[CR]Bastide track bike/R Goossens/restoration or conservation

I've just uploaded to the Rene Herse site photos of a particularly nice Bas tide track machine :

http://www.reneherse.com/bastidepiste.html

Does anyone have any info on R Goossens (name written on the diagonal tube) ?

This is one of those bikes that in my opinion should be left untouched (may be just change rear tubular if a perfect match to the front turned up). Any cleaning or polishing would remove for ever the wonderful patina of the bi ke.

I agree that most Rene Herse bikes and post 50s bikes can and should be don e up to ride, but with the older bikes, it's far less obvious. Wood wheels, rusty spokes, etc, sticking new wheels on this bike to ride would just rui n it. It's a question of the condition the bikes have reached us in .

So that's my point : some bikes are for riding, some are just for looking a t.. I would guess that a large majority of CR members want to ride their bi kes, so they wouldn't want to collect a bike like this, on the other hand, I hope they enjoy looking at it on the site...

Alexander March Bordeaux France

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