Rene Herse

Rene Louis Theodore Herse was born in Caen France in 1908.

He started working on prototype aircraft at the aircraft maker Breguet. In 1938, he experimented with lightweight aluminium bicycle components: pedals, cranks, cantilever brakes and stems. In 1940, he began making complete bicycles. Herse was a "constructeur", meaning he built not just the frame but the entire bike.

His hand-built bicycles were described as "the pinnacle of French cycling" from the 1940s until his death in Paris in 1976.

After René Herse's death, Lyli Herse and her husband Jean Desbois, who was one of Herse's best frame builders, continued the René Herse company until 1986. After which they completed back orders of bicycles, so the last classic René Herse bikes were made in 1988.