The Bike Shop Coffee spirit at Yadigo

Coffee and bikes in the same place – the concept is not new. Similar places exist in San Francisco, New York, Shanghai, and even in Europe in Barcelona, Berlin, and London. In France, the concept is newer… We visited Yadigo’s in Val-d’Oise, at coffee-bike time.

By Jean-François Tatard – Photos: Jean-François Tatard/Yadigo/DR

This type of hybrid venue first appeared in London. There, cyclists can enjoy a delicious coffee after a bike ride with friends, take care of their bike, and even do a little shopping. All in a friendly atmosphere for maximum relaxation. These places are now well-known to cyclists, who are increasingly returning. The style has also set up shop at 8, Mail Joliot Curie in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône. This concept store combines bikes, accessories, and coffee. A delicious blend brought together in a minimalist but super pleasant setting.

When you talk to Antoine Gaudillat about the shop he opened some time ago, you immediately understand the meaning of the name he gave it: “Yadigo.” Yadigo is the name of his shop and the name of his bikes. Yadigo is also his name phonetically, with the syllables reversed.

A Cycling Past

Before becoming a friendly entrepreneur, Antoine Gaudillat was a cycling champion. His framed blue-white-red jersey above the coffee machine reminds us that he was a French national champion in motor-paced track cycling. A little-known discipline, certainly, but one with “incredible sensations.” The rider has a Master’s in logistics and worked for a year at Renault as an engineer. He could have settled for a quiet life behind his PC and enjoyed his free time cycling. But that’s not in his nature. In 2013, he threw it all away to learn English in England and took the opportunity to hone his cycling skills among professional cyclists, where he made a name for himself.

The least we can say is that Antoine was born with a bike spoke in his hand. Everyone in the family cycles, his mother and father. His father even coached him for motor-paced races. Antoine started cycling in Chécy in the Centre region at 14, and not just to continue the family tradition. His favorite discipline is track cycling. And why track cycling? Perhaps because when he was a teenager, he just had to cross the street to ride laps on the Saint-Denis-de-L’Hôtel velodrome.

And 6 years ago, at the age of 27, the former engineer, aspiring professional cyclist in Bradley Wiggins’ country, set up his own bike brand here in France, in Val d’Oise, in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône.

The Bike Shop Coffee Spirit

It all started in 2015, in this Île-de-France town near the Vexin, where Antoine humbly set up in a small 70 m2 workshop. Initially, the Yadigo brand was mainly known by Antoine’s friends and the clubs he had been a part of: VS Chartres, AS Corbeil-Essonnes, PAC 95 (where he is still licensed). But little by little, a local clientele also appeared and gradually grew. The idea of creating a place to welcome them became essential.

The Bike Shop Coffee concept came naturally. Perhaps because it’s the one that best matches the attentive approach Antoine has prioritized.

The shop was designed to prioritize hospitality. Industrial decor, brick walls, Kennedy armchairs, a coffee table with cycling magazines, a TV screen to watch Giro or Tour stages. Like an open kitchen overlooking the living room, the workshop is an open space, and Antoine is repairing rivets on Greg’s old frame while we rehash the race, lounging on the sofa, sipping coffee. You enter here as if into your own living room, with its warm wood.

Custom Work

The builds are custom-made. He has developed his own frames. A very unique geometry. Decor and colors inspired by Specialized. Antoine offers excellent products to his customers. At more than attractive prices. For €4000, you can leave with a model displayed on a stand in the middle of the shop. Equipped with a 1X13 Groupset kit 2Inpower from Rotor with a pair of high-end 50 mm carbon wheels. Specialized in road and track cycling, Antoine also develops mountain bikes and, of course, the Gravel segment, whose advantages he fully appreciates. Antoine also explains that he plans to develop events around this new practice, which has been gaining so much popularity recently.

Evolution

For now, the shop’s surface area is modest, but with all the ideas buzzing in Antoine’s head, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Bike Shop expand. To be able to offer even more services and – if attendance is good – provide more sitting space to offer light meals for cyclists and non-cyclists alike. All that’s missing is a Weber or, even better, a small food truck; the tables and benches are already in the small garden in front of the shop.

Currently, the cycling atmosphere is in vogue: this is evident with the opening of all these new bike cafés, which are now numerous in France. A place halfway between a concept store and a café. They each have their own particularity, but they share a very important common point: conviviality.

At Antoine’s, the setting is ideal for sitting on the bench with a beer after a bike ride in the Vexin or a long day at work. And even alone, I could see myself coming here to read the latest Vélo Magazine or Cyclo Sport and do some shopping, as part of the place is dedicated to selling cycling items: clothing, accessories, etc.

Address:
8, Mail Joliot Curie
95310 Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône

Website: https://www.yadigocycling.com

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