Re: [CR]Rene Herse Tandem (My Photos)

(Example: Component Manufacturers:Avocet)

Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 08:44:20 -0700 (PDT)
From: "dave martinez" <dmart84815@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Rene Herse Tandem (My Photos)
To: wheelman@nac.net
In-Reply-To: <59441.146.152.216.1.1053046494.squirrel@webmail.nac.net>
cc: CR List <ClassicRendezvous@bikelist.org>

Hello Ray, What a wonderful machine! Did you post pics to the List at an earlier date? If memory serves me well, did you find it at a second hand store? May I encourage you to either keep the tandem intact or sell/trade to an enthusiast who will take stewardship of it. A year ago I was fortunate to purchase a 1948 Singer tandem. The Singer is original and in excellent condition---both tandems are historical pieces that should be preserved. Have you seen the RENE HERSE book that Jan Heine is selling? There are numerous pics of a Herse tandem like yours that was used in the Technical Trials! There was a B-17 flying around our area yesterday, parting out the Herse would almost be like parting out that old Flying Fortress--left to only pictures and fading memories. Best Wishes, Dave Martinez Fremont Ca

wheelman@nac.net wrote:Saw that recent Rene Herse tandem on ebay and thought you might like to see one that I believe is a bit more desirable. This is a full chrome lugged model. I can only estimate the date to be from the 50s. I have taken a long time to clean this up and re-grease the all the bearings that I could. As you will see it has only one RH crank arm, the Stokers right side. The rest are Stronglight and one day I will find a .165 arm to make them all match. Also the cantilever brakes are mixed. The rears are original RH brakes while the fronts are DiaComp. I will be on the lookout for a rear light for both the fender and back of the seat tube. Also a generator to match them all, I can only assume it fits on that threaded post on the inside of the seat stay. There is a photo on the site I have below, in photo # 21 look closely just under the fork crown to see a wire peeking through the fender for the front light. A lot of braze-ons here, there is the one for the light behind the seat tube, the flats under the cantilever springs, the cantilever mounts, the cable routings, the loop under the left chainstay (most likely for a drum brake), pump pegs, water bottle bosses, that front derailleur, rear derailleur lever and rear derailleur hanger and probably some others that I missed. It also has only 3 bell wing nuts so I am on the hunt for the 4th. Cool lightweight Mephisto ABLOCS wheels mounted with Wolber super randonneur tires. Note the Maxi-Car hubs front and rear and the neat way the spokes are wrapped and soldered. That rear derailleur is a Cyclo Randonneur 5V-2.38. There is a nice old set of Mafac brake levers operating via those RH brake pulley blocks. Fenders are Durex RBN EtsE Robinea alloy. Front seat that came with the bike is an Ideale #5 while the back I put on is an Ideale #39. It also is sporting a nice combination of Stronglight chainrings and Lyotard alloy pedals. My dilemma is that I am not a tandem person but like this bike a lot. It is very light and rides real smooth. I have been given monetary offers for it but not even close to what the sum of its parts could bring on ebay. The money I would only spend foolishly to be sure. What I have been asking about is an interesting trade. I would like a single Rene Herse but I am fussy about the period. I really like the age and componentry of this model. I have been asked for a serial number but there is none to be found. I had this bike down to its bare frame (I did not remove the BBs but rather injected new grease) and can tell you there is no serial number on the steer tube nor on the rear dropouts. I have been told that this would happen if the bike was more a personal item than one that was sold but I have no way to validate this. Overall I am lucky to own this for sure. I am fighting those two voices in my head that say. (Good voice) Keep the bike intact and wait for the right deal to come across. While the (Bad voice) says, Part it out sap, make the doe and buy a single. Well I wanted to share this with you all and you can see it now at the site URL below. Check the “Show All” hypertext at the top of the page, as there are over 50 photos to view. One other thing, when viewing these photos you may see some tiny mist rain droplets on the frame in some of them. We have not had a dry weekend here for some time so I took out my camera and a dry towel and snapped away. The chrome is very nice but not perfect, there were no decals or markings when I got this bike. You should check out that wonderful lugging in the photos, what a work of art.

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/wheelman_nj/lst?.dir=/Rene+Herse&.src=ph&.order=&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/

Ray Homiski Elizabeth, NJ

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