There are a few odd things about this bike - especially considering the seller has a reputation for "working on his bikes."
- The lever for the generator is a type that Herse used in the 1940s, but later, the lever was brazed onto the seat tube. Of course, the advantage of the earlier lever was that it could be retrofitted, as it mounts onto the seatpost binder bolt.
- The Herse stem is lacking the cable housing stop, and a separate housing stop is incorporated into the headset. This could be original, if an owner spec'd that, because they planned to raise and lower the stem all the time. Or the stem could come from a racing-type bike, with brakes that did not require a cable stop.
That said, it is a very neat bike. Interesting to find a Huret front and Cyclo rear - usually it was the lever-operated front with Cyclo, or front and rear Allvit. The internal cable routing is neat, so is the Nivex-type chainrest (quite rare).
If only it were my size (and if only I had the money).
--
Jan Heine, Seattle
Editor/Publisher
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
http://www.mindspring.com/