Originally Posted by barba
Do you know the model of the bike? There is quite a range of Peugeots. Some are excellent and others are midling.
Okay, I finally found time to go see the bike at the LBS. The thing is a Peugeot Avoriaz, made in 1986 or 1987 from what I could google : anybody know if this particular model is a "good" Peugeot bikes? Bear in mind that I want to make it a beater to commute, not baby it.
The wheels are no-name, at least none that I could read in the dim light of the LBS' shed, but they're most definitely not run-of-the-mill : the spokes are bladed and the rims looks "aero"-ish, so I think I can safely assume they're not typical wal-mart wheels.
Apparently, the LBS also changed the shifters : he installed brand new Shimano indexed downtube shifters. I don't know which model exactly (I took a hard look at them in the dark, and I think I made out "something-700" written on them) but they look and shift real nice.
So, all in all, the more I think about it, the more this bike looks like a good deal. The only thing left is to make sure this particular model isn't known for frame weaknesses, and of course go back with a tape measurer to make sure it's not too small for me.