The History of Plume Vainqueur

A Belgian bicycle brand with a rich history is undoubtedly the Plume Vainqueur brand, also known as Plum or Plume Sport. It is not surprising that you occasionally spot a vintage racing bike with decals from Plume Vainqueur on marktplaats or 2dehands.be.

The bicycle shop(s) still exist but they no longer make frames themselves.

The origin of bicycle brand Plume

It was Pol Desnerck who started assembling bicycles in 1910, for which he produced fittings. He bought a building in the Bagattenstraat for this purpose Gent and made bicycles under the brand name P.S.D. It was not a success and Pol changed the name to Plume, which referred to the quality of French bicycles that were in fashion at the time.

Pol's business flourished until the 1920s when a competitor called itself Plume d'Or, appeared in Brussels. The name referred to the superiority over Pol's brand Plume who considered a lawsuit for stealing the brand name, but because it was quite difficult to win a lawsuit at the time, Pol decided not to go further and opted for an easier solution.

The Plume brand name was changed to Plume Vainqueur with which Pol referred to the winning character of his brand. Pol had succeeded in his aim and because sales continued to grow, he bought new premises in the Nederkouter. The property still exists and has recently been given new owners.

In the 1960s and 1970s, additional branches were added, such as in Aalst, Zwijnaarde, Ostend, Brussels, etc. They were all run by independents and some have since disappeared.

Unfortunately, Plume Sport has also recently disappeared in Anderlecht. They also made frames with their own hands. It is still not clear whether the two brand names had anything to do with each other, so more information is welcome.

Plume Vainqueur also sold the Italian brand Paganini that they had bought in the 60s, the frames were apparently made by Ciocc or Torpado, there is still some doubt.

Sponsoring of cycling teams

From the late 1940s to the mid-1970s, Plume also sponsors various cycling teams and provides them with racing bikes. Especially the latter are hard to find and whoever has one can count themselves lucky. The most famous cyclists who ever rode on a Plume racing bike were Albert Van Damme, Belgian cyclo-cross champion in 1976 and 1977 Marc De Block and the well-known presenter and former national coach of the Belgian cycling team, José De Cauwer.

Here's a summary of all the cycling teams that were sponsored by Plume

The shop in the Nederkouter in Gent

The store was recently taken over, after 3 generations working there, by Annick Houtsaeger, who says she has kept the authenticity of the store. After all, downstairs there is a small museum where you can view beautiful vintage racing bikes, some made by Plume himself.

On most frames you will see both the name Plum and Plume. The how and why is still a mystery to which I have not yet received an answer, who knows, maybe someone can give me more clarity when reading this article.

Finally, you can view some models below.

Do you also own a Plum or Paganini road bike and do you want to add it to the article, please send me a message