Originally Posted by
vintagebicycle
Didn't the PX10 eventually come with a Super LJ? I seem to remember the last one I bought came out of the box with one, (70's model).
I don't recall the PX10 variants ever coming with an LJ or SLJ. During the early 1970s bicycle boom they came with a Criterium. In the late 1970s they switched to an SX410, which was used through the very early 1980s. In the mid-1980s there were a couple of years where they used the SX610/630. To get an SLJ, you had to step up to one of the post boom PY10 variants.
Originally Posted by
vintagebicycle
It was nearly impossible to convince the average buyer what the difference was between the A-08, U-08, and PX10. Most seemed to opt for the U-08 and then bought a ton of upgrades right away. We sold a ton of Weinmann C/P brake kits, SR stems and SR bars, and Either Suntour Cyclone or Huret Jubile derailleurs along with those bikes.
It seems no one liked the Mafac brakes, nearly every last one got converted over to Weinmann C/P. The Atax stems were also hated, most wanted that smooth look of an SR stem. Funny thing was not many bothered loosing the serrated sidewall steel Rigida rims. There were a few who wanted wheels built with alloys but mostly it was the guy who bought the PX10 who didn't want the tubulars so we built up a set of wheels using either a set of Rigida 1320's or Mavic Super Champions. Those with older PX models often upgraded to the Super LJ. Most Peugeot riders did generally stay with all Euro components. I'd venture to guess that regardless of what we told them, most likely felt that all the frames were the same regardless of any tubing decals. The average buyer was either buying their first drop handle road bike or their only previous experience was with a Schwinn Varsity, so anything they bought from Peugeot was way lighter than anything they had been used to. The shop owner back then even kept a Schwinn Varsity there for comparison, when they felt the weight difference between even the A-08 and the Varsity, most were sold pretty quick, especially when they realized they were priced about the same.
While I do agree that there was a large amount of time spent explaining the differences in Peugeot models, we didn't have the upgrade issues you experienced, The vast majority were bought stock and remained that way. The only notable exceptions were the tubular tyred racing models, which we tried dissuade consumers from buying, unless they were experienced cyclists, preferably with an inclination to compete. Rarely, we did have success with a persuading a customer that a UX10 was a better option than a PX10. Still, most refused to listen and almost invariably returned, unhappy, within a week or two, only to covert to wired-on wheelsets.
We definitely didn't have converts to other brakes or stems. Our customers were happy with the performance and appearance of the stock components.
The recommendation that I always used to suggest to improve the Prestige shifting was to substitute metal shift levers for the stock, metal reinforced, Delrin units. These flexed too much, resulting in high lever force and lots of overshift. A metal shift lever made a world of difference, in my opinion.
The U08 was by far the beset seller in the Peugeot line, at the shop where i worked and later managed. The upper entry level model was almost invariably the best seller for any of our full range brands. My personal observations on the matter was that the teenagers to young adults, who were the core market during the boom, were extremely status conscious. They wanted a ten speed to be part of the "scene" but the majority didn't want to spend a lot of money and definitely didn't want to be seen on the bottom of the line model. As a result, the upper entry models, such as the Peugeot U08, Raleigh Grand Prix and Nishiki Olympic became the beset selling models for their respective brands.
Originally Posted by
vintagebicycle
I seem to remember there being an 800 rear derailleur too, but they were odd or rarely seen. Maybe an early name for the Altus or 105?
I seem to remember putting a couple of Motobecanes together that came out of the box with derailleurs marked Shimano '800'.
I also remember one of the parts wholesalers having a big sale on Shimano Titlist and Altus derailleurs one year, the shop I was at then bought about 300 of them and used them for their general replacement derailleur for years. I've still got a handful of them here. Compared to an early 600 Arabesque model or Crane, there's basically no difference other than the Crane having a slightly shorter cage that made it ever so slightly lighter. The 600 and Titlist are within 1/10th of a gram. The difference likely being that the 600's design meant more metal was removed due to all the scroll designs..
I don't recall any Shimano 800 derailleurs and I'm pretty familiar with the Shimano product lines from the 1970s and 1980s.
I always considered there to be a significant difference between Crane and the 1st geration Titlist derailleur when compered to the 1st and 2nd generation 600 rear derailleurs and the 2nd generation Titlist rear derailleurs The Crane and 1st generation Ttlist were manufactured using aluminum castings, with the difference being steel cage plates on the Titlist. When 600 was introduced they cut costs by using more parts manufactured from stamped and formed sheet metal. This practice carried through into 2nd generation 600 and 2nd generation Titlist. I believe the only casting on 1st generation 600 is the upper pivot. Beside saving cost, this concession also resulted in derailleurs that were notably less rigid.