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Named after a small, Hungarian-made motor scooter, Solex is the project of Amsterdam-based record-shop owner and songwriter Elisabeth Esselink. Formerly a member of Dutch indie pop group Sonetic Vet, Esselink wanted to express her musical ideas more completely; after purchasing an 8-track recorder and a vintage sampler, Esselink began recording songs on her own. Combing the racks of her own store for kitschy records, Esselink took snippets of old records to make new ones, creating her own style of lo-fi techno-pop. Solex's debut, Solex Vs. The Hitmeister, came out on Matador in 1998; Pick Up followed a year later. Low Kick and Hard Bop arrived in 2001, and three years later, Solex resurfaced with The Laughing Stock of Indie-Rock on Arena Rock Recording Co. Early in 2005, In the Fishtank arrived. For her next album, Esselink teamed up with Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez of Boss Hog, mixing her sampling skills with the duo's brash vocals. Amsterdam Throwdown King Street Showdown! arrived in 2010.
from Wikipedia:
Solex was a French manufacturer of carburetors and the powered bicycle VéloSoleX.
The Solex company was founded by Marcel Mennesson and Maurice Goudard to manufacture vehicle radiators. These were fitted to several makes of early cars including Delauney-Belleville and buses of the Paris General Omnibus company.
After World War I the radiator business went into decline and the company bought the rights to the carburettor patents of Jouffret and Renée and named them Solex after their business.
Carburetors
Solex carburetors were until the mid 1980s used on many European cars including Volkswagen, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Audi, Ford, BMW, Citroen, Opel, Simca, Saab, Renault, Peugeot, Lancia, Lada, Mercedes Benz, Volvo and Porsche. Solex carburetors have been made under licence by a number companies including the Mikuni company of Japan who supplied them to auto makers including Toyota, Mitsubishi and Suzuki as well as to various Japanese motorcycle makers. Mikuni originally entered into a licensed manufacturing agreement with Solex in 1960 and further developed many of Solex's original designs.
The Solex brand is now owned by Magneti Marelli. The original Solex company changed its name in 1994 to Magneti Marelli France and on May 31, 2001, Magneti Marelli France partially bought its assets (including the trademark SOLEX) from Magneti Marelli Motopropulsion France S.A.S.
Powered bicycles
The Vélosolex has a small 49cc motor mounted above the front wheel. Power is delivered via a small ceramic roller that rotates directly on the front wheel by friction to the tire.
The first prototype of a VeloSolex was created in 1941 and used regular bicycle frame such as those under the "Alcyon" brand and were powered by a 45cc engine developed by Solex. VELOSOLEX were produced commercially and sold starting 1946 with a 45cc engine without clutch, then later with a 49cc engine. The solex, although not varying much from one version to the next was sold in these models: - 1946–1953: 45cc - 1953–1955: 330 (first 49cc engine - no cluctch) - 1955–1957: 660 - 1957–1958: 1010 - 1958–1959: 1400 - 1959–1961: 1700 (first version equipped with a clutch) - 1961–1964: 2200 - 1964–1966: 3300 (first frame with a square section) - 1966–1988: 3800 - 1971–1988: 5000 Export version were also created (version sold outside of France) - 3800 - 4600 - 5600
Current version (made in France) - 2007–2011: Velosolex 4800
More than 8 million were eventually sold, mostly in Europe. It was also constructed under license in many countries. Today the Velosolex is again manufactured in France. The trademark "VELOSOLEX" is the property of Velosolex America, LLC which markets the Velosolex motorized bicycle worldwide.
