Blue Peugeot a PX-10? Critique and Recommendations Requested
 

Greetings all,

I won this Peugeot at a recent auction (see photos).

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Based on the Reynolds 531 decals on the seat tube and forks, chrome plated stay and fork tips, Stronglight cranks and chainwheels, Stronglight "Competition" headset, Lyotard pedals, Berelli Course stem, and Simplex seat post, I think I have a PX-10. I think the Peugeot decals/stickers on the head tube, down tube, and seat tube and plain lugs place the bike manufacturing year in the 1970-73 timeframe. Does this seem correct?

Non-original parts appear to be F/R Shimano 105 derailleurs and shifters (6 cogs), F/R Dia-Compe brakes and levers, Phil Wood hubs, Weinmann rims, and a ripped up seat. Sure would like to know about the life of this bike!

I'd like to bring this bike back to its former glory. Any suggestions for an doing an acceptable job of restoring this bike besides a thorough cleaning, inspection, re-lube, and replacement of non-original parts with those similar to or same as the originals?

All advice and criticism welcome!

SpeedofLite

Yep, that's an early 70's PX10. Right purty. If it was mine, I'd get some MAFAC brakes and (alloy) Simplex derailleurs and shifters for it, and keep the Phil hubs - they're a nice period upgrade, and the original Normandies were nothing to write home about. If I could collect a few nice vintage bikes without certain other repercussions, a PX10 like yours would be on my short list. Highly under-rated bikes!

SP
Bend, OR

Welcome to BF! Yep, looks like an early 70's PX-10. I'd add that the stem is also probably a replacement as the original was usually an AVA. It looks like a bike that the original owner must have enjoyed and rode.

Replacement parts should be easy to find but as always you'll end up paying a bit more buying them one a time. One good bet would be the ISO sub-forum here. I have an identical but too small PX-10 that I'm planning to part out. If you're thinking you want to make it original again I can certainly help out with parts but I'd say all the newer parts on the bike will out-perform the original ones. Peugeot blue is a great color and it looks to be in great shape. Nice bike!

Thanks for the feedback, bobbycorno! I appreciate it. I had not thought about keeping the Phils on it, but I will consider it now.

Thanks for the welcome and advice, Iowegian! I'd like to be as true to the bike as possible, but will also consider the early 70s period as well. I'll keep an eye on the ISO sub-forum for parts. Also, when you get ready to part yours out, let me know what you have to offer and maybe we can make a deal. Cheers!

what you do to it is all relevant to your thoughts on money. Depending on what you paid for the bike it may cost more to bring it back to original spec than its worth. Simplex derailleurs are not cheap but MAFAC brakes are. mavic monthlery rims aren't easy to come by either.

In all honesty, I'd leave it as is ans enjoy it. Phill Wood hubs are top nitch and those 105 derailleurs shift better than anything made in the 70's and most of what Campy made in the 80's. i am curious about the brakes, there's no way those low reach Dia-Compes are reaching 700c rims which leads to ask, are the current rims 27"?

Hi Miamijim,

Yes, both rims are Weinmann 27 X 1 1/4. Before you pointed it out, I didn't notice how short the reach was on those brakes. In fact, I don't think I can see a difference between the front and rear. I thought the reach on rear brakes was supposed to be greater than the front. Oh well, I have a lot to learn. Although the rear wheel doesn't seem to be dished enough to bring it over to center, when the rear brake is centered between the stays and the pads are at the lowest point, the brake pads contact all rim (but not by much).

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Thank you much for your feedback!

Nashbar has a good assortment of 27" tires, with end of the year sales on 3 of them in addition to coupons they always have.

Thanks for the tips, rekmeyata!

Hi SpeedofLite -

Something I think you should do is replace the calipers with Mafac Racer Centerpulls. IMO, the side pulls really detract from the look of this bike, and the Mafacs perform better than most modern brakes. I would also look for a pair of drilled Weinmann levers - they are wrong but they look right, and are easy to obtain new hoods for. (OK, I'd prefer Mafacs as well - and though they are available everywhere for a pittance, the price of NOS hoods is outrageous.)
I would keep the rest of the upgrades though - including those 27" rims, unless you really want to mess with tubulars.
- And I think you should stay French when you replace those foam grips. (The original color was black.)

Beautiful example - blue is semi rare - and obviously in fine shape. I've never seen so much of an original Reynolds label intact. . . I'd probably try to preserve it with something.

Thanks for the observations and recommendations, auchencrow! I just picked up some Mafac Competition brake levers (drilled with half-hoods) and have been on the lookout for Mafac Competition brakes. I saw this set-up on a 1972 PX-10 on classicrendevous.com and just figured I should go for that too. Is Racer the better way to go? I gotta say, I'm tempted by the Racers, they seem to be more readily available. Thanks for info about the tape -- I'll go black as you suggest and imagine it should be cloth-type tape. As for the Reynold decals, do you have any suggestions? I've semi-restored a few old electromechanical pinball machines in the past and backglasses with flaking paint is a common problem with some games. The standard fix for that is to lightly coat the flaking area (and the entire backglass for that matter) with Krylon Triple-Thick Clear Glaze. It looks great and protects against further flaking when done, but I know nothing about frame restoration. What is the usual amount of restoration done to these old steel frames with little paint bubbles or spots of rust?

Hi Speedoflight -

I don't know the best way to preserve the decals - The old Reynolds labels were designed to flake off vs peel off, and they do an excessively good job at that. I replaced mine with repro's because they were already too far gone to bother with, and I'm not sure that clear nail polish or the like would help, or do even more damage. I suggest you post in the main forum for advice on this. . . I'd be interested to know myself.

There are a lot of threads dealing with rust. The rule of thumb is to preserve the original finish as much as possible. Your frame is in good shape and will not require "heap big medicine" and certainly I'd avoid spraying any Triple Thick glaze on it! My own approach is to simply remove any scale on small nicks and use a little clear nail polish to arrest it.

Personally I avoid color touch-ups (especially on blue) because no-paint is preferable to mismatched paint IMO. There are however some good tips for professional quality touch up on this website if you feel you really need it. (I don't think you do).

Mafac Racers were the original brakes. The first time they used Competitions was on the 1974 PX10LE.

Your derailer hanger must have been modifird to accept that Shimano derailer. The good news is that you can use most any derailer you want to. The bad news is that the collector value of the bike is decreased.

Thanks again, Auchencrow! I like the physician-like approach ("Above all, do no harm"). I'll check out the website you recommend.

Nice call, Grand Bois. Bummer. It looks like the dropout hanger either broke off or was cut off. Is this to say that if the hanger is part of the dropout that a separate hanger (as was used here) can't also be used? Or is there not enough clearance?

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Originally your Simplex DO and DR mount looked like this:


http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...X10hangera.jpg
(I still have the original Prestige DR because I've not found any of those dirt cheap SX610's yet.) - But as GB stated, you are not limited as to derailleur choice.