i grew up in lima, peru, and there was no bicycle racing or touring culture whatsoever. bicycle transportation culture there was. after i came to live in the states, eventually (around 1986), i made friends with a cyclist. i asked him to find a me a racing bike - what did he hook me up with? a used motobecane grand record for very little. however, he rode a battaglin with campy nr, and somehow i ended up going italian in my preference. i still have the motobecane, and i did own a couple of vitus frames along the way, but i never heard of of herse or singer (nor hetchins for that matter), until i joined this list a few months ago. i think that one reason why my colleting never crossed paths with these marques is that they make (i think), primarily touring bikes, and i was never interested in touring bikes. the other reason is definitely that in this country at least, they are esoteric, and i still don't consider myself one the enlightened few who understands and appreciates them. maybe i will if and when i discover the joys of cyclo-tourisme.
ray dobbins
miami, florida