[CR]Reyhand and Rene Andre bikes.

(Example: Events:Eroica)

From: "Norris Lockley" <norris@norrislockley.wanadoo.co.uk>
To: <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2005 02:28:04 +0100
Subject: [CR]Reyhand and Rene Andre bikes.

In the course of my recent ramblings in France I found quite a haul of goodies..no, before you ask ..no Herses. But I did manage two and a half Reyhands - the half being a lady's frame which someone claimed was a Reyhand and someone else said was a Singer. On top of those I also managed to buy a very original Rene Andre Randonneuse.. from the original owner who had done just one tour on it since he bought the bike in 1973. The Reyhands are very interesting frames...one is a full bike... this one being 100% "dans son jus" as the French say about anything showing the unadorned wear and tear of a lifetime. It is finished in a dark brown over a thick red-lead primer, and has/had gold box lining. it resembles almost exactly the Reyhand in "the Dancing Chain", but has a pair of those almost flat "W" shaped touring bars, and the Cyclo gear lever is on the down tube, not the top-tube. The other departure from the Raymond Henry bike is in the fitting of the decals or in this case the decal on the down-tube. Henry's has one each side of the D.T while this one has just one on the top of the D/T.. much like Alcyon used to do in the 30s. The "Durifort" sticker is still there but showing signs of advanced wear while the minute head-tube transfer is intact but faded. Underneath the layers of caked-on dirt and oil, the bright-work is in very good condition, but the steel rims are covered in a layer of rust. I have removed the old hardened Wolber 650B tyres and cleaned off just enough of the dirt on the hub barrels to reveal the magic word "MAXI" All-in-all..it has a homogeneous reddish-brownish look to it. I dont know if you see any of those greetings cards in the States depicting an elderly bike, often a twin-lateral model, leaning up against the sun-blistered paintwork of the wooden-panelled walls of the " Boulangerie", a wicker panier basket tied to the bars, full of flowers and "baguettes"...but I reckon that this particular Reyhand has been the male star in quite a few of those pictures. More about the other Reyhands later..

Delving through the CR Archives for mentions of Rene Andre.. and I found two, both from the same owner or prospective owner of an Andre being auctioned on Ebay sometime in 2002. He was asking for info about this mystery builder. If that guy is reading this email.. then get in touch with me.. I can fill in the blanks a little now. I aslo happened to notice that in Delong's "Guide to...." he listed Andre alongside Herse, Singer, Routens etc as one of the quality builders.. so that might imply that there is more than one Andre in the States. Can anyone give me any info on this "constructeur"?

Norris Lockley..Settle- sur- Ribble, Royaume Uni