BluesDaddy

I had a PGN-10 that I now regret selling. It had a dreamy ride. I think you did very well. Give it some miles before you decide to sell or keep.

vonfilm 

I love the Stronglight crankset. I may keep that and the NR RD and sell the rest. i will ride it for a while first and see how I can deal with a 60 cm frame. Ultimately I would like a lightweight Peugeot. I just don't know if this is the one.

Does this crank need a particular crank puller? Is it true that this crank needs a JIS spindle? I think this was the original crankset. Maybe a previous owner installed the drillium bis chainrings.

I would keep the pedals too.

Untitled by vonfilm, on Flickr

zukahn1 

Considering the cost I wouldn't go for changing the the rear derailleur while not common the Simplex S series did have issues with complete top knuckle failure on a lot of the these under heavy use the top knuckle brakes into two pieces without warning.

vonfilm 

Michael Angelo,
Your Peugeot is stunning.

Chombi

Stronglight 104bis double crank uses an ISO taper spindle, usually 118mm long for 68mm BB shells to get a good chainline. Not sure if you need a n older Stronglight proprietary spec puller as most some cranks from them in the 80's like the model 106, went to the standard thread spec pullers.

vonfilm 

If the bottom bracket is English thread I think I would keep it also.

Wildwood 

I had a need for those nice Simplex shifters a few years back
And I'll 2nd the nice ride of mid-level Peugeots. My experience was an '84 with Carbolite 103.

treal512

Gah! Nice find. I'd love a white drillium Peugeot like that

vonfilm 

I had a chance to ride the PFN10 for a couple of miles today. It rode very comfortably and tracked straight and true. It felt very stable and not the least bit twitchy. With the seatpost almost slammed it fit me fine while riding. I had no trouble coming to a stop if I kept one foot on the pedal and leaned it over when motion had ceased. I am kind of worried what would happen if I had to come off the saddle in a hurry and had to straddle it. At least I am not planning to have any more children.

How have you all dealt with living with a bike that's a little too tall?

Bikedued

Switch to 700 wheels, and use smaller tires. Find a saddle that is thinner profile so it looks higher than it is. PGN 10's are awesome. I used to have one with a full frosty beige/white 105 group, that was transplanted from another bike. 105 group on a 501 bike, so it was kind of fitting. There was a glut of PGN's on CL here about 5-6 years ago. Wish I could find a burgundy one again, just a little smaller. This bike was HUGE for me, but it still rode nice.,,,,BD

Looking for this, but in a 60cm!~!

vonfilm 

It is already 700.

vonfilm 

The tires are already very small.

Grand Bois

The first I've heard of this. What is your source?

cycle_maven

I saw that bike, and was tempted to jump on it too, because it's my size. But I'm already at N+3; I have a bike permanently at work and one at the powdercoater's and a folder in the attic. The Yellowbike Coop is about to get a couple of donations...

Good Score!

Chombi

+1, never heard of any top pivot breakage problems on RDs like the SX610/630. You'd break or wear out the RD arms before you break the top pivots on those derailleurs, as the top pivots are quite stout cast aluminum pieces. The arms are sheet steel wrapped pieces that can get a bit sloppy after many many miles but don't have history of catastrophically breaking on owners.

gaucho777 

I believe zukahn1 is speaking from experience. I have a recently rehabbed PGN-10 that is nearly ready to go, except for some issues I am having with a Simplex SX610 hanger bolt. I reached out to zukahn1 after seeing his comments here in this and another thread, and we've since made arrangements for him to send me the broken off knuckle with extra pivot bolt. Thank goodness for people who don't like to throw things away.





And for what it's worth, here's my nearly road-ready PGN-10:

vonfilm 

I am kind of leaning toward stripping the bike for parts and selling or trading the frame for another French frame around 57 or 58 cm. If I could find a Gitane Tour de France or Super Corsa, that would be ideal. A Peugeot of that size in lightweight tubing would work too.

While the bike is apart I could make sure the components are all cleaned, tuned and greased . I might try customizing my Helicomatic rear hub with cogs from Yellow Jersey.

zukahn1 

What I a actually think happens on a lot of older Simplex Dr's is the top pulley cracks breaks causing the Dr's to jam and break in various interesting ways. It seems like every other older Simplex Rd I see has broken top pulley.

Grand Bois

It doesn't follow that SX6XX derailers have breakage issues because one of them broke. It may have had a flaw in the casting or it may have had prior unseen damage.

I have five here that aren't broken, but that doesn't prove that they're unbreakable, either.

Chombi

Just hoping that no unfounded rumors are started about Simplex SX6XX "death RDs".......

eschlwc

if my inseam were 30", i'd be riding a 56cm or smaller. mine is 32", and 56 is about the smallest i can ride without pulling the seatpost 6" out of the frame. but if you can straddle the top tube flat-footed, that's the most important thing.

i'm not sure how your vitus frame compares to those others you mention. i have a vitus 172 frame in my '80 grand jubile, and it is as light and sleek as my 531 bikes. it may not be as strong, but i'm not very heavy. anyway, i love it.

i'm still working on the '80 pkn10 i bought a couple months ago. it's a 56cm, and the seat post is at its limit (or just past). i had to switch to campy nr derailleurs, as the front simplex wasn't working well with my crank, and i like the two derailleurs to match each other. the rear cost $40 on ebay.

after i bought a pretty 3-hole campy fd on ebay for $30, i had to find a much older one without the front lip to clear the old stronglight crank. but i think it will work now. i have that 3-hole version if anyone needs one.

my pkn10 has a chrome tipped fork that's a little heavy, but it looks perfectly appropriate. peugeot offered a fully chrome fork upgrade on these bikes that is made of tubing similar to the main triangle, but i find fully chrome forks to look like an afterthought or worse, like an accident.

your bike definitely needs an overhaul. when you overhaul the rear derailleur, drop the tiny bits in some naval jelly for 5-10 minutes to remove the rust.

i wish i had your crank on my bike. i'm not a huge fan of drillium, but that one's pretty cool.

enjoy.

eschlwc

check the cycles peugeot site to determine the year. mine was easy to find from the bb ss number. that website's catalog pages also will show you the crank that originally came with that bike, which may have had the drillium rings.

i also noticed one of your campy rd wheels is cracked. i wonder if that can be fixed with some sort of cement.

vonfilm 

I stripped my PFN10 down to bare frame and forks today. I used my trainer to hold it upright and everything came apart very easily. I verified that it does have an British bottom bracket. The headset bearings had like new grease and the bottom bracket was incredibly grungy.Go figure.

I will clean up the frame and fork a little more and the put them up for trade. I would like to get something in 57 or 58 cm with lightweght tubing. A French bike like a Tour de France or A Peugeot with Vitus or Reynolds tubing would be ideal. A Raleigh Competion or Gran Sport would be good. A Prologue or Circuit to add to my Schwinn collection would be sweet. Cosmetically challenged would be OK.

I will overhaul the Maillard hubs and the Helicomatic freewheel soon. If i can get a French frame I will certainly use the wheelset. The Stronglight 104 bis is due for some polishing.

Chombi

Make sure you check the condition of the ball bearings closely in the Helicomatic freewheel, as they are known to fail/break up prematurely on some units because they are smaller sized than what is found on other FWs.....
I had the one on my Peugeot PH10S fail in that way back in the 80's....

Bikedued

I have a turquoise and white Grand Sports I might could see fit to trade. It's a little on the small side for me, and I ride 60cm's. Shipping would be cheap since I'm in Houston, orrr if you ever make it into the big city we could do it in person?,,,,BD