Obviously i have vastly underestimated how much the ones on Leboncoin would sell for then if it is the same seller.
I was hoping they were being sold by someone not in the know and someone on here could benefit from a great deal!
I still don't really understand why such a high price though , if they are rare then this alex seems to be able to find them , as he has three for sale.

Alex is the man when it comes to handling vintage Herses. You've probably seen his site ([click!]). Lots of eye candy there.

You do realize these are not ''for sale'' ads but looking for ads? Coll rech stands for collector looking for.

Thanks for the link! Are all rene herse bikes expensive or only a few models?

Oh ok sorry i didn't realise , my french is still very basic. So i guess rech is short for recherche then. I would of understood if he wrote the whole word lol.
This one is / was for sale though but it is a mixte http://www.leboncoin.fr/sports_hobbi...02.htm?ca=12_s

The Voyageur has a couple of detail oversights as well.

Well, I'm not a Schwinn man and likely can't tell a Varsity from a Paramount. I was poking fun at the Colonel's faux constructeur.

Am I missing something here? - $6000.00 - My old bikes must be more than they are worth - Or is this a situation that you buy a bike but don't really ride it - I just don't know...

Use a pencil or a piece of paper as a straight edge and hold it up to the screen. Fork's not bent.

Gotcha.

As much as I drool over the French constructeur bikes, sometimes I think the overall mystique and the notion of ultimate craftsmanship has been greatly exaggerated by the collectability (and prices) of these bikes. Even though these bikes are wonderfully thought out and conceived "as a whole", if you look closely, you can still see craftsmanship flaws and imperfections that you might not see on modern hand-built bikes. In other words, I think some of the current day "craft" bike builders have taken clues from the French constructeurs but then further elevated the art form with even more refined craftsmanship (I'm thinking JP Weigle and his ilk). For example, the RH frameset that just sold on eBay for $4000+ appears to have one of the canti studs brazed on crooked. Of course, it's entirely possible that it was repaired at some point and that it didn't originally leave the Herse shop that way, but it does appear that the paint around it is original, and the seller did not indicate that the paint wasn't original. Also, you can see filing marks around a lot of the braze ons on many of the RH bikes that you can view on the interwebs. So, at the end of the day, even though these bikes were beautifully conceived and hand built, they were still just utilitarian machines, imperfections and all. My impression (and I could be wrong) is that these bikes weren't originally built to be collectable, but to be ridden and treated like an appliance, despite the relatively high craftsmanship. Today, people expect a JP Weigle or Bilenky bike to have nearly flawless details, and to become a collectible bike, and people pay top dollar for it. I hope I don't start a flame war by saying this, and I could be altogether wrong.

a Rene Herse is the "grail bike" of touring / randonneur style vintage bikes. the design features are echoed in modern versions like Rivendell, Ebisu, Toei, Velo-Orange, etc.

if i had one, i'd ride it! :thumb:

Is that dynamo positioned correctly? I didn't think the design was for it to contact the braking surface.

Did it after enlarging the pic. If it is ( not saying it is ) it is very slight. Between the headtube and the fork crown the space (or it could be a shadow) is larger in the front the the rear which gives an illusion. Each time I struck a line down the center, I was not convinced either way. Could be the photo or maybe not. I certianly would not part with 6k+ without seeing this one in person.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=186813

It's a great bike, but it's only for fantasy, as far as I'm concerned. I can't imagine spending $6,000 on any bike. That's just weird to me.

Fork looks good by my CAD-assisted estimation. [click attachment to enlarge]

Attachment 186816

And the head tube angle is 72.5 degrees, not that anyone was wondering :).

Well said, Southpaw. As I understand it they were just well suited tools/appliances/machines. Apparently cyclotourisme was a big deal in France after the war and into the 60s.

I noticed that as well. Who knows the last time that bike was ridden. It doesn't look like the seller has attempted to do so much as wipe the dust off of it.

If the fork is bent, it is only slightly and easily made right again. If I were in the market for a Rene Herse that fork would not scare me away.

+1. I appreciate it as a work of art, and I admire its purposeful design, but in the end I regard it as an expensive toy masquerading as a utilitarian object.

Wow, that's incredibly well put.

I guess, like I said, slight-maybe? Nice bike either way. The fork alone wouldn't wouldn't put me off, I think I'd just be a little more critical of the entire bike.

For $6,000 they could have at cleaned it. Or just pulled the fluff out of the derailleur. Nice looking bike, love all the little details. I'm sure that collectors will eventually bid on it, but I want something I can ride without worrying.

The generator appears to have a rubber drive surface. Guess it is meant to ride directly all the rim.

It looks up to the task to me.

Yes, but will it be applied to the task?

When you're talking about most Herse, Singer, Routens, etc bikes there aren't any "models" per se. Every one was built to order for a specific rider and a specific purpose. Cyclocampeur, Touriste, Randonneuse, etc refer to the type of bike, not a model. They're all highly desirable and highly expensive. Now if I could just find a 63-65cm Herse randonneuse in a barn someplace...

(I've seen references to the Herse "Federal" and similar bikes which are production/economy models, but have yet to see one actually for sale, so I assume they're pretty uncommon.)

SP
Bend, OR

...thanking my lucky stars that the blue one that came up for sale is too small.

I highly doubt it.

i dont ride anywhere where there at least isnt a small chance the bike im riding wont be stolen. I can't afford to lose a 6k investment. That's why I'll probably never own one of those.

Unless there is some way to insure it...is there? I know home owners would cover it if it was stolen off of my property, but what if I got jacked outside the gentlemens club?