The Singers that I have seen, including my own,
usually have a Reynolds 531 sticker
on them, as does my Herse Gentleman. (On my Singer, you can
see the 531 sticker on the seat tube, near the top, slightly hidden
behind the pump.) The way this tubing has been
drawn is anyone's guess (though Grant Handley might know since
he worked so long in the Singer shop). The frames unbuilt are
stout and not light---my Federale just frame and fork came in
just under 6lbs, not unlike a modern Merckx MXL (like the
one that Lance rode for Motorola). Herse was quite the engineer
and likely took sizing into account as he chose tubes. The Singer
shop seems to have preferred Reynolds 531 in nearly every
application. The forks on the French tourers are
stouter near the top given the use of the centerpull pivots and
the way these create a rising pressure on the crown---something
that Csuka told me in our discussion of the forks last spring when
I asked about the use of centerpulls for fender clearance.
This is all I know about them for a fact, perhaps Gilbert Anderson
knows more? He knows quite a bit!
regards,
Douglas Brooks
Canandaigua, NY
p.s.
If you are interested in seeing the Singer and that 531 tubing
sticker, look here:
http://albums.photopoint.com/
> >
> > I was thinking about Touring bikes and does anyone know what tubing was used
> > in Singer and Herse's? Was it straight guage or butted? What guages,
> > probably custom per size and use but most likely heavier than most racing
> > bikes. Was the top tube beefy to handle the large rack loads reacted in the
> > Handlebars when climbing out of the saddle which is not a usual load path
> > for a lightly loaded racing bike frame?
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