As the saying goes, opinions are like @$$#*!+&, everyone has one. Well here is mine. No more correct or accurate than any others. First I want to help out all those folks who believe the Herse frames & forks are worthless without the bits. If any of you want to part with a Herse ff because is it worthless or is in your way please contact me. I will arrange pick up and relieve you of your burden. As for the parting out, I am ambivalent towards it. I am fortunate to have a Herse tandem that when found had only one Herse crank arm and one set of herse canti brakes. Guess the former user should have hung up that bike and not replaced the missing or more likely broken parts to keep it on the road. Imagine you spend 7Gs for a complete bike that is a one of a kind. Do you ride it or hang it. If you ride it something just might break. What would you do? Hope one shows up on ebay and not question where it came from? Bid under an alias so no one on the list finds out?
Bikes are machines just like cars are machines. There would be a lot less
vintage cars on the road today if there we no parts available for them. We
sometimes confuse machines for art. Even rare art is sometimes restored with
modern techniques and equipment. Of course an all original bike like an
original car is worth more but with a car you can check many parts for
serial number matching. What do you do with an all original bike? Can you
prove it is all original? Did Herse ever make a bad quality part that he had
to replace? When he replaced it, is that bike still all original? See how
this can extend to a never ending discussion. If you have an all original
bike and are happy with it then that is great. If you do not and you are
happy with it then that is great. If you believe it is original and it is
not, that is great. Neither party is better than the other, they just are
different and that is the whole point of this hobby otherwise Dale would
only allow original bicycle owners to hold discussions here. Sure glad that
is not a rule.
Ray Homiski
Elizabeth, NJ