Can I put modern wheels on my 1975 Peugeot PX10?
 

I am a newbie when it comes to classic or vintage bikes. I have a question I wanted some feedback on. Last spring I bought a 1975 peugot px10. I absolutely love riding this bike. Comfortable , sized just right, and it has that look that I really like. The only problem is I had multiple (6?) flats last year that required me to purchase new tubes for the tires. Not very expensive but a hassle to deal with for sure. I was wondering if I could buy modern rims and tires without ruining the look of the bike? I'm not sure if that is done or even possible. I've considered replacing some of components, one at a time to upgrade the performance without losing that classic look. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanx.

You can fit a new front wheel w/o any issues.
Rear will pose some challenges. A cassette rear will be wider than the original. You’ll need to pry the rear stays apart to get the wheel in. Often doable but not ideal. Unless you want to cold-set - permanently spread the frame - and realign the dropouts, you’re probably better off looking for a freewheel rear to equip with the same number of gears as your current wheel.

The big question is, if you want to keep the classic look, why are you thinking about new wheels?
Nothing has changed that has made modern wheels noticeably less prone to flats.
Find out what’s causing your flats, fix the issue and ride on.
Do you have a good pump with a pressure gauge?
It can be as easily explained as riding underinflated.
Skinny bike tires are nothing like car tires WRT pressure retention. They’ll need topping up about weekly.
And you’d better overcome your aversion against flat fixing.
As long as you ride inflatable tires, flats are ALWAYS an option.

Those are very nice bikes. Take note that that's both classic and high end enough that the bike will retain more value in original condition, so I'd advise keeping any modifications reversible, unless you have decided that you primarily want it purely for its rideability. I don't remember offhand which wheel standard that bike would've used--would be either 700c (ISO 622mm) or 27" (ISO 630mm). If it's 700c, that's the more common modern standard and you can really use any modern road tire--Continental 4 Seasons would be my first recommendation for a fast but reasonably puncture resistant tire. For a more vintage look with tan sidewalls, Panaracer Paselas are a good value suggestion, or maybe challenge Strada Bianca for something higher end. If you want to upgrade the wheels, you will run into the problem of the rear frame spacing probably being 120mm, or maybe 126mm, vs the modern 130mm, so you'll have to be more careful sourcing a compatible wheel or get the rear triangle spread and realigned.

If your wheels are currently 27", you can often but not always use a 700c wheel. Can you move your brake pads 4mm down? Then you can use 700c. What's nice is that the slightly smaller wheel coupled with centerpull brakes let you run really pretty wide tires, making for an inexpensive/vintage-ish gravel bike. The same caveat applies to rear hub spacing as above.

They also make the Paselas in 27", which are inexpensive and have a good puncture protection layer, and look really classy with the tan sidewalls.

Easiest reversible upgrades for average riders would be lower gearing--easiest is replacing the freewheel with a wide range freewheel and a cheap modern MTB derailleur and new chain, and you can also replace the crankset with something with lower gearing also, although unfortunately your bike has a French bottom bracket which makes that significantly harder (though not impossible.)

Your problem with flats isn't likely to be solved with new wheels. First, what is causing the flats and where on the tube are they located? If they are on the inside wall of the tube, check your rim strips to see if they have moved or are broken. If so, the spoke nipple heads or spoke hole edges may be rubbing against the tube and causing the flats. New rim strips may end (or reduce) the problem.

Or perhaps Swiss bottom bracket...
Velo Orange, among others, makes a threadless bottom bracket which will work with either: https://velo-orange.com/collections/...ottom-brackets

Well, OEM wheels for a 1975 PX-10 would be tubular (aka "sew-up") rims, so switching to a clincher rim could arguably make them less flat prone; certainly easier to repair the flats that do occur.

If the hubs are in decent shape, rebuilding the wheels to use clincher rims could be a cost-effective solution, especially if modern wheels entail cold-setting the frame, updating the drivetrain, etc.

I have a 72 PX-10 that I was given from the original owner. He replaced the original 27" rims with 700c rims laced to the original hubs, The bike is otherwise stock. The brakes reach the 700c rims and there are no fitment issues. As the frames have lots of tire clearance you could even go with a little wider rim for a little more tire volume if you want that. Doing it this way will not require changing your rear hub spacing on your frame or any other drive line changes.

Your cost is just rims and spokes, and a bit of labor at your local bike shop if you are unable to lace the wheels up yourself. You could even keep the old rims/spokes in case you ever want to sell the bike to someone who wants the original wheel set up.

I think that older Peugeots, like the OP's '75 PX 10, are French, not Swiss threaded. I could be wrong and there are ways to sometimes tell by the markings on the cups. My mid 70s Peugeot PR 10 is French threaded.

Alternatively (if the BB is Swiss), IRD makes swiss conversion cups that you can use on their bottom brackets.

https://www.interlocracing.com/shop/...bottom+bracket

As others have pointed out that new wheels won't help with flats unless you are running the original stock tubulars. If you are, then clinchers are a lot easier to deal with if you have flats.

Your bike is set at 120mm OLD; it takes 5 on the back. Modern road wheels are set at 130 and then you have to spread the frame to accommodate them. That can be done.

Alternatively you could get 126 mm wheels and run a 6 or 7 speed freewheel. These wheels from velo mine are priced right at $119 a pair and would look good on a vintage bike like your Peugeot:

https://www.velomine.com/index.php?m...ocdnr4ng5htm45

All good points above. If you have clincher rims from the original '70s period they probably have straight inner sidewalls, not hook bead. So tire selection becomes a little problematic for bead retention. I've had trouble with foldable tires on Weinmann Concave rims which are pretty typical from the period. It seems that above around 85 psi the trouble starts. As such, larger volume tires are fine if your frame can fit them. But wire beads work better on such rims, as will careful mounting. The previously mentioned, Panaracer Paselas are good riding, classic looking and available in both bead types and multiple sizes. I've got 27 X1-1/4 Paselas on my Trek 614 and they feel great (on Mavic MA2 rims).

I believe the 77 PX10 still had Simplex derailleurs, and if so you need to stick with it unless you are willing to permanently modify the derailleur hanger or use a bolt on claw type hanger. I looked at doing this to my 72 PX10 to modernize it but I did not want to bastardize the frame and change the chain line for a wider hub. It also becomes expensive as you change wheels, drive train etc.

I would buy better tires on line or change out the rime as I mentioned in post #7 above.

Wheels won't make your performance better on that bike. Changing up the groupset and getting more gears might. But improving the motor is your best bet. Just ride more and farther. Aero light wheels in that day were made of balsa wood, weren't they? Not what I'd ride on the road.

Better tires will go a long way to improving performance too if you aren't running them already.

thanx for responding, that goes for everyone. I will try to get a photo up because most of the terminology went right over my head. Im fairly certain the rims are not original, but I do not know the quality of them. I will get a photo up and then listen to suggestions about a reasonable upgrade ( or not)

I'll post pics tomorrow
 

Thanx much for all the feedback, I will get a pic or two up and see if I can get a consensus.

OP did say he’d gotten ”new tubes for the tires”, so I think it’s a fair assumption that the bike already has clinchers.
While some will use ”wheel” and ”tire” rather indiscriminately, ”new tubes for the tires” seems like an improbable phrase to use for replacing tubulars.

I have a 1968 Peugeot PX10 and there is lots of information about these bikes as they are collectable but they are French so many of the parts and advice are specific to this bicycle. Here are my suggestions:
1. Find out why you are getting punctures - bad tires? nicked or dented rim? old rim tape? etc.
2. If you really want to get new rims, find out what year your PX10 is and then what rims, hubs, derailleurs, cassette/freewheel, tires it currently has (or just post photos).
3. Familiarize yourself with terms like tubular vs clincher rims, cassettes vs freewheels, french thread freewheels, Simplex gearing.
4. Decide how committed you are to keeping the original classic look and feel of the bike or if you value more modern practicality.

The best place to then ask the question is in the "classics and vintage" section of this forum: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/

PS- my PX10 has new 700c Sun M13 rims (in silver) which look very similar to the original rims and are cheap and easily available. The hubs are used 36 hole Normandy high flange hubs which are common as they were used on many bikes of the 70's like Raleighs & Schwinns but look almost identical to the PX10's Normandy Competition hubs.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b9f7ea53e3.jpg

How about just troubleshooting & fixing the cause of flats ?
Bad rim strip ?
Sharp object stuck in the tire ?
Burr inside rim ?

Are the flats in the same place each time ?

The rims have a decal its orange and I think says"Araya" the tires are 700 and says "panaracer" ? I guess part of my confusion stems from a complete lack of bike mechanical knowledge coupled with the fact that I have never owned a road style bike , especially a 1970s French model lol. I own a Scot urban commuter (Metrix 2016). The Scot is an absolute tank in comparison. I was living in an urban environment and pounded that bike, as the crow flies, everywhere. Now my circumstances have changed and I ride most of the time on a fairly smooth bike path near my residence. I know buying a bike that really requires a skilled hand to keep on the road seems like a dubious decision lol. Never the less the look of the bike just brings me pleasure in some hard to describe sorta way. So with all that being said I guess I will just commit to learning as I go. I did notice a small dent on one of the rims, and I know for sure that tubes are in the tires as I have purchased a handful the last year, I suspect that the style I am riding in, could be contributing to the flats.

Not at all. Bike maintenance is easy and I'm sure you'll pick it up quickly. The only downside to your choice of a vintage bike is that parts can be a bit tricky to get hold of. But then modern bikes aren't necessarily that easy as I found out when trying to get new headset bearings for mine.

Oh, and if your tire says 700 on it then it sounds like someone has put more modern 700C rims on. Make sure that the rim tape is good - it could be a spoke sticking into the underside of the tube. Another possibility is that there's a thorn or stone stuck in the tyre; find it and remove it or you will keep puncturing. Otherwise the tyres themselves may be poor quality or just old, so replace them with something a bit more bulletproof like Conti Gatorskins or Michelin Pro 4 Endurance. And learn how to fix repair inner tubes - it works out a lot cheaper than buying new ones all the time.