rowcat

I was recently given a 12 spd. Peugeot PGN10 road bike. It is black with tricolor trim [yellow, orange and off white] and the Peugeot checkerboard. The top tube reads " made in France. "The frame and fork labels read " Reynolds 501 ". The fork is chrome with that nice Peugeot lion logo stamped into the fork crown. The headset is Stronglight, the brakes are Weimnann 405 sidepulls. The derailleurs are Sachs Huret " Rival. " The hubs are Maillard with the Helicomatic 6spd. freewheel. The rims are Mavic " Module E. " The pedals are also Maillard with Christophe toeclips. The cranks are Sugino with 52-42 chainwheels. From the serial number I am guessing the age of the bike to be 1981.

I love the way this bike rides - I have fitted 700X28 tires. It feels like a touring bike but handles like a racing bike. I found a source to replace several of the Helicomatic cogs to give me better climbing gears. The current setup is 13-15-18-21-24-28. I spent some time cleaning up the chrome fork, wheels, etc. and replacing worn out tires and brake hoods. It looks great ! Can anyone tell me more about the PGN10 ? I can't seem to find out much about it. Where did it fit in Peugeot's lineup ? What about Reynolds 501. How does it compare with 531 ? Is anyone out there riding a PGN ? Any suggestions on part replacements - especially brakes, which have thin stopping power ? Any help would be appreciated. I am going to be riding it, not selling.

T-Mar

Reynolds 501 was an economical, butted, seamed tubeset developed by Reynolds for sports/touring frames. It is about 1/2 lb heavier than Reynolds 531. Basically, it was used on mid-range bicycles. I believe it was brought out around 1983.

Check the Maillard hubs for date codes, format ww-yy. I think you'll find it's closer to 1985. The PGN-10 was about 4th in the line-up that year and cost $399 US MSR.

As for the brakes, try sanding the pads with some coarse sandpaper. Old pads develop a glaze that degrades the performance. Also, clean the pad residue off the rims. For more improvement, get some good pads such as Kool-Stop. New cables and housing wouldn't hurt, while you're at it. I think you'll find that most of the braking performance is in the pads and not the brakes.

gkk1011

I also have a PGN10, and loved the bike, one of my favorite rides. yours sounds like 1983. the 501 tubing was a chrome moly steel, not a mag-moly tubing like the 531. Shifters are a problem if it had brazed on shifters, only simplex fit, and mine has a odd brazeon front der. and your correct in the brakes, if you weigh close to $200 lbs or more like me, the brakes are whimpy. ////////////////

John E

You can do as the first owner of my PKN-10 did: remove the Simplex shifter bosses and put a Campag. clamp (or a pair of cable stops, if you want to switch to barcons or STI/Ergo) over them.

rowcat

Thanks for the help. the date stamp on the Maiilard hubs is 1985. I am OK with the shifters. I just installed new brake pads which help somewhat - but I too am 200lbs. so I guess we know what the real problem with stopping is, don't we ? Any thoughts about the Helicomatic freewheel ? I had both hubs and the cranks overhauled recently - new bearings and regreased everything. I am wondering about stocking up on freewheel cogs as most sources for them are drying up. Are there any other parts I should hoard if available ? I have the Helicomatic freewheel removal tool with the bottle opener on one end.

The history of this particular bike is interesting. I was told when I got it that its first owner lived in the Philadelphia area [where I am from]. Then the bike was taken to Seattle where it was sold to a second owner who subsequently moved to Philly. The bike then sat in his father's basement in Delaware for ten years. He is now dating my wife's daughter and gave me the bike because he has switched to mountain bikes. When I took it in for overhaul to my suburban Philly bike shop, the manager looked at it and said; " I think I sold this bike back in the mid 1980s. Sure enough on the seat tube was a decal of the old bike shop he had worked at. Its the bike that came home ! I own two other bikes of much more recent vintage but keep coming back to this one. There's something about that French ride !

T-Mar

Definitely, get the cogs! Also, you will want to get cones and possibly axles. All the Helicomatic hubs, except the entry level model used smaller bearings, so the cone race profiles are unique. Please note that the cones in the top line hubs are different from the mid range cones, due to the fine pitch 10mm x0.75mm thread. If you have these, you'll want to grab both cones and axles! Make sure you get the right cones for your axle.

The front hubs are fairly standard, but you may want to pick up extra cones, just in case. Good Luck!