John,
I found the message below in an old digest and don't know what has been covered but I'd like to comment. I also would like to thank Mike Kone,Jan Heine and Mike Barry and others for traveling such a great distance with their fine examples of their Rene Herse cycles for display at the cirque. I deeply r egret that work kept me from sharing mine with the group.
For reference I did show it at an earlier event and someone (?) was kind
enough to snap a picture of it. Link:
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/
I can only speak to the performance of my bike but I assume similar styled bikes from the same maker handle similar. Mine has low gravity racks fron t and rear. The rear is original and is quite large diameter tubing (12 mm ?) o n the main struts. Because of some miscommunication the front carrier was only the handlebar bag style and Mike Barry of Mariposa constructed the front low gravity front carriers in the Rene Herse style for the bike.
The bike handles very well under load. You can ride no hands heavily lade n with panniers! I have also taken the rear low carrier off and used it wit h my tandem with good results until I had some dedicated carriers made for it. The stability was excellent.
To comment on Johns question on flexing left to right; there is no perceptible motion even with 40 LB per side. It is my belief that a very stiff lateral frame and very stiff lateral carriers mounted low are desirable for heavy loads when touring. This concept can sacrifice vertical compliance in som e designs which would seem to allow the possibility of a harsh ride if not com pensated for. My Rene Herse is surprisingly comfortable loaded or not but I have found many very harsh riding bikes to soften up comfort wise when heavily la den while still retaining their lateral stiffness. This is where a builder with experience in the area can be of great value and much experimentation is sti ll to be done or in the case of Rene Herse type cycles; rediscovered!
As far as the seat stay anchor being adequate; I suspect it is a heavier gauge tube but the low rear carrier may actually reinforce the rear frame an d make this unnecessary. For reference my bikes Reynolds 531 transfer suggested 531C, competition tubing (Thinner gauge than the tourist model tubing). I t is quite hefty as a bike at around 36 LB without baggage but it does have 2 lar ge low gravity pannier racks, 2 small day carriers, dual front and rear generat or and battery lighting and a demontable take apart frame.
I do believe for heavy loaded touring properly located low gravity carrie rs on the properly designed frame are vastly superior to traditional designs. Amazingly to me at the time I discovered that the small wheel suspended Alex
Moulton bicycle carries large properly placed and supported loads with much greater security than my Rene Herse and with almost no handling penalty what so e ver. I'm not sure why this is true but I suspect the load on the AM has a lo wer center or gravity pivoting off the small wheels, and the load is largely between the front and rear axles, and the suspension aids in comforting the stiff compact wheels and the stiff space frame.
After riding the Rene Herse I thought the Moulton as a touring bicycle was a
joke; heresy it is compared to the beauties of old but it works very well.
Thanks to all who shared their lovelies at the Cirque.
Yours in Cycling,
Gilbert Anderson
North Road Bicycle Company 519 W. North St. Raleigh, NC 27603 USA Toll Free Ph: 800-321-5511 Local Ph: 919-828-8999 E-mail: cyclestore@aol.com
In a message dated 4/6/05 1:25:52 AM, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org
writes:
> Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2005 21:02:33 -0700 (PDT)
> From: John Clay <jmedclay@yahoo.com>
> To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Subject: [CR]Rear racks on French camping bikes
>
>
> Looking at the rear racks on French camping bikes and
> wonder if they are prone to flexing laterally. They
> sure look like there isn't much to prevent racking to
> the left and right.
>
> Is that an issue?
> What prevents that sort of motion? I can't envision
> any sort of triangulation or web section to address
> it.
> The connection to the mid point of the SS appears to
> be the tension member that keeps the rack from
> pivoting down and backwards - Does that work OK?
> They lower the CG but also move it aft - does that
> feel funny?
> I keep wondering if all in all this sort of design is
> really superior to the more conventional designs of
> the present.
>
> Interested to know whachya'll think.
>
> John Clay
> Tallahassee, FL