Unlike modern coupler bikes designed for air travel, the 1960s bikes usually were designed for car travel. Back then, car racks for bicycles existed only as custom-made installations for Tour de France support cars.
You'd put the bike in the car, drive out of the city, ride for two or three hours, then drive back. People expected the bike to disassemble and assemble in less than a minute, without tools. Most of these bikes used small 20" wheels, a rear coaster brake and no gears, so there were no cables to connect. These bikes rode poorly, but they enabled people to enjoy riding in the woods. My parents had slightly more spiffy Peugeots with a two-speed rear hub: Every time you backpedaled, you changed gear in addition to braking. You could change gear without braking by backpedaling just a bit.
The Herse Demontable was revolutionary in that it disassembled as quickly, yet offered almost everything a full randonneur bike did. Compared to a modern coupler bike, which will take a while to put together, the Herse Demontable is a snap to assemble, and you need next to no mechanical ability, nor any tools at all. Rather than comparing it with a coupler bike, you need to compare it with a Brompton or similar folder. (If you fly somewhere to ride for a week, it doesn't matter so much if you spend 30 minutes assembling your bike. But if you have to do that to every bike in the family before and after going for an afternoon ride, it becomes very tedious.)
When I tested a Demontable for Vintage Bicycle Quarterly (Vol. 3, No. 3), I found the shift levers not that cumbersome to use. You don't reach between your legs, but behind you thigh... I prefer downtube shifters, but I doubt the shift lever location alone would put anybody off cycling.
Jan Heine, Seattle Editor/Publisher Vintage Bicycle Quarterly c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles 140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C Seattle WA 98122 http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com
At 10:36 AM -0400 6/21/06, marcus.e.helman@gm.com wrote:
>Referring to eBay item 7250978225
>
>I know it is sacrilege to criticize Rene Herse, but I am amazed that he put
>the shifters on seat tube. Clearly it is done so that the shifters and
>cables could stay on the half of the frame that includes the derailleurs,
>making disassembly and reassembly easier. I understand that making a
>ladies demontable bike presents some serious challenges, but come on.
>Surely M. Herse could have figured out some sort of coupler to allow the
>gear cables to be disconnected.
>
>The seller says "Bike riding was my father's passion, not my mother's. She
>only rode when my father pushed her." Who can blame her? How much fun
>would riding be if you had to reach between your legs to the seat tube
>every time you wanted to change gears?
>
>Very unimpressed,
>Marcus Helman
>Huntington Woods, MI
--
Jan Heine, Seattle
Editor/Publisher
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles
140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com