Classic & Vintage - haute limite elastique Peugeot

Greetings,

The downtube sticker on my Peugeot has the initials HLE.
These words mean high limit elasticated steel. So does that mean my frame is regular old "gas pipe" tubing. Not much I can say to describe the bike other than Nervar cranks, shimano light action rear der and downtube shifters, diacompe brakes. I don't even have a clue as to the year make or model. Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks,
NFields

No doubt some guru will tell you exactly what it is, but I believe it just means high tensile steel, which would be a bit better than "gas pipe" used on department store bikes, but not a more expensive name brand alloy steel. All steel has the same modulus of elasticity, which means for the same wall thickness and diameter a tube will deflect the same amount under the same load. The difference with higher alloys and heat treatment processes is that the ultimate tensile strength is raised, which means the tube can be bent more and will still spring back without buckling. This allows a thinner wall in the middle part of the tube, reducing weight.

As OLDYELLR states, the tubing is high tensile steel. HLE was the replacement for the Carbolite 103 on used the entry level Peugeot models. It came out around 1985. The first number on the frame's serial number will indicate the year of manufacture. The model name should be stated on the top tube.

Thanks folks,

I now have a little more info on the bike.

Sincerely,
NFields