I am trying to throw some light on Douglas Van Cleve's Andre Bertin fram e, but it is difficult to find much information on this brand, other than t he references to Bertin's joint ownership with Ron Fitching of the "Milremo " brand of accesories.
The company is still base as it always has been in the N of France, not far from Arras, just west of the main road from Paris to Calais. The compan y still trades and anyone passing through the suburbs of Arras will note th e finger-posts directing drivers to the Bertin depot.
I have several Bertin catalogues from which I have been able to decide t hat Doug's frame is most likely to be the top-of-the range model the "COURS E SUPER PROFESSIONAL" as this is the only one on which Nervex Pro lugs were used, the tubes being Reynolds 531 DB. In the 60s this frame would probabl y have been painted in BERTIN team colours of gloss black with red head and seat tube panels.
All the other models were called "COURSE,,,something or other such as "A MATEUR, or "COMPETITION", but none of them, as far as I can see had the Ner vex lugs, nor the Reynolds tubes. VITUS EXTRA and DURIFORT tubes tend ed to be used on the other ranges, coupled up with Bocama lugs, although so me frames that I have seen have featured lugs and crowns that, over here in the UK, were sold under the MILREMO brand.
"Andre Bertin" is very much a regional brand, much seen in the north of France and in Belgium, and it very unlikely that many were sold south of Paris. I have tried for a couple of decades to discover more about Bert in bikes and frames, but because I was a good customer of Ron Kitching's co mpany and knew Ron well, I never managed to pluck up enough courage to visi t Bertin's HQ in France, lest Andre informes Ron that I was trading behind his back.
The source of Bertin's frames is a bit of a mystery as iy is unlikely th at they were made in- house. Although there used to be sevral good and repu table frame and cycle builders such as Dangre, Leleu, Delcroix, all within an hour's drive of Bertin's HQ, I still harbour an idea that the frames wer e probably made by a company such as Jeunet in the Doubs area, some distanc e away.
Norris Lockley...Settle UK
Norris Lockley
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