Hello Gang,
As the owner of a fine Rene Herse my perspective might have some insight on this discovery. You must believe some of their bikes were so light that judges at the touring or racing trials may have insisted that the bike be ballasted to the standard of the day for fairness.
The same thing is done in Nascar with restricter plates and limits on engine size. Also in cycle racing there are many long standing rules set up starting with early TDF racers riding identical bikes from one manufacturer to standards in frame shape an wheel size used today forcing my beloved small wheel Alex Moulton out of the Peleton and into the HPV trials after initial racing success.
"A race is designed to be between riders and the course; not the machines, as it should be!" Alex Moulton
Any other thoughts? << From: Joseph Bender-Zanoni <joebz@optonline.net> To: Ray Homiski <classicbicycle@gmail.com> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]Really strange find in Rene Herse bicycle
<<Theories:
Special model for the little known coasting trials. Also a favorite for bike exchanges at summits.
Test rider for customers you would rather not build a frame for. Typical review capsule: "mysteriously sluggish".
"Amis du vin" modification. Created long arguments at the bar about "counter weaving".
Joe Bender-Zanoni Great Notch, NJ
Ray Homiski wrote:
> I was preparing my Rene Herse bicycle frame today for a paint job that
> I am
> having done. I had only to remove the headset and BB. The headset came
> off
> without a problem. The BB also was fairly easy to remove. It is the RH
> BB
> set with bearing cartridges pressed into the BB. After removing the RH
> retainers to expose the cartridges I gently tapped the spindle to
> drive out
> the bearings, first one side then the other.
>
> To my surprise I saw inside the BB shell between the two bearing
> cartridges
> a load of what I can only describe as tiny metal spheres the size of
> poppy
> seeds. I mean there was a bunch of them in there. It was packed with
> them. >>
Yours in Cycling,
Gilbert Anderson
North Road Bicycle Company PO Box 840 166 Court Square Yanceyville, NC 27379 USA
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