Rene Herse 1951, translation below.
A nice light René Herse racer in its original condition, N°14251, from 1951.
The only problem is a nasty crack above the steering knuckle and through it... but a Herse doesn't let itself go.
A Herse is not to be passed up... especially in the blue of the "official" team.
The Herse is at home... but only for a restoration. When I say restoration, it's the kind that you can't see, (a restoration, in fact!! ) a total dismantling, cleaning, checking, control... and we put it back together. Benoît still wants to ride (a little) with it... what an idea! So we secure it a bit, the spoking won't hold, oxidized, already a lot of spokes changed, so we redo, and especially reinforce, from the inside, the cracked steering sleeve.
There were two solutions, to completely rebuild the bike, paint it... or to keep it as much as possible in its original state, this solution seems much more reasonable. Moreover this bike is in a good condition, it doesn't seem to have moved too much, everything looks original.
It's a typical "Audax" 700 C "Cyclosportif" of the time, small front rack, 48/38 crankset... A bike to take down patents and other Velocio arrows, Poly, diagonals, 200, 400, 600, Paris Brest Paris... We can assume (be careful with assumptions) that the bike was originally equipped with tubular or aluminium rims. Considering the wear of the pedals, it has been ridden well, the oxidation is there too. As for the cracking, there are several possibilities: front shock? I would rather think that it was a problem upstream, during the manufacturing process, a clamping, and the tube wants to go back to its place, or a work on the marble for alignment... afterwards?
You can see on the picture that the paint was scraped off to see the extent of the damage
Looking at the bike, we can deduce that the customer didn't take all the options ($) no SKF housing, no chrome, a steel fork cyclo, no aluminium carriage, no big flange hubs ... a "simple" bike but still with the main Herse parts. As for the legendary Herse finish, how can I put it... I've seen better ! We'll see all that in detail.
I started with the most delicate part ... the reinforcement of the steering bushing. A simple tube to insert, but still a good hour to find the right tube, and a good hour to adjust the whole thing. Finally it's installed, with the Campa device that goes well, it went well. I wanted to make a reversible assembly, so it is possible to remove this prosthesis, no worries. Benoît will see in time if it wants to hold... but it will hold!
Otherwise the frame is made of Avialux tubes. If it speaks to someone (??), no trace on the net, at least very few, two or three bikes... I would lean for a Vitus range, but...? Rereading the "Bible" (Jan Heine's book) it mentions that Herse used Vitus and Reynolds tubes, speedy tubes (reynolds), but nothing from Avialux.
The frame weighs around 2 kg, nothing exceptional.
It's coming along!!! Cleaned the frame, fork and a few parts, some sunflower and lots of elbow grease
No polish, w40... niet!!! I keep the patina as much as possible. I don't put too much emphasis on the paint, it fades, like the fillets quite easily.
Reading different articles about Herse, we often talk about the Rolls of the bike, certainly... but also "Herse was watching everything, meticulous..." well that day Herse was not there ? I still have a bit of trouble with some of the finishing touches, like this hole on a seat connector, file marks, on the front derailleur (you have to force it to be mounted and dismounted, not great), mounting of the mudguards in a hurry, the drilling of the stem tube stop is not centered.... I know other craftsmen who are much less "prized" and who wouldn't have let a bike leave the workshop like that Looking at other Herse bikes, I see that there are many differences in the finish... budget issues?
WD-40 was developed in 1953 by Norman Larsen, founder of the Rocket Chemical Company, in San Diego, California. "WD-40" is short for "Water Displacement, 40th formula", suggesting that it was the result of Larsen's 40th attempt to create the product.
Water Displacement. Before it was considered a de-sealer (rightly or wrongly?) it was used to remove moisture and prevent it from re-installing. Instead of dismantling them, they used to fill electric motors that no longer worked and, once dry, worked again. Very bad for your health, but anyway, you have to die of something, I use it for everything.
The brakes are also well made, simple and work. The skate holders are not original (Mafac) but I keep... it goes.
The bike is progressing, at least the reassembly. Spoking of the front wheel, as I said, the spokes are too oxidized... so I change with the same type of steel spokes of the 3 stars! The rims supplied by Benoît are a nice pair of Mavic Criterium, with tyres that fit perfectly. The bike is reassembled with a new cable... and the mudguards. These RBN Durex mudguards are a real treat, soft as a rag! They are worked with the finger! I understand why it's hard to find them in good condition. Herse liked this model, and it got him disqualified at Chanteloup in 1951 (broken mudguard at the fixing). From this date onwards, he installed a reinforcement (diamond). The bike presented does not have this reinforcement (option?) and the mudguard is... broken!
Otherwise the handlebar is well of the race type, it is marked on it... Charles Pelissier. Small home-made fixing of the headlight, but no more adjustment of this one !