Hi Everyone,

I was hoping you guys could shed some light on this particular vintage roadbike. I'm working with a Austro-Daimler Puch "Pacifica". The bike itself is over 20 years old and is in working condition. I recieved this bike from my Dad who purchased it in '82 because he did not have a car to work with. The irony is that I have a car but because of gas prices I have reverted back to biking.

Anyways, I was hoping you guys could help me with any info on this particular model. I read the decals and the frame is a "Puch Original 2700 Chrom-Molybdan" and the front fork is labeled as a "Puch Original 2500 High Tensile Fork Blades".

Now my main questions are the following:
How much is this bike worth if anything?
Is this bike worth doing a complete overhaul on and riding as a commuter roadbike?

and finally
Would this make a good fixed gear bike if I decided to go that route?


I know this is asking a lot from my first post but any advice, criticism, ect. is greatly appreciated!

Your questions are fine. I recently picked up a Puch Clubman for $5 at a garage sale and was able to fix it up nicely for a niece with parts from the bucket and some cheap replacement aluminum wheels. It's a standard 70's/80's lugged frame with comfortable geometry. It would make a good fixed gear or commuter. There is plenty of room for fenders and they have English standard threading. Plus being your dads it has heritage. What's not to like?

Thanks for the help John,

Now you said you bought some cheap aluminum wheels, is there a specific measurement that would fit this frame sort of frame type? And you're right it is my Dads so I'm looking forward to overhauling it as a tribute to him.

Read the size of the tires on the bike now to get the size of the wheels. Your bike probably has 27 inch wheels and you can go to your local LBS (or the web - Nashbar is a good place to start) and buy F+R aluminum wheels. If cost is a real issue your LBS can order wheels with nutted axles rather than quick release - which would be the next step up cost wise. I don't know that wheels with nutted axles can be gotten on the web easily. I think I paid about $40-50 each for complete 27 inch nutted wheels with a freewheel type rear hub from my LBS.

The better option if you can would be to put a new set of 700C wheels on the bike. To make it work the brake shoes need to move down about 4mm (about 1/6 inch) to accomodate the slightly smaller radius of the 700C rims. If there is enough slot on the brake calipers to do this then you will have a LOT more options when choosing replacement wheels. If you go the 27 inch route you have basically one size to choose from - 27 x 1 1/4. If going 700C then a 700 X 32 would be an equivalent size and would look right and ride well on the bike.