At 4:23 PM +0000 7/17/08, gholl@optonline.net wrote:
>Hi Jan:
>Your questions and concerns can be addressed directly:
>Can these Herse bikes be repaired without destroying them-of course,
>and the sooner the better. They're almost destroyed by neglect
>already. This destruction is continuing beneath the wax.
I don't see how the "destruction" is continuing beneath the wax. Rust
is iron oxide. Without oxygen, there is no rust. Wax seals off the
flow of oxygen to the steel. In fact, the 1952 Herse's owner, as an
experiment, polished the fork blades down to bare steel. So if there
is rust forming, it has to form on the surface. And so far, none has
formed. At the current rate, that bike probably has another 300-500
years in it, if it is stored in a reasonably dry place.
>I don't know what "information" would be lost by a proper repair.
What is a proper repair? If I took a completely rusted hulk, cut out the left rear dropout and the fork crown with the frame's serial number and build a new frame around those, would it still be an Herse? If yes, what if I just build a replica? So perhaps we should keep the original and build a replica?
Photos are nice, but the real thing remains the real thing.
Otherwise, we could throw out all the bikes in our book "The Golden
Age of Handbuilt Bicycles", since they are so well-documented now!
>What is of most importance here is that the repairs be correctly
>done. The means to repaint, rechrome and produce decals, parts, etc.
>is available.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. We do not even know exactly what paints they used originally. At first, we thought it was lacquer, but it appears to be enamel. Most painters today don't use enamels, and in fact, they aren't legal in many places any more. Good stripers are hard to find as well. Even if the result looks passable when new, the new materials will acquire different patina as they age.
If you can think of somebody who can provide "correct"
repair/restoration work in this country, I would be very interested
to hear about it. I am not trying to put down those who refinish
frames. They often do an excellent job, but I have not seen many
bikes that could be mistaken for originals after they have been
restored. They are like those churches Alex M. mentioned - perhaps
lovely to behold, but very different from what they used to be.
>Of course, and quite rightly so, the cost of such work work is very high.
Indeed, and it far exceeds the value of the bike.
>But, in my opinion, these are just the type of vintage bikes that
>should be properly repaired.
I think we should start the repairs with those bikes that really need repairs - the mutilated, repainted, massacred ones. I just finished famous tandem that was a basket case if there ever was one. No qualms about restoring there. And if it does not turn out perfectly, like that 1946 Herse, not much (beyond money) is lost. However, this time, I am happy with the results, but I still would prefer an original.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.bikequarterly.com