Freek: The bike is older, was built in '55 and repainted to present color in
summer of '59.
I got it used from Rickert when I raced in Europe.
At the time Rik Van Steenbergen and Rik Van Looy were at the top of the
game. Ric was a natural nickname for Rickert and he called his bikes "RIC
SUPER" as a tie in to their popularity and fame.
Good business tactic without royalty problems. The two Riks were RIK 1 and
Rik 2.
What Hugo Rickert didn't think of was that concurrently there was a toy
scooter company in Germany that named it's scooters Ric also and after they
got wind of Rickert's name use they wrote him a cease and desist or face
legal action letter so he changed his name from Ric Super to Rickert after a
year or so.
The RIH similarity is more coincindence I think than not.
Rickert knew Bustran but they had no working arrangement as far as I knew
from speaking with Hugo.
The style of letter was the mode at the time so many bikes had similar
graphics and badges.
I suspect the popular custom builders influenced each other somewhat just as
they do today.
All the bikes sold in the US came through me as I was the only foreign
agency he had. Any Rickert in this country not sold by me was bought in
Europe and brought over to the US.
I brought Hugo's bikes in for about 20 years untill he was so busy that he
just couldn't make any for me as his home market overwhelmed him.
Those were the years that the West German team under Gustav Kilian were very
successful riding Rickert bicycles.
Hugo didn't expand, stayed a one man shop and told me that often customers
from Holland, England, Belgium besides Germany were waiting in front of the
door in the morning to order frames/bikes.
He had a stroke about 6 years ago and is now wheelchair bound but still of
sound mind and good spirit with very limited mobility.
Hugo's wife Doris did much of the decal and striping work and she now takes
care of him along with some daycare help.
Rickert started his business in '55 after serving his apprenticeship from a
builder in Dortmund named Brose.
Brose was a famous prewar builder to many of the racers of that era, and
Hugo was the last apprentice to Brose before Brose's retirement.
As many of you know, Dortmund was a hotbed of German racing centered around
the Westfallen Halle indoor board track and the Motorpace, Six-Day, and
other racing activities in and around the Ruhr area and it's proximity to
Holland, Belgium, and Denmark.
That's all you get tonite.
Ted Ernst
Palos Verdes Estates
CA USA
> Rob,
>
> Nice pictures! While scrolling through them i came across the 'Ric -
> Super'
> from Dortmund, Germany (
> http://www.wooljersey.com/
>
> What a remarkable resemblance in name, and style of decals / lettering,
> and
> headbadge too, to the 60s RIH Sport! (The Ric seems a bit older though)
> http://www.wooljersey.com/
>
> RIH is from Amsterdam, Holland of course, and I'm wondering if there's any
> connection. Only about 250 kms between the two cities. Or just a case of
> borrowed ideas?
>
> Freek Faro
> Rotterdam Netherlands
>
>
> 2007/9/25, Rob O'Callaghan <rocalla1@san.rr.com>:
>>
>> This was the best VR we have attended. Great to meet some new folks and
>> see all the regulars too.
>>
>> We uploaded Christines photos to
>> http://www.wooljersey.com/
>>
>> Rob and Christine O'Callaghan
>> Del Mar, CA, USA