CountMeOut

Hi,

As some of you may know from my other thread, I have recently acquired a 1972 PX-10. I've only owned one vintage bike before, and it was a late 70's UO-8, which I didn't know much about and ended up selling. I recently decided that I would like to find another Peugeot project bike to learn more about the process of working on them and to end up with a good looking bike I could be proud of. I really didn't think I would stumble across a PX-10! It was sold by an older couple in a retirement community. The husband was the original owner of the bike but didn't know too much about its' specifics. He did say that several years ago he brought it to a shop and had them go through and replace the components that needed replacing. For $100 I had to get it, even though being new to all of this (and to bikes really), I'm not sure I'm the right person to own it.

Anyways, you can see that original thread here.

So now I would like to post a handful of pictures of the bike as I bought it and hopefully get some good suggestions from all of you on where I should even start, keeping in mind that I am very new to this and still learning the lingo and in's and out's of bicycles.

My goals are to:

1. Identify what is on this bike, especially the replacement parts. So far it seems to be the derailleur, shifters, brake hoods, wheels and pedals.
2. Disassemble the bike and clean it. What products and methods should I use? Best advice for taking the bike apart and not losing track of what I'm doing?
3. Patch up the paint as well as I can. I've seen recommendations of testors, nail polish, rustoleum etc. Thankfully being white a color match shouldn't be difficult, but I have no idea how to prep the frame or apply the paint.
4. I would like to replace the newer components with either model or period appropriate parts where possible. I realize that with the pedals this may mean new crank arms due to threading issues, is there another option for getting good looking pedals on this thing?

As an aside, I'm a little concerned about sizing. I do not clear the top bar when straddling the bike, it definitely pushes into my "equipment", although not painfully so. I'm going to try and do a better measurement tomorrow but it appears to be a 58 and I am 5'11", which I thought would be perfect, but may not be. It could also be a 60 and my quick measurement was just poor.

There is a well equipped and well staffed Bicycle co-op in my neighborhood at which you can use their tools and expertise for about $4 an hour. I'll be heading there on the weekends to work on this as time permits. I'm really hoping to learn a lot and end up with results that I am proud of. I've been lurking these forums for a long time and have seen the great advice and encouragement you all have given to people so I figured this would be the best place to start!

Now, for the pictures:

merziac

Hi Count, you did great. Pedals for me would be MKS Sylvan, very nice period correct looking quills for $25-35 and will thread right in if the crank has been rethreaded. Be very careful and keep the Simplex seatpost intact and with the bike these are very cool and somewhat rare in good shape. You are the perfect person for this bike as it will provide exactly what you want it to be from reading your plan.

jj1091

Nice find, Countmeout. Just wondering why you'd want to replace the wheelset, those appear to be the same set as I have on my '71 PX-10. Are they Weinmann rims? They look like mine which are Weinman Alesa 27-inch rims mounted on Normandy hubs. If they're in good shape, I'd keep them.

From the photos, you did very well on the price. Mine (bought for $160) needed almost everything, wheelset, saddle, FD, RD, brake levers, bars, stem, downtube cable guide, shifters, Q/R levers. The cost for all those OEM parts adds up quickly. You've got most of that in good shape. I may have a few extra bits you need leftover from my rebuild, once you tally up what needs replacing.

BigChief 

I really like this bike. Lots of mileage but no neglect. Beautiful. I would just clean, wax and do the usual maintenance. +1 on the MKS pedals. That's the only thing I would change.

bikemig 

That bike may well be a 60 cm. You can ride that and back in the day, folks did tend to ride larger bikes. The bike looks great. I recently built a Peugeot PR 10 (the model one below your PX 10) which is right about as old as your PX 10. French bikes are different and I had to deal with those differences since I was building my bike up from a frame. You may find the thread useful since I had to do a lot of the work you will be dealing with: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...good-ugly.html

That bike will clean up very well but there are some oddities about French bikes you will need to be aware off.

The most important is that you need a special puller for that crank. That's a stronglight crank.

The first thing I'd do is to pull the bike completely apart (leaving the bottom bracket and headset alone) as that frame needs a good cleaning. White is easy to touch up. I used a flat white rustoleum on my PR 10 and it came out great. A little bit of fine sand paper will let you deal with the rust. Then wax that frame a few times.

The second thing I'd do is to make that bike mechanically sound. You will need to overhaul all the parts and replace consumables such as cables, chain, and perhaps tires, tape, etc. When you replace that chain, you may have problems with chain skip which might mean that you will need to replace the freewheel also. Alternatively you could just clean the chain up and keep riding if the performance is OK.

randyjawa 

The first thing I do, and recommend that others do, is ride the bike to ensure that it fits you well, does not pull to one side or the other and feels good. I don't spend much time, if any, cleaning and polishing. I don't even care if I shift gears. I just want to be sure that all is well before I go to the cash/time/effort machine. If satisfied...

Strip the bike down, clean it up, lube it up, put it together and then ride it for a season. Again, the purpose here is to be sure it is the bike for me. If I am still satisfied, I build the bike for me, doing what is necessary to get it looking as best I can, without replacing paint and/or decals. In the case of the OP's bike, paint touch up will, unless done really well, end up looking like some kind of skin disease.

The result of all of the above looks like my 1973 PX10E which, incidentally, cost me a hundred bucks to buy...



And this PX10 got the full monty when I got it - paint, decals, parts and then a new home in Japan. I should add that I painted it with a brush and bought my decals from Cyclomondo...

bikemig 

JA stein makes the crank puller you need and you can find them on the bay, Tools_for_Cranks

Someone has likely threaded your crank to accept English threaded pedals. That's a good thing.

Also someone has modded the rear derailleur hanger by threading it and providing a stop so that a shimano derailleur (or any modern derailleur can work). That's a plus as well.

John E

If it were mine, would:
0) give it to one of my sons, who stand 5'11" and 6'2" (I gave my 58cm PKN-10 to the elder, shorter, of the two.) Completely ignore this if you feel comfortable with your 60cm(?) frame, particularly with its top tube length.
1) touch up the original paint, then wax and preserve;
2) install MKS (what I put on my 1959 Capo) or similar road quill pedals with toeclips and straps; (Lyotard platforms would be appropriate, as well);
3) keep the Shimano derailleurs, which were a big improvement over the OEM Simplex units, although original Simplex Criterium shift levers would be a nice touch;
4) re-evaluate the gearing; you appear to have the original 52-45 in front, with a very common aftermarket substitution of 14-17-20-24-28 in back. Dropping to a 50 or 49 outer ring would give you a proper half-step progression, or keeping the outer ring and dropping to a 40T inner would give you a classic and popular 1.5-step;
5) replace the MAFAC levers (not the calipers) with Weinmann Vainqueur or something else that fit my hands. (If you can panic grab the MAFAC levers securely and rapidly, completely ignore this "advice" and stay original. I had to do this mod. on one Peugeot I owned, as well as on the Bianchi, which had long-in-the-reach Modolo brake levers.);
6) replace all cables and housings; install KoolStop brake pads;
7) congratulate yourself on a great find at a very nice price.

Steve Whitlatch 

You will be surprised just how much dirt and grime will come off of that frame with a good bath and rubbing compound. Many of those black spots will disappear, the rest can be touched up. It should clean up well. Great find at a great price.

Salamandrine 

RE the sizing: are both your heels on the ground when you stand over the bike top tube? Grab the bike in front and behind you. Can you pull the wheels off the ground at all when you pull the bike up as high as it will go? If so, how much?

1. Identify what is on this bike, especially the replacement parts. So far it seems to be the derailleur, shifters, brake hoods, wheels and pedals.

The wheels have Normandy hubs and the original Simplex quick releases. The original hubs would have been Normandy Competition. I can't tell from those photos whether you have regular or competition hubs. The competitions have a sticker in the middle telling you what they are.

The concept of wheelsets is recent, FYI. In those days it would have been normal to lace a new rim onto the old hubs. So, those could be the original hubs rebuilt with clincher rims. OTOH those could be basic replacement wheels from the early 80s. Typically they had Normandy hubs and Weinmann rims. Those are fine though. Leave them for now IMO, but get new and better tires. You can get a grommet to allow you to run presta tubes, or just don't worry about it.

Ditto with the derailleurs. Leave them for now. You can always replace with some cool period euro derailleurs sometime down the line. The originals were delrin plastic and most likely would be cracked by now. (at least the front)

2. Disassemble the bike and clean it. What products and methods should I use? Best advice for taking the bike apart and not losing track of what I'm doing?

WD40 works well. Follow that with some sort of soapy water, being careful to dry carefully. Or clean with naphtha. You can use Barkeepers Friend (oxalic acid) to take off any minor rust. Then rub it out with some car polishing compound.

3. Patch up the paint as well as I can. I've seen recommendations of testors, nail polish, rustoleum etc. Thankfully being white a color match shouldn't be difficult, but I have no idea how to prep the frame or apply the paint.

I've had two PX10s and IMO Testors doesn't match. I would also recommend that you get a small can of white oil enamel at the hardware store and a small brush. The original paint is oil enamel and that will blend the best. It can be sanded flush with wet or dry and polished to blend in if you wait a month or so for it to fully cure.

4. I would like to replace the newer components with either model or period appropriate parts where possible. I realize that with the pedals this may mean new crank arms due to threading issues, is there another option for getting good looking pedals on this thing?


Chase the pedal threads at the coop to make sure they weren't force threaded. Personally I'd be inclined to put clipless on since they've already been retapped to 'normal' threads, but of course vintage style quills with clips and straps would be appropriate as well. The original pedals were Lyotard CA45 quill pedals with alloy cages. If you want to be purist, any Lyotard pedal is appropriate, and they were sold in large numbers as replacement pedals in both French and standard BSC threads. From 3 feet away, some MKS or other replacement pedals will look right also. Put clips and straps on them though. Quill pedals with no clips look really dumb and don't work right, IMO.

italianbiker

Use Simple Green, warm soappy water, and grab a magic eraser - just be careful over the decals.

devinfan

So happy this ended up working out for you. Congrats!! If the stand over is a concern for you, you will lower the bike quite a bit by switching to 700c with narrower tires.

OTS 

Nice find.

Found this info doing a Google search:

Your question + site:bikeforums.net

https://www.bikeforums.net/16909054-post18.html

Narhay

Rustoleum white enamel with a very fine brush can be used as a touch up.

jj1091

You'd gain 4mm from the rim, and maybe 1/8" from the tire, that's 3/8 inch total. Hardly enough to make any difference.

cdmurphy

Do you happen to know what your inseam measurement is? That and a measurement of the top tube length (center to center) will give us a much better idea of how this might fit you.

I'm 5'11" also, but have proportionally long legs. (35.25" inseam.) I'm pretty comfortable on frames from 57 to 63cm seat tubes CTC, as long as the top tubes are in the 56-57cm range, and I use shorter than average stems. (Nothing crazy, usually 70 or 80mm)

Standover height really doesn't mean much. If you have a long torso for your height, a properly fitted bike may not leave any room for the boys. You will just need to be careful, and lean the bike over at stops. Standover height is just a very rough ballpark guide for fitting average bikes, to averagely proportioned riders. If either you or the bike departs much from the average, it ceases to work as a fitting tool.

CountMeOut

Thanks for the link, looks like that will definitely come in handy.

Good point, I'm definitely going to ride it for a bit to ensure it will work out for me. As for the paint, I seem to have conflicting opinions. Most seem to say it will touch up nicely, others say it will look hellish. I've read similar on other paint touch up posts as well.

Thanks! And that's good to know.

Yes, but heels are on the ground when I stand over it, however, I cannot lift the bike at all in either the front or the back while standing over it.

They are indeed Normandy Competition hubs, and you're right, I will leave the wheels alone and jus throw some new tires on. Same with derailleurs.

Charles Wahl

That bike looks like a 58 cm (measured from spindle center to top of top tube). Sizing is very personal; I'm only 5'-10" and am happy riding frames up to 63 cm. The stories of damaging one's manhood in a crash or panic stop are garbage IMO. Things always go to one side or another, and one never lands on both feet. The bike is always tilted one way or another. Some people your size like to ride smaller bikes, and that may have to do with how much elevation they prefer, pedaling-wise, relative to the cranks. I like to be stretched out more than a lot of folks apparently, but I've just followed St Sheldon Brown's advice to keep raising the saddle in small increments until your hips start to rock as you pedal, then go back one increment. Works for me, and I have a decent amount of seat post showing with a 63 cm frame.

Your cable housing for the rear derailleur looks a bit short -- see how it has a bend as it enters the derailleur's housing stop? Should be a smooth curve at both ends.

Great find. Peugeots are quirky, mechanically, but all of the necessary parts are available, just takes a little research. Have a lot of fun.

CountMeOut

Wait- should I be measuring to the top of the TT? I was under the impression I should measure to the top of the seat tube.

And thanks, that derailleur issue is not something I would have noticed.

randyjawa 

I always measure center to center. From the center of the bottom bracket spindle to the intersection point of the seat and top tubes. Not sure if this is a universally accepted way to do it, but now might be a good time to find out.

CountMeOut

I only have this shoddy tape measure with inches handy at the moment, but these are the points I'm measuring from and the result. If this method is correct it would put this frame at 60cm (23.5 inches), unless I've gone too high.

kroozer 

The first concern is to have a frame that fits you well. That one seems a bit big.

Steve Whitlatch 

Looks like 58 cm frame to me.

sdn40

Tell that to your 'boys'

Steve Whitlatch 

This is a 60 cm frame. Look how much longer my head tube is than yours.
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