VintageRide

Found a pair of first generation Weinnman 999 center pull brakes as well as a Gran Sport front derailleur ( replaced a Valentino ) now looking for some more period correct chain rings ( Stronglight 49D ) with the hex bolt head, willing to trade the later style I currently have ( 42/ 52).

juvela

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With this combination of MAFAC levers and hangers paired with Weinmann calipers the system is without QR. As long as tyres kept narrow perhaps it will not be a problem.

If you like the early Weinmann CP calipers you might wish to keep an eye out for a luxe finish set -



Period correct.

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VintageRide

juvela - they certainly look nice but difficult to find - I might actually get a pair of Weinmann adjustable cable hangars at some point, and yes, I do find the combination of the 999s with the Mafac levers work very well together, the bike is very easy to stop with minimum effort which is all one can reasonably ask of them. I like the straddle wire hangar on that bike you posted - maybe I can find a pair one of these days. I could also paint in the embossed lettering on the calipers for a bit of extra "bling".


Waiting for some nicer weather so I can take the old machine out for a ride, maybe earlier next week. Sometimes I wonder who owned it originally, where it was ridden and how much and the components that were fitted to it when new.Not likely to happen with such an unknown brand, one of hundreds that have come and gone over the years from another time and place. At least it is still being ridden in some form.


I also installed some wider handlebars which should help ( 41.5mm vs 38mm )

Ghrumpy

You can probably unship the front cable housing from the slotted hanger. But the rear is stuck. You can always wait until the wheel is installed to pump the tire up though.

juvela

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wrt chainset -

a set of LVII's would look so right on the machine...

main item that would be required would be the right arm; current left arm an BB could remain.

here is a set original to the 1960 Allegro which is wearing it -



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VintageRide

Purchased a well used but salvageable 49D of the appropriate vintage on Ebay for 55.00 with free shipping- any ideas on cleaning up surface marks and polishing? I tend to do it manually without a buffer etc. but have a drill - might have to use something this time around.


For the limited amount of riding I do on the bike and my refusal to spend more than necessary these will suffice though I am certain they will eventually look quite decent. And juvela those suggested cranks are nice but the gearing is a bit too high for me! With some of the hills and inclines the 42T front and 26T rear combination is passable, the older riders sometimes need a bit of help!

juvela

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Congratulations!

wrt gearing -

the 57 has the same 122mm BCD as 63, 93, 104, 105, etc. so it goes down to 38T, just like your 49D.

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Insidious C. 

I just polished my 49D. 400 grit wet sand followed by Mother's polish, all by hand. Easy job and significant improvement. I did mine rather quickly. Probably most here would spend a little more time and really get shiny.

mountaindave 

Was just going to mention that the 49D looks gorgeous, but the standard spider only goes down to 122 BCD. Weird. Why not utilized the full range the 50.4 BCD has to offer? I suppose TA (or other modern) chainrings could be used.

Insidious C. 

Shortly after selling some of the French parts kicking about my garage, I buy these two. Left: 19xx Vitus 979 Right: 1971-ish Mercier 300. Both more or less as found- needing a little maintenance.

juvela

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An excellent question and one which have all probably wondered about at one time or another!

Answer has to do with history and how designs evolved.

49D launch was 1933 and only a single chainwheel version was offered. Multi-pleateau gearing was fairly rare at that time.



https://janheine.wordpress.com/2011/...uminum-cranks/

As designs changed and evolved Verot chose to stay with the five-arm "star" pattern for chainwheels & (eventually) spiders.

The 122mm BCD was adopted very early and the firm stayed with it through time.

Some helpful history here -

https://www.classiclightweights.co.uk...line-comp.html

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mountaindave 

Interesting that the Vitus has rando-bars on it. Not your average setup on a racing bike.

mountaindave 

There are a lot of Velo-French things that make me go, “hmmmmm...” Perhaps that’s why I like them so much.

bertinjim 

In September of 2017, I bought a Canadian built Peugeot PB 12 Course. Through the winter, I worked on re-furbishing, polishing and replacing. Details are here, if you wish to follow. It's finished now and looks like this:



The original, as purchased photo is on page 101 of this thread, should you want to see it.

DQRider 

What grade of steel is the frame made of on that? It looks exactly like my PFN-10 Course when I bought it, but that's not a Vitus 181 sticker. Looks more like a Carbolite 103...?

bertinjim 

DQRider-

The frame is plain gauge hi-tensile Carbolite 103 steel tubing of about 1.2 mm wall thickness. There is more info with a more complete overview here. The bike rides remarkably given the prosaic nature of the tubing.

DQRider 

That was a fascinating read. I'm another one of those older guys who has no use for the premium racing bikes, and I tend to seek out bargains in the 2nd and 3rd tier touring and sport-touring models. My PFN10 was a wonderful exception - I spotted the ad when it had only been up for 15 minutes, and bought it from a lady with a moving truck in front of her house for $35. You could tell it had been ridden hard and then just hung up in the garage. But I took it home, stripped it down, cleaned it up, and configured it more to my liking. Here's what it looks like now:





It is actually my favorite ride out of about a dozen bikes right now. Vive la Peugeot!

Edit: Oops, I just realized that I posted duplicate photos - sorry.

bertinjim 

DQRider-

I like high end race/sport bikes but the older I get, the more I realize that if the company got the geometry right, the frame tubing was of secondary importance.(Also, alignment counts for a LOT!)
I had a Canadian built Peugeot PF 40 "Gentleman" which had the same geometry and Vitus 181 main tubes like yours. It was a randonneuse but it had the ride of a high end custom randonneuse that replaced it.Like you with your PFN 10, my PB 12 is currently my favorite ride despite the rivals being "better" bikes.

motogeek 

For polishing by hand there is any number of products that you can pick up at Walmart or auto parts stores. I happen to like an aluminum polish called Flitz. The last time I found it was at a truck stop.

Timo 2.0

mountaindave 

Nice Pug, Timo, and welcome!

Timo 2.0

Thanks...and thanks!

bertinjim 

Timo 2.0 -

Welcome to another Peugeot Course owner! Nice upgrades to the Simplex derailleurs and the Spidel/ Mafac LS sidepulls. What type of replacement shoe are you using? The old Mafac pads on my LS are speed moderators not brake shoes.

Timo 2.0

Thanks I use modern Jagwire Road Pro C Lite brake shoes with red (wet) pads. They perform so much better than the original vintage pads. Note that my bike also runs a 10sp chain and 10sp Campagnolo cassette (which works fine on all but the biggest cog so it is actually a 9sp setup but it means I don't need a specific wheelset for this bike as all my other bikes are Campy 10sp equipped).

bertinjim 

Thanks for the brake pad information. Clever idea to use the modern cassette and very surprising to learn that the Simplex LJ 5500 has enough cage length to shift it. I love my 5500 but would never have thought there was sufficient capability.