phtzer

Hello,
Just picked up a PX 10, and I'm looking to upgrade it for a smooth commute ~30 miles/day.


What annoys me the most right now are the pedals. They are just too small for my feet (size US 11.5).
Any suggestions on what to start with? I was thinking of getting jagwire brakes.

Kactus

I would start of by disassembling and cleaning everything on the bike, and then re-lubing all bearings and contact points. Then you should replace all brake and shifter cables, brake pads and get a new chain. You large chainring is severely worn (can't see the small ring) and should be replaced as well.

bikemig 

It might be tough finding rings for that crank but you can try your luck in the C&V forum. It's a lovely bike and will make a fine commuter. For pedals, you can easily go with anything that you like from clipless to platform pedals. If the cranks are not english threaded, a competent shop can fix that for you. Second the suggestion to overhaul the bike and replace all the consumables. It's not that easy sourcing parts for an old French bike so you want to keep the bottom bracket and headset in good working order.

gaucho777 

+1 to everything Kactus says. If a bike hasn't been serviced in a while, the bearing grease will likely be dried out. Commuting 30 miles a day without an overhaul can quickly ruin the bearings.

The cranks are likely French-threaded, so you should look for French-threaded pedals. For wide feet, I'd look for pedals without the point at the end of the cage. Something like the Lyotard no. 36 would be a good choice. Though I haven't tried them personally, a lot of people speak highly of the Lyotard M23 Marcel Berthet model, noting the comfort of the flat top of the pedal.

If the cranks are french threaded (check the back of the crank and/or pedal wrench flats for threading indications), here are a couple options:
Vintage Lyotard Pedals with Christophe AFA Half Clips French Threads Nice | eBay

Lyotard 460D Pedals Double Sided Classic French Thread Road Touring Randonneur | eBay

AFAIK, Jagwire does not make brakes, just cables, housing, pads & such. I'd start with getting replacement kool-stop pads and adjusting the brakes properly (with new Jagwire cables), before looking to replace the brakes.

Should be a great riding bike. Make sure you have a good lock or safe place to store your bike.

old's'cool

xxcycle.com has 51 & 54T offerings... not sure what question was asked by OP regarding chainrings.

rootboy 

He didn't ask about chain rings specifically, but for general suggestions.
Cool bike, Phtzer. Brings back fond memories. Wish I could find one just like that.

You might consider upgrading the rear derailleur too, if it's the original Simplex Prestige. But it might still be OK. Somebody has already done the front for you.

ThermionicScott 

I disagree about the chainring. It obviously has some wear, but as long as it can drive a chain without slipping, there's no reason to replace it.

Congrats on the bike!

3alarmer 

...if this is to be a commuter, and you dislike the pedals as to width, your smartest and most efficient
immediate upgrade would be to either get a pair of 9/16 pedal taps and rethread the crank arms for
standard pedals, or have someone do it for you. Suddenly, the whole world of current pedals opens
up to you, and it is one of amazing variety and some real bargains made and sold by MKS.

Otherwise, as stated already, complete overhaul unless you enjoy phoning into work saying you'll be late.

122 BCD chainrings are getting harder to find, but Stronglight still makes and markets them in France.

I bought a couple six or eight months ago from XXcycle - Stronglight Chainring 122 mm first position - en

noglider 

Replace the cables, for sure. Change the pedals to whatever are comfortable. I agree with the suggestion to clean it up. You may not need any other upgrades. It is a fine bike, in the traditional sense of that word.

John E

I notice the upgraded front derailleur, but I cannot see the rear. (Point of photo etiquette -- drive side photos are the most useful to your audience. )

If you have the original Simplex or a SunTour, you can definitely go as large as 26, sometimes 28, teeth on the freewheel. If that does not give you a low enough bottom end, you **may** be able to locate an inner chainring as small as 38T. (See earlier comments regarding European sources.) It **appears** you have the original 52-45 ringset.

Another option is to go with a huge freewheel, such as a 14-32 or a 14-34, which will require a long cage touring derailleur, such as a SunTour VGT. A 7-tooth drop in front almost works as a half-step with a 14-34 (a 6-tooth drop would be better -- snag that 51T mentioned above, if you like).

Grand Bois

You'll get better braking if you take the kink out of the front cable by routing it behind the bars and adjust the rear hanger so that it points toward the brake. You want smooth, large radius bends. You'll need three top tube cable clips. The originals were Simplex.

There are very few long cage rear derailers that will fit without modifying the hanger. A Suntour VGT certainly isn't one of them. A Shimano Crane, Campy Rally, some Hurets or any Simplex will work.

kunsunoke 

Are you absolutely certain that bike's a '72?

My own PX-10 has the Bocama lugs, and as far as I know, the Bocama lugs were standard for the '72 model year. Yours has Nervex lugs, so it could be a '71 if the handling is relaxed, or a '73 or later if it's twitchy.

Whatever the case, it's a rider. Someone had the good sense to replace the death stem and the Simplex plastic merde derailleur specials with parts that work.

You may be stuck with the pedals, unless they are English thread or you have an English thread tap. If you can swap them out, MKS Sylvan Prime touring pedals should work well.

Grand Bois

The very relaxed head tube angle can easily be seen in the first picture. The twitchy ones like mine have a head tube that is noticeably steeper than the seat tube.

auchencrow

Nice snag @phtzer - You won't need very much to make it a "smooth commuter" other than a thorough servicing, a good set of tires, and the aforementioned chain-FW and derailleur upgrades.

I think @gaucho777 & @kunsonoke offered great suggestions on the pedals. (Take it from one with size 14s).

You may want to do a bit of touch up prior to reassembly - Depending on the degree of yellowing you might find that appliance enamel is a good match. (At least I found that was the case when I needed some ultra-white and ultra durable touch-up paint for a later .c '75 PX10).

BTW - Other than a bar or DT strapped on bottle cage, don't expect to haul anything more than what you can load in your back pack. The bike will not cotton a rack other than (the awful looking IMO) cantilevered type that bolts onto the seat post.

Grand Bois

Why?

noglider 

@auchencrow, I took a 3-month tour through Europe on my PX10, with panniers and a handlebar bar. Not that I recommend doing so, but it is definitely possible. I used Blackburn adapters to bolt the rack to the little triangles in the dropouts. P-clips could work, too.

noglider 

Oh, and now I see that @phtzer's bike has eyelets on the dropouts for a rack.

Grand Bois

Mine has eyelets. I had a Jim Blackburn rack on it for a couple of years when I rode it to college. I even put panniers on it and did some touring.

auchencrow

^ Because though there are eyelets on the rear DOs, the clips always seem to end up buggering the seat stays. So many otherwise clean bikes I have seen got damaged that way.
@noglider : Your point on the front mounted/bar rack is a good one - I just totally wasn't thinking of the front-mounted alternatives.

MiloFrance

With another thread active at the moment on C&V about stainless, what are the 'inoxydable' tubes that the PX10 was built with?

Grand Bois

I don't understand. There are no clips. Are you talking about putting a POS Pletscher rack on a PX10? I wouldn't put one on a Magna.

auchencrow

Exactly.
(Though a Pletscher rack can be mounted quite safely and effectively on any bike if if it has seat-stay eyelets, as can a modern rack, such as a Jim Blackburn).

noglider 

Pletscher racks aren't that bad. They're wobbly, but they're reliable and durable.

Peugeotlover

Here is my 25 inch 1972 PX-10.

VeloCals offers new decals for sale; Cyclomondo (Greg Softley, Australia) offers the Reynolds French 531 decals (3 of them); Testors hobby paints sell the white paint which is a close paint match.

You need the special French thread crank puller, pictured. Sorry, no number I.D. on it.

I bought this bike new, rode the heck out of it for 40 years, going through 2 restorations, the latest one for the past two years. It is finally sorted and rides like a dream, again.

The original Mafac Racer brakes are quite adequate; the Simplex derailleurs and brake levers I had to source from ebay, the tubular wheels and tires are perfect for this bike; the bar is Cinelli, the post is 3ttt; the saddle is original Brooks; the pedals are Lyotard; Cristophe straps- mine are large, shoe is a 10.5 US.

It is a fantastic thoroughbred vintage racer.

Congratulations on finding one. Any automotive polish should clean up the surface dirt and rust.

kunsunoke 

It's probably a '71, then, minus one to two years.

Paint needs a clean-up, that's for sure. Finish durability was never a priority for the French (nor for the Italians, for that matter).