bear_a_bug 

Wonderful to have these! I downloaded a few of the interesting full bike prints from the catalog and am having them printed on matte photo paper (5X8 inches did the trick) so I can frame and hang them in my house.

HeikoS69

Thanks! It makes me happy to hear that. It means quality is good enough for such purposes.

I nowhere mentioned that the files where uploaded for private use only. I thought that went without saying.

HeikoS69

Yes, it's fun to surf around on l'Auto from that years and trying different search terms. In case you want to find Herse ads only, try "specialites herse" in quotation marks. Most of them look like small newspaper articles...
Many (most, all?) articles on subjects like technical trials or Poly de Chanteloup where written by Claude Tillet, the founder of "Le Cycle" in Sept. 1945. And Herse had an excellent reputation as a bicycle component maker already in 1939. When I remember it correctly, Tillet wrote in 1939 about Herse as the best of his profession.

noobinsf 

These are amazing. Thank you for this hard work! Obviously a labor of love.

repechage

the scans are a terrific resource.

regarding 3/10 tubing- I have tested one with and it was more flexible but not crazy, yes when riding up the club ride “wall” it was drive train noise inducing. My normal ride at the time was 7/10 tubing. The weight saving was noticeable post ride.
I would think that Herse would select what tubing would be considered best based on the client’s weight, riding style, etc.

In the 70’s 650b tire size was really scarce and limited in the USA , Michelin could be imported, there was one that was reasonably lightweight, only allowing a tire driven dynamo with a rubber cap. Today, there are more choices at least to the general consumer.

scarlson 

I may be the only one who can corroborate and compare in the comfort of my own apartment! I finally got a chance to measure the downtubes (and some other tubes, just for curiosity's sake!) of my '59 Taylor and my '46 Herse tandems. It is worth noting that the Herse came with Vitus decals on the forkblades and seat tubes, while the Taylor had remnants of Reynolds decals, particularly on the boom tube.

Right then, here are some measurements.
Downtube:
Herse: 30mm
Taylor: 32mm or 1.25"

Seat tube:
Herse: 28.0mm
Taylor: 28.6mm

Boom tube:
Herse: 50mm x 25mm
Taylor: 50.8 (2") x 22.8 (this dimension was hard to measure with all the cables and chains in the way and didn't want to scratch what remains of the paint.)

For what that's worth. Sorry it took me so long to get this. I do wonder if Herse put Vitus stickers on even if the tandem was a mix of tubings - although this bike was made very shortly after the war so it might not be a particularly representative example.

bulgie 

I hope it's a big apartment! That's so cool to have those two bikes for easy reference.

Both have 28 mm steerers I presume? Stronglight headsets, or mystery unbranded headsets?

Thanks for the measurements, very interesting.

Mark B

scarlson 

Ha! It is tiny. The bikes are in the basement, which is unfortunately shared with some no-good neighbors who think they know about bikes because they have singlespeed conversions, but actually have no idea who or what they're dealing with and refuse to even speak to me in person, calling me abusive because I once repaired a canoe in the back yard . At least they haven't tried to get me evicted for brazing on the property. I try to do that when they're not home. I hope to move when I finish my Ph.D.
I do worry for the bikes occasionally, but I refuse to put my dreams of constructeur bikes on hold until "someday" when I have a better place.

Both headsets have some Stronglight branded parts top and bottom, but not every component says Stronglight, although they do work together so they probably are all Stronglight.

The Herse has the tapered steerer. It tapers from 28mm down to either 25.0 or 25.4 (forgot to measure until I was back upstairs writing this post) thread. It's got a section of tube brazed in there, which appears to be 22.2, but is out of round so hard to tell. The stem clamps onto this tube.

The Taylor takes a standard 22.2mm stem quill, but I've never had its headset apart to see what's going on inside. The bottom cup of the Taylor headset and the bottom cup of the Herse headset appear identical or nearly so, in dimensions and appearance. The top cup of the Taylor headset is larger than the top cup of the Herse headset, so possibly the steerer is the same diameter throughout.

bulgie 

Yeah the JT steerer (if it's like every other JT steerer I've seen) is plain gauge (unbutted). Plenty strong at the bottom with a 3 mm wall, as well as being "oversized", but that means they are a bit on the "ridiculously strong" side at the top -- same 3 mm wall. Thus the desire by people like Herse to taper it towards the top, for light weight. Easier parts availability for the top headset parts is a secondary advantage, but not really all that advantageous since it's bottom races that tend to wear out first.

I know you (@scarlson) know this, but for anyone else with a Stronglight 28 mm tandem headset -- take care of it! They're very hard to find, and much higher quality than the Bardon that folks were forced to use after the Stronglight supply dried up. Even if your Stronglight develops divots from wear, don't throw it out, get it re-ground. I have heard they are through-hardened, though I don't have any reference for that, might be internet lore. But I expect even a reground Stronglight is better than a Bardon. I've heard Mel Pinto Imports still has 28 mm headsets, but I don't know what brand. Maybe they're high-quality and all my worrying is for nothing...

Mark B

Kuromori

Out of curiosity, what kind of bikes and what size were they?

Vitus was claiming a number of Herse tandem victories, and a little extra stiffness never hurt on a tandem, so I'm not sure if there was any particular need to mix tubes. Early French Reynolds seems to be simply trying to get lighter gauges than the competition, which is why you get the rather odd selection of 9/5/9 or 7/5/7 tubes both with 5/10 centers. It's also worth noting that Vitus tends to have considerably longer centers than Reynolds, so it's lighter and flexier than one would expect from just comparing wall thickness, 360/380mm vs 280mm.

The Taylor dimensions match up with the 40's Reynolds tandem tubing, with the boom being an ovalized 1 1/2" tube.

In reference to oversize tandem tubes on single bikes, it's interesting to note that a "single oversize" French tube at 30mm is equivalent to an imperial "half oversize" 1 3/16 tube. An Imperial "single oversize" tube at 1 1/4 is closer to a French "double oversize" tube at 32mm.

ThermionicScott 

Thank you for making these available, @HeikoS69! They were preserved and scanned perfectly.

bear_a_bug 

Thanks again, HeikoS69!
I recently framed a few of my favorite bikes from the catalogs.