Speedy tubing as I understand, is a Reynolds product that was a lower grade material. Herse and other French makers used quite a bit of it from what I can tell. It was common on club type bikes and also for city/commuter type machines as well. It is probably a lower Carbon content material (I would guess) that was usually supplied in pretty thick gauges. Not the material for lightweight trials bikes!
Before you write off a bike with it as second tier material, remember that on bikes with big fat tires, much of the suppleness of the ride comes from the tires. In essence, on a fat tire 650b bike you have a case where frame material does in fact start to matter very little (unlike a bike which is intended for skinny tires - there the frame needs to provide the suppleness).
Therefore, Herse for instance, used Speedy tubing on very tricked out city bikes. The one I have in front of me has Herse brakes, Herse bb, Herse stem, yet it uses Speedy tubing. I also know of a Goeland city bike with speedy tubing, a Bianco (person who taught Singer to build frames) frame built for the president of the French touring association (or something to that effect) built with speedy tubing (that bike was more of a casual ride machine from what I can tell), and an Herse purchased as a "budget racer" built with Speedy.
Mike (not-so-speedy) Kone in Boulder CO
At 05:39 AM 6/21/02 -0700, bikenut wrote:
>Brian,
>The Herse that I recently discovered/uncovered has the same 'Speedy'
>tubing stampings and are clearly visible as well even under the nasty green
>hornet paint job the last owner saw as a snazzy upgrade. I was wondering
>about them also...I will snap some jpgs when time permits and post them
>and perhaps the 'speedy' mystery will be resolved. BTW, the 'green hornet'
>Herse is from around 1959/60 ....the paint job obscured the serial # but not
>the tube stampings.
>
>Starting the first day of Summer early,
>Matt Gorski
>Belmont Shore, CA
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Brian Baylis <rocklube@adnc.com>
>To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2002 10:40 PM
>Subject: Re: [CR]Re: Tubing
>
>
>> Gangmembers,
>>
>> Since everyone has tubing on the brain (I know I do since I'm wallowing
>> in it lately) I ran into some tubing in a Rene Herse that I'm unfamiliar
>> with. Perhaps someone on the list knows something about it. This bike is
>> a 60's era frame I believe, and stamped VERY deeply (as in it could
>> probably be read from outer space by satellite quite easily) in all of
>> the tubes is the word "speedy". I have never heard of this tubing before
>> seeing it here on this frame. I haven't got the paint off yet so there
>> may be more information forthcomming; but off hand does anyone know
>> anything about this stuff? I would guess it to be of French manufacture
>> but would like to know more just out of (morbid) curiousity. I haven't
>> handled all that many Rene Herse frames so this has never crossed my
>> path before. Most Rene Herse I've seen are Reynolds 531. Perhaps this is
>> a Vitus offering of some sort?
>>
>> Don't anyone strain their brain or get over technical about it; just
>> want to know what it is.
>>
>> Brian Baylis
>> La Mesa, CA
>> BTW Chuck, you dig up the Libellaula and I'll roast it for you!