1910s Velo de Course HERCULE
28″ Wheels with 37-622 tyres
Ideale Saddle
(Now sold)
This attractive early French road racer has a freewheel sprocket with no brakes. It can either be set up with a fixed sprocket, or I will fit brakes to it. I’ll also add handlebar grips.
It has had new 37-622 tyres and tubes fitted. The pretty leather saddle is an Ideale.
Although Hercules was a dominant British manufacturer, and there was also a German company of the same name, nothing is known of this French marque with a similar name. But it was a popular ploy over the past hundred years for small manufacturers to use a name for their company or their bicycle model that was similar to a well-known brand. There were many thousands of small French bike builders, and most of them have by now faded into obscurity.