[CR]REYHAND Time-line

(Example: Component Manufacturers:Chater-Lea)

From: "Norris Lockley" <norris@norrislockley.wanadoo.co.uk>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 11:58:26 +0100
Subject: [CR]REYHAND Time-line

If I remember correctly, some months ago a CR List member said that he was trying to establish a time-line/numbering system for Reyhand frames.

As a collector of Reyhands - at the moment I have two "genuine Reyhands" and two "possibles" I am as keen as anyone to toss my contributions, as meagre as they are , into the pot of knowledge.

Let me say that I have one complete Reyhand bike, in its original dark brown enamel, one "REYHAND" transfer on the top of the down tube, and one elongated diamond-shaped "REYHAND" decal on the head tube. There is no metal headbadge, and never has been. The second "REYHAND" is similar to the first, but is just a frame and has been re-enamelled by its original French owner, but has no decals at all. The other two "REYHANDs", one a gents and the other a lady's, were sold to me as genuine Reyhands..and they look like Reiss' work, but they are hand-painted. None of the frames has a frame number as far as I can detect, unless they are on the steering column and I haven't looked there yet.

However, on my last trip to France I came across a magazine article about designing tandem frames, in which Reiss' work featured strongly., and in which all manner of "firsts" were attributed to him, in terms of design.

The article referred to a Reyhand bike still in the ownership of a certain Louis Cointepas, the original purchaser. The frame is numbered No 1061 and had been made to measure for M Cointepas in March 1935. The frame is a 62cms (!!!!), and is built with REynolds tubes in a mixture of 5,6 and 7-10eme Reynolds tubes. The whole bike weighs 9kgs. Its seat angle is mighty 74 deg (Who says that all French frames of the 30s were sloppy angled?).

To the best of my ability I have attempted to decipher some sort of order, sequence, dating from the No.1061, but have concluded that Reiss must have used a purely sequential system starting from 1, 2 etc...that is when he remembered to number them at all.

I have been away from my computer and access to the CR LIst for over ofur months this year, so wonder if I have missed out on any other Reyhand info, that the arhcive has not thrown up.

Hope that this info helps whoever it was who is doing the original research.

Norris Lockley..from a now-Sunny Settle, UK