At 10:10 PM +0000 6/18/07, hersefan@comcast.net wrote:
>Lily Herse was a many time French national cycle champion, and she
>earned those wins on Herse frames.
8 times in fact. And women's racing was bigger in France in the 1950s
and 1960s than one might think - there was some very strong
competition. Lily complained at the time that the worlds never had an
uphill finish, so she as a climber stood little chance.
>In the early 70's, a womens racing team was sponsored by Rene Herse
>- and victories on Herse Bicycles included the 1974 World
>Championships in Montreal!
Yes, one of the women on the Herse team was twice world champion, and
many times French champion on road and track.
>
>A famous male racer (Lousion Bobet) also is known to have used Herse
>race frames as well.
There were some other pros who had their frames made by Herse.
At the 1974 Paris bike show, Herse had the lightest bike on display - something like 15.4 lbs., if I recall correctly, using only stock components (no drillium or technical trials-type stuff). I have seen some lovely Herse racing bikes... -- Jan Heine Editor Bicycle Quarterly 140 Lakeside Ave #C Seattle WA 98122 http://www.bikequarterly.com