Without getting too much into prices and value, I think that Helyett Speciale bikes of the 1950s and early 60s are extremely desirable, at least to my aging generation, because of the way, when we were in our teens, Jacques Anquetil notched up so many victories on what was, ostensibly, an Helyett Speciale - it certainly looked like one, with the same lugs and finished in that gorgeous green color (unlike one of the ebay bikes).
Another reason for their desirability is that they are, or should be, fitted with equipment that is also now considered quite desirable and/or hard to come by, such as Simplex JUY543, later JUY61, and LJ23 derailleurs and FB Simplex hubs with Simplex QRs, along with the venerable, though easier to find, Mafac brakes and Stronglight 49D cranks or, later, harder to find Stronglight 57.
I also get the impression that there are not many Helyett Speciales about - they are very infrequent on ebay. In 6 or 7 years of ebay, I only noticed 4 Helyett Speciales - an early one offered, I think, by a list member, the one I bought with grotesque modern equipment, and the two just gone. I would be interested to know whether this scarcity is because they were not made in very large numbers or because they deteriorated after a few years to the point that they were considered junk and thrown away. In the UK, they were extensively advertised by the UK distributor in magazines such as Coureur/Sporting Cyclist, just as Anquetil's victories were publicized, but I never knew anybody who had one. In those days, the most popular components in the UK, certainly most aspired to by younger riders, were Stronglight cotterless cranksets and Mafac brakes, but with Campagnolo gears and hubs. Which must certainly have affected Helyett sales in that country. Maybe Helyett made little marketing effort outside France too.
Whatever the reason, the current supply is small, so it does not take much demand to lift prices.
Hugh Thornton
Cheshire, England
From: Martin Walsh <mowalsh@verizon.net> Subject: [CR] Market High for Helyett Speciale To: "CR List" <ClassicRendezvous@bikelist.org> Date: Saturday, 24 October, 2009, 21:10
Dear CR list members, I followed a couple ebay auctions for "Helyett Speciale" bicycles that two esteemed list members brought to the list's attention. Peter Kohler outed the first auction and Norris Lockley outed the second Helyett Speciale auction. One auction was sold by a seller in the U.S.A. and the second auction by the son of the original owner over in Orleans,France. Each of the auctions offered a different twist on what buyers want in vintage bicycles. The first bicycle featured "original patina",and the second bicycle featured a "pristine frameset" to sum up the descriptions in two words. The prices were what I consider to be market highs for production bicycles of this time period of late 1950's thru the early 1960's.
Peter Kohler list member from our DC metro area outed the first Helyett Speciale and here's how Peter described it,and I'm quoting Peter. Please see Peter's quote below: ..."entire machine just ouzes "Vive La Tour" originality. " The first Helyett Speciale that was outed by a fellow DC list member,Peter Kohler,can be found by pasting in :The "tinyurl" below or going to your ebay account and pasting in the auction item number: 280405683885http://tinyurl.com/yatltk2I wrote to the seller of this auction and he stated it was a "good auction" and the bicycle was being shipped to Japan.The selling price was $4500.00 dollars plus shipping to Japan.I considered the auction a market high for this type bicycle.But I may stand corrected...... I followed a 2nd auction for a Helyett Speciale that esteemed list member Norris Lockley brought to the CR list attention. The completed auction can be viewed here:http://ebay.com/<blah> link:http://search.bikelist.org/?SearchString=Helyett%20Speciale&SortBy=MsgDate[d]&Scope=classicrendezvousTake care and safe riding!Yours truly,Marty Walsh in Vienna,Virginia United States of AmericaP.S. Make sure you ride a bicycle, "single file" when riding, in Purcellville,Virginia,U.S.A., or the town police may just stop "you".True story!
Marty Walsh
Vienna, Virginia, USA