Thanks for the pictures of another Helyett frame. It is odd again in having what appear to be standard, or almost standard, Nervex Pro lugs rather than the distinctive design normally seen on Helyetts. I wonder if it was not a factory frame, having belonged to a a semi-pro. It has the fittings I would expect for a bike fitted with Simplex JUY543 gear so it must be mid to late 50s. They seem to vary in the amount of chrome on the forks and stays - some just have the dropouts and fork crown plated. Hugh Thornton Cheshire, England
From: alex m <alexpianos@yahoo.fr> Subject: [CR] Helyett Speciale To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Tuesday, 20 October, 2009, 17:32
Here is for comparison a Helyett Speciale frame that had a double cable RD, probably a Juy 543, so it must be late 50s
http://www.reneherse.com/
This frame belonged to an ex semi-pro, so was the top of the line Helyett model.
With the Peugeot bikes, "3 tubes Reynolds" as opposed to "tous tubes Reynolds" is the sign of a cheaper bike. But you can notice in the frame linked above, the fork also has a Reynolds transfer. So effectively, the whole frame including stays is in Reynolds (Reynolds 3 tubes renforces bases et montants = 3 Reynolds tubes + stays).
I don't see this fork sticker on the eBay frame (the auction is effectively for a lovely frame, plus a lot of pretty nice but non-original parts). Maybe there were slightly different levels of "Speciale", but as Jaouen says any Speciale is certainly top of the line.
Alexander March
Bordeaux
France