[CR]HELYETT TANDEM ON FRENCH EBAY

(Example: Framebuilding:Brazing Technique)

From: "Norris Lockley" <norris@norrislockley.wanadoo.co.uk>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 02:06:22 +0100
Subject: [CR]HELYETT TANDEM ON FRENCH EBAY

Thanks for the comments Fred. I have sold a few Lejeune tandems over the years but they were all "cooking" models much like Gitane and Peugeot

However I have seen some up-market touring and racing models and even a couple of track ones from Lejeune. As you know better than I that Lejeune probably did not build all their own frames, I suspect that the better Lejeune tandems were my by CACEG, and M. Ripoll, who had workshops at Montreuil, on the eastern perimeter of Paris, about 20 minutes away from Lejeune's factory.

I have a friend who used to work at Helyett's factory at Sully-sur-Loire, just south of Blois. He reckoned that Helyett built all their own frames, but even though I have four or five in my collection and have seen many more, I cannot say that any of them come anywhere near the standard reached by Urago, way down in NIce.

The URAGO company is a bit of a puzzler for me. In the 50s and 60s they produced some very elegant frames, and although I have visited the company on a couple of occasions, I never got the feeling that there was a workshop on either of their premises . Clearly the workshop could have been a totally separate building on another site. I have several Special CNC frames, built by Fletcher-Ducret in Paris. The finest ones of these, again from the 50/60/70s are elegant and well built..and resemble very closely the Uragos.

I do know categorically that Urago did not build frames after the mid-70s..and that they were out-sourced, some of them being built by Jean-Marie Duret , at Argent-sur-Sauldre, near Orleans. But he never built tandems..I have never seen a Urago tandem...I suppose there are not many about.

About the Ebay Helyett, I have attempted to expand and "blow up" the photo, but still cannot see much detail. I think it is a better job than the "cooking" models of Lejeune.

Norris Lockley...Settle UK