Hello,
I have a late model 1983-4 Rene Herse that I feel could be a bit better in the finishing of the lug work. The cycle is full chrome which magnified any file marks present to a degree that paint would easily cover. I have been told that the workmanship over all is better than most.
I however did not order this bike for flawless workmanship. I had been cautioned by many club older members that chrome on a bike was not a good thing as it tended to rust. An old fellow then and now Jay Howard; (a Fred DeLong club mate from Philadelphia) now from our area had a full chrome Bob Jackson that rusted all over from either process, neglect or environment.
At a 1983 LAW rally I saw Captain Dan Henry's all Chrome Rene Herse that was about 20 years old. It had all the accessories removed and had been ridden everyday in the rain without bothersome cleaning or even lubrication it seemed but the chrome seemed flawless and without rust. I raced bikes at the time and when traveling paint seemed to have an allergic reaction with my bikes so I wanted that long lasting (?) low maintenance full chrome finish. This Rene Herse fellow must know his chrome I thought and it's probably cheaper in Europe to boot.
I went over there and saw the display models in the shop and my jaw dropped with all the unusual features. I ordered the bike not for the workmanship (which was fine) but for the low gravity racks, the gadgets, the cool fittings, the demontable frame and the long lasting full chrome. Looks almost good as new today.
I think after talking to and listening to Brian Bayliss and Richard Sachs (and others) on this list that they try to produce every bike they can as a full on effort. First class all the way.
All bikes are built to a cost. So was mine. Had I spent 5 minutes taking about lugs and details in the finish I am sure mine would exhibit something special there and I would be charged accordingly? As a racer I had little need to fuss with such things but the takapart joint I had installed with the front to rear generator connection being effortlessly engaged in the joint; that is what I fussed over. I came out brilliantly.
I suspect most Herses were made for one customer and these details were ordered or not by their owners. Some would have had their money put into better components or other frame details rather than more elegant lug work. This and extreme demand during the bike boom may have accounted for the variance in finish detail more than varying stuff but who knows for sure.
Yours in Cycling,
Gilbert Anderson
North Road Bicycle Company 519 W. North St. Raleigh, NC 27603 USA Toll Free Ph: 800\u2022321\u20225511 Local Ph: 919\u2022828\u20228999 E-mail: cyclestore@aol.com
Curt Goodrich Wrote Below <snip I am not so sure that Hirose or Toei are really getting the better of the finest Herse bikes on the framebuilding details. From about 1948 through about 1954 there were some Herse frames that are right on the money with respect to framebuilding details. Crisp lug definition, near perfect brazing, and all done with sometimes handmade lugs! In later periods, fanatical frame workmanship was somewhat less common. But, when Herse died and his son in law took over, the level of workmanship was generally very high.
I certainly didn't mean to ruffle anyone's feathers. You're right, there's plenty of examples of finely made Herse's but there's unfortunately enough not so well crafted ones to leave an impression. I guess that's to be expected given that Herse's were made for a long time by numerous craftspeople. What I meant by my comments about the Hirose and Toei bikes is that I've seen fewer building mistakes/blunders in their work than I've seen in the French bikes that these Japanese builders are paying homage to. This is by no means a swipe at the French. I also think the differences that I'm talking about are understandable because Hirose is a single craftsman and Toei consists of two or three people and neither marquee produces a great deal of bikes annually. Sort of like comparing your lovely Weigle to the French counterparts that obviously influenced Peter's work on this bike.
Curt Goodrich
Minneapolis, MN >>