1957 Peugeot PLX8 redux
 

Playing with the new camera...

http://ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/...springjuy1.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...ringjuy543.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...0springst1.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...0springst2.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...gheadbadge.JPG

More to come...

Un-restored wheel

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...ingfwheel1.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...ingfwheel2.JPG

New spokes...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...ingrwheel1.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...ingrwheel2.JPG

Aluminium fenders... they are shining up quite nicely and the light works too.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...ngrfender1.JPG

One more post to go...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...010spring5.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...010spring4.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...010spring3.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...010spring1.JPG

I'm sorry... that's just not pretty enough! You should just sell it.

(to me)

That's a pretty much fantastic bike...

Finally, some superb, HD photos of that thing :love:

-Kurt

Aw shucks. I'm speechless. What a beauty.

Forgot one...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...ringmafac1.JPG

Sixty fiver - That bike is a Peugeot TdF ( to die for ). You might even say it's a killer bike. It just slays me every time I see it.
Saw it in the bike cave post the other day and was thinking the same thing.

Went on a beautiful ride after I took those pictures and despite the really high winds (I had to pedal downhill) I covered a lot of road and even dipped into the valley and rode on the multi use trail (which isn't paved) and got in a few thousand feet of climbing.

The ride is absolutely wonderful yet the bike is stiff and responsive, the handling is quick, and she is a pretty decent climber... she's very stable on white knuckle descents and was pretty agile on those twisting and rolling trails I was riding on.

The 8 speed is pretty nice (block is an NOS Simplex 4) and using the rod shifter is actually pretty slick and easier than it looks... the JUY 543 is a low normal derailleur and downshifts are extremely smooth but you need to be a little firm on the upshifts which are still pretty crisp.

My legs are tired... the combination of wind, heat, and grades did me in.

Part of my ride took me from that hill you see in the distance, all the way around to the left (east), and then along the river, across the bridge, and up to the top (where the picture was taken) via "the hard way" which has a grade that brings you up 300 metres in about a kilometre.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...pringride1.JPG

Can we say never ?

Still need to re-lace the front wheel and fix the headlight (the generator and rear light work great)... might use some modern LED technology to make it a more practical fixture and only I will know it isn't original.

oh. my. god.

You should get a new camera more often. Great pics.

One other cool thing... the chain on the bike was a Sedis with no measureable wear so I pulled it off because it is the only chain I have ever seen that has a quick connect that uses a tiny screw that threads into a side plate.

Will have to dig that out of the cave and take a close up of that.

:)

This is what the PLX8 looked like in the 1957 brochure... I would love to find tyres to match the originals.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...x8brochure.jpg

That bike is just too cool Sixty Fiver...I too get chills every time I see it! The canti's just slay me with the close tolerances of the center-pull and fender working together like that. Glad to see it is a rider! Lucky you!

Jealous! I want an 50's Nervex Pug so bad I can't stand it, and you have reminded me to get my priorities in order. Thanks!

ump - Those cantis have excellent power and their design was copied by many other companies... the low straddle position really maxes out the leverage and I really warmed up those brakes and rims on a few descents today.

The wet braking is what you can expect with highly chromed steel wheels... Kool Stop salmon pads did nothing except squeal like a cat in heat and I keep playing with brake pads... I have some Mafac pads on some old Racers that I will have to try here although the current pads do work quite well.

Great pictures! It's funny how many things I never noticed about the bike before. One time I installed a set of the Kool stop continentals and they screamed at me for the first 3 rides or so. After they wore a bit they haven't made a peep. I have 2 other bikes with two different models of kool stop pads and they have been silent since day one?

I am generally really happy with Kool Stop pads and have only had a few occasions where they did not improve the braking on a bike... even when burned in those Kool Stops made the bike scream like a cat in heat.

I believe that the original pads were even softer the salmon pads... we'll keep experimenting to see what works best when things are wet as dry braking is not an issue.

Thing is... I don't ride this bike in the rain (willingly).

I love the lug work. It feels very Central American for a French bicycle.

How do you like the front shifter? It looks fun.

that thing is just way to cool...

i would love a 1920x1200 of the last shot for a wallpaper.

People refer to those as Aztec lugs and they appeared on bikes well into the seventies... figure Peugeot had a big stock of them to use up and was surprised to see them used so early on.

The front shifter is a Simplex Competition and some folks refer to them as suicide shifters but shifting requires nothing but the lightest touch and it is self trimming once set... if you can grab a water bottle from a cage you can shift one of these although you will want to downshift before you are hammering up the hill. On flat roads it works as a half step... which suits a light tourer like this quite well.

Which one ?

I think I have a bigger scan of that brochure and can upload a bigger image of most things as I keep most of the masters after re-sizing.

That bike is the definition of beauty...

Oh, I don't know - looks art-deco to me, though I do admit that it has the suggestion of a step pyramid.

-Kurt