hi,for me it is purely to do with clutch on the left of scooter's and probably what i have been brought up with,everyone knows continental set up is left front and sometimes this makes for a neater
cross of arcs.
i personally have no rigid opinions and dont believe the crowd watching the tdf did either
so please care not
Fenders after - I could not help but polish them slightly as they were quite dull bit I did not overdo it I believe
and I see I overlooked a ding that shows in the face on my pic
to correct dings I actually use that hammer :idea:
And to show the details the tradesman went to
The fender is reinforced at the seatstays bridge level and the bridge is threaded so the bolt does not go through on the upper side !
The derailleurs needed a wash too :facepalm:
Front
Before
After
One specificity of the Herse is the front Jubile derailleur which is actually attached to the frame directly with half a collar. I did not try to unhinge it :shock:
The Weinman 610 / Vainqueur 999 have been cleaned.
And they are surprisingly light :shock:
106g for the rear ( as photographed ) and 110 g for the front.
It is true it is difficult to compare them with centerpulls which are not mounted on cantistuds too, but I did have a try just to have fun.
The Mafac Competition of the same period, weighed in a as close as possible setup - no cable - no bolt to atach to the frame is 154 g ! quite a stiff difference. Even if the studs are welded to the frame for the Herse, the difference is actually quite large so could explain the Weinmann choice.
The pedals are amusing because they are from another framemaker who is Meral. And quite seldom seen in France as it was a rather small shop - difficult to know if these were subcontracted and tagged Meral for marketing purposes.
They are quite light too as the pair is 415 g.
I did weigh several when I built my fullfrench weightweenie
and these are pretty close to the lightest french I tried.
They are quite lighter than the Maillard 700 which did weigh 460 g in the same guise with toeclips and straps
Crankset
The Herse crankset is very recognizable, with its 3 arms and rounded "holes"
It is also quite light 360 g for the drive side and 148 for the left arm so 508g in total.
The setup is certainly for the ability to cope with quite mountainous terrain. The bike was actually base in the french alps in Grenoble so the 46 and 28 rings are quite understandable.
Just to compare the lightest crankset of the same period I weighed was the Shimano Dura Ace GA200 which was at 568 g ( but it is true with a 52/42 so straight comparison is biaised)
I did not polish it as It cleaned pretty well without and we don't want the bike to look like a "nouveau riche diamond ", don't we :mrgreen:
Initially, I wondered why they were not any crank dustcaps - well no wonder the bolts are actually chromed one
Chain
The chain is a Sedis and one of the lighter type - it weighs 308 g ( most Sedis weigh about 350g)
I wonder if a Sedis Or ( but aged so not too flashy) would be appropriate - Tell me your thoughts :idea:
easier to find a NOS replacement light in the parts bin and clean the hanger than clean the old one - Don't think René would object !
But the tricky part will be to find a suitable battery ! - the diameter is not anywhere near the present available ones !
Front Rack
Came back pretty nice even if some areas have lost their chromium plating
