[CR]Rene Herse project

(Example: Framebuilders:Alberto Masi)

From: "Norris Lockley" <norris.lockley@talktalk.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 00:10:59 -0000
Subject: [CR]Rene Herse project

It's fascinating pauuzzle that Mike has set before us with his Rene Herse project ...Is it a "Oui" or a "non" or pehaps a "Peut-etre"?

Four years ago I spent a whole day...probably not long enough by far, in the Bike Museum at St Etienne, that is reputed to have the finest collection, in depth, of any of the several bike museums in France.

On display were several Rene Herse bikes and frames, and a pretty good biography of Herse from his origins, in the 30s ( please don't quote me on this as it was 4 years ago!) as a fitter in the aero industry. The biography went on to say that Herse, when in full production, employed sevearl other workmen..and that not all Herse frames were made by the man himself.

I mentioned on the List a couple of years ago that one of the frames attributed to the Herse workshop, and which carried Herse's name was a very roughly constructed cyclo-cross frame built up with Nervex Pro lugs. It really was pretty rough by any standards..and I just assumed it was a frame built by an apprentice, learning his trade.

My intent is not in any way to denigrate Herse frames, but just to point out that Mike's frame could well be a Herse..but made by one of the other skilled fitters/craftsmen.

The drop-outs intrigue me because a bike turned up on French ebay last week, badly photographed, but inspite of the poor quality I could make out drop-outs very simmilar, possibly identical, to the ones on Mike's frame.

Thinking that they looked very much like a model very frequently used by Peugeot, and assuming the frame might be a Peugeot, I decided not to bid and, unfortunately I deleted the page from MY Ebay records.

Now seeing Mike's frame I begin to wonder whether the frame might have been one of a far better quality than I had thought.

One query about this..and other Herse frames is..what is so special about how Rene put the rear brake cable through the top-tube? I am curious about this.

Norris lOckley...Settle UK