Classic & Vintage - Pedals for 70's Peugeot PX10 LE

Hello I am new to the forums and relatively new to cycling in general. I am currently riding my fathers old Peugeot PX10 LE from the early 70's, I recovered it from my grandparents base where it was caked in dust and had not been touched in 30 years. It rides perfectly my only complaint is it currently has standard foot cages on the pedals and the question I was hoping someone could answer for me was. Is it possible to get Shimano style SPD style clip in pedals for it, if so what are some decent brands and places to purchase from? Thanks in advance for any help!

P.S. I have sifted through the millions of hits brought up by Google to no avail!

-Ethan

Yes, you can put any modern pedals on it. The one thing you will have to watch out for on an older French bike like that is the threading. I'm guessing it might have a Stronglight 93 crank with 14mm French threads. Modern pedals are all 9/16 thread. It's easy to fix. Those threads are very close. Any bike shop can run a 9/16 tap through the crank arm to re-thread it but you might have to look around a bit find one willing to do that. I had several mechanics give me some funny looks like they had never heard of such a thing. I had it done to mine and now run Look clipless pedals. As to where to buy pedals, try Perfomance or Bike Nashbar online. There are many brands and models to choose from and I don't use SPD so I can't give you any recommendations there.

http://probikekit.com/display.php?code=d1013

At $31 and free shipping, this the cheapest deal I have seen on Shimano SPDs.

Your cranks will have French threads for sure unless someone has retapped them. You can get a pair of Park taps for $30. You can get away with using an adjustable wrench for a tap handle if you're careful.

Some PX-10s which were imported to the US in the 1970s were specified for standard 9/16" pedal threads. They were often (but not always) marked on the back of the crank arm "9/16 - 20" along with the length of the arm in millimeters, such as "170". Even when un-marked, or even stamped "14x125" (indicating French threads), they were often modified after purchase by local bike shops. You can test a standard pedal on the crank. If it is threaded for standard pedals it may actually fit, although perhaps tightly after all these years, so be sure to use a bit of grease on the threads. If they are French threads, it will be absolutely impossible to thread the pedal into the smaller hole more than perhaps a turn or two, so don't try to force it or you could ruin the cranks. Better to re-tap the threads.

The Stronglight cranks were very good quality and should clean and polish up very nicely with a bit of aluminum polish. The holes for the chainring bolts were drilled at diameter of 122 mm from the center axle - versus 130 for modern Shimano. This means the smallest possible chainrings available for the cranks were 38 tooth rings rather than 39 for Shimano, unfortunately, this small size VERY difficult to find. The small chainring on your bike was probably 45 teeth - or possibly 42t, if you're lucky. This would tend to give the bike a higher "low" gears than is now common, so you may wish to find a freewheel with a 28 or 30 or 32 tooth sprocket for the largest inner cog to compensate.

One bit of good news for you: _ You will be pleased to hear that the 5 chainring bolts were the same size as those used on most modern crank sets. So, if yours are at all rusty or corroded you can easily replace the set of bolts for just a few dollars.

I happen to LOVE old French bikes, but I'll be the first to admit that there are many frustrating issues to deal with - such as basically ALL of the threads on the bike. But, you really can work around this without much difficulty, so just proceed cautiously... and ask lots of questions on this forum.
:beer:
Cheers!
Bob

Thank you all for the extremely helpful information! I will be sure to check if it is an "Americanized" version as soon as I get home. This may sound stupid but the crank arm is just the arm like structure that the pedal attaches to. I will have the work professionally done because I can see myself doing more harm then good, plus the bike shop is 10mi away and it will make for a nice ride.

-Ethan

I worked in a Peugeot shop in the '70s and I don't remember ever encountering a Stronglight 93 that didn't have French pedal threads. It really limits your choice of pedals. I like French bikes, so I went ahead and bought the taps. The tap handle cost almost as much as the taps did.

I'd be all over a 42t chainring for my 93 if I could find one.

Some PX-10s which were imported to the US in the 1970s were specified for standard 9/16" pedal threads. They were often (but not always) marked on the back of the crank arm "9/16 - 20" along with the length of the arm in millimeters, such as "170". Even when un-marked, or even stamped "14x125" (indicating French threads), they were often modified after purchase by local bike shops. You can test a standard pedal on the crank. If it is threaded for standard pedals it may actually fit, although perhaps tightly after all these years, so be sure to use a bit of grease on the threads.

I second this hypothesis, as my girlfriend's 1972ish PX-10 came with the original Stronglight crank, which had standard pedal threads, even though they were marked as 14X125...