Alexandre Darracq and Paul Aucoq in 1891. In 1891, the English cycle maker,

Thomas Pullinger Thomas Charles Willis Pullinger CBE OBE OBK JP (1867 – July 1945) was an English automobile engineer. He began his career working with bicycles before the first cars were built. After working for Sunbeam and Humber, he helped expand the Scott ...

, was asked to visit Gladiator on behalf of

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...

Cycles to discuss a potential

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments ...

. This did not materialise.

Clément-Gladiator cycles

In 1896 Adolphe Clément who held the extremely profitable manufacturing rights for Dunlop tyres in France joined with a syndicate led by Dunlop's founder Harvey Du Cros to buy out the Gladiator Cycle Company and they merged it into a major bicycle manufacturing conglomerate of Clément, Gladiator & Humber & Co Limited. The range of cycles was expanded with

tricycles A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes ...

quadricycles A quadracycle is a four-wheeled human-powered land vehicle. It is also referred to as a quadricycle, quadcycle, pedal car or four-wheeled bicycle amongst other terms. Quadracycles have been in use since 1853 and have grown into several fami ...

, and in 1902 a motorised bicycle, then cars and motorcycles.

Motorised cycle manufacture

Clément and Gladiator

From 1895 Clément cycles also started to focus on motorized vehicles. In 1902 they offered a motorized bicycle with a 142 cc engine that had an automatic inlet valve, an overhead exhaust valve and an external flywheel. The combined oil and petrol tank was behind the saddle and the batteries were stored in a leather case strapped to the horizontal frame tube. This 'motorisation adaptation' was sold on both Clément and Gladiator cycles. In Britain these popular motorised cycles were known as Clément-Garrards.

Motor manufacturing

Clément-Gladiator motorcars

After the 1896 takeover the range was expanded and in 1902 a motorised bicycle lead to cars and motorcycles.(See Clément Gladiator cycles above for further details) From 1901 Clément-Gladiator cars were built at the Levallois-Perret factory and by 1902 production was over 1,000 cars per annum, 800+ of which were sold in England. Some of these cars were equipped with engines manufactured nearby in Saint-Denis Paris by Aster in single, twin or four cylinder configurations. The company was divided in 1903, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot running Clément-Talbot Ltd with Adolphe Clément as a significant shareholder. Clément renamed the French branch Clément-Gladiator and also formed

Clément-Bayard Clément-Bayard, Bayard-Clément, was a French manufacturer of automobiles, aeroplanes and airships founded in 1903 by entrepreneur Gustave Adolphe Clément. Clément obtained consent from the Conseil d'Etat to change his name to that of his b ...

. After 1903 the Clément-Gladiator name continued to be used on the shaft-drive cars made at the Pre-Saint-Gervais factory, whilst chain-driven vehicles were marketed as Gladiators. The Clément name was dropped in 1907 and in 1909 another French manufacturer, Vinot et Deguingand, took over Gladiator and transferred production to Puteaux. At this time the Pre-Saint-Gervais factory reverted to making bicycles. In 1909 Gladiator was bought by Vinot et Deguingand, who transferred production to their factory at Puteaux. The Pré St Gervais works continued to make bicycles. The production of the 1908 12hp model P or PS, was transferred in 1909 to the Vinot Deguingand factory in Puteaux. From then the P model was also available as a Vinot Deguingand and stayed in production until 1910. It was the last Gladiator designed car as Vinot Deguingand took over. The Gladiator name was dropped from the cars in 1920.

Wartime Production

During the First World War the Le Pré-Saint-Gervais Gladiator factory produced arms from 1915, and was the principal producer of the

Chauchat The Chauchat ("show-sha", ) was the standard light machine gun or "machine rifle" of the French Army during World War I (1914–18). Its official designation was "Fusil Mitrailleur Modele 1915 CSRG" ("Machine Rifle Model 1915 CSRG"). Beginning i ...

machine rifle. The general manager, Paul Ribeyrolles, was involved in the design of the

and other French small-arms during the war.

Gallery

File:Btv1b84489297-p038.jpg, Lisette and Eteogella on Gladiator bicycles with Simpson lever chains in 1896 File:Gladiator 1899 3.5 HP Phaeton on London to Brighton VCR 2010.jpg, Gladiator 3 1/2HP Phaeton from 1899 File:Gladiator 1899 3.5 HP Phaeton on London to Brighton VCR 2010 (2).jpg, Gladiator 3 1/2HP Phaeton from 1899 File:Gladiator 1900 6.5 HP Tonneau on London to Brighton VCR 2010.jpg, Gladiator 6 1/2HP

Tonneau A tonneau ( or ) is an area of a car or truck open at the top. It can be for passengers or cargo. A tonneau cover in current automotive terminology is a hard or soft cover that spans the back of a pickup truck to protect the load or to improve ...

from 1900 File:Gladiator 1901 6.5 HP Two-seater on London to Brighton VCR 2013.jpg, Gladiator 6 1/2HP Two-seater from 1901 File:Gladiator 10HP Tonneau 1902 07-11-2010 12-47-56.JPG, Gladiator 10HP

from 1902 File:Gladiator 10HP Tonneau 1903 07-11-2010 13-16-12.JPG, Gladiator 10HP

from 1903 File:Gladiator 10HP Rear-entrance tonneau 1903 07-11-2010 13-16-35.JPG, Gladiator 10HP Rear-entrance tonneau from 1903 File:Renault 1903 Tonneau & Gladiator 1903 10HP Tonneau on London to Brighton VCR 2010.jpg, Gladiator 10HP

(347) from 1903 and

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

10/12 HP

(355) from 1903 File:Gladiator 14 HP Demi-limousine 1904 03-11-2013 08-55-46.jpg, Gladiator 14 HP Demi-limousine from 1904 File:Gladiator 1910.JPG, Gladiator type P 1910

Notes

References

External links

Posters of Gladiator-Bicycles

Gladiator 2-seater car, 1907
{{French bicycle manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1891 Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France Brass Era vehicles Cycle manufacturers of France French companies established in 1891 1920 disestablishments in France Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1920 1909 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in Île-de-France