Cycle Tourist

OK, for your discussion:
I bought a old ('82) Peugeot for $30 with no FD, marginal rust, stem shifters and "safety levers." I cleaned and lubed and set everything to right, attached an old Shimano 60 FD. It had reasonable tires and I left the stem shifters and safeties. It sold with several offers for $200.
I also bought a much nicer '92 Giant Perrigee for $50. also with straight gauge cro-mo. down tube SIS, brand new tires, new aero brake levers, new tape, no rust and only marginal scratches. It still hasn't sold and it's now down to $180.
What gives. I get it that the Peugeot has history and class and rides pretty nice but the Giant rides just as well, looks nicer and is easier to shift. Is it the down tube shifters that turn off the casual cyclists or is it all in the name?
Sure the Peugeot is classy and I'd go with barend shifters and some aero levers and have a classic fun bike but the Giant is no nonsense and has no finicky RD, no corrosion, good paint and feels sturdy with it's bigger tubes.
Anyone wanna weight in on a totally irrelevant but interesting subject?

bikemig 

There is a random element to selling on CL. That said, the Pug is attractive to buyers looking for a cool old bike; the Giant is a good bike but it lacks, as the French say, cachet.

big chainring 

Most people really cant see any difference between the two bikes you have there. Its kinda random what sells and what doesnt. Maybe the color was what influenced the buyer. White bikes do photograph well.

When I was flipping bikes a few years ago I would put a Starbucks cup in a handlebar mount bottle cage on my bikes. It seemed to influence people to buy. And sometimes I mounted a rear rack on the bike. Many buyers commented the rack was the determining factor in buying the bike. A lock as an added throw in is big too, otherwise they have to go spend $30-40 on a lock.

Years ago I was selling a beautiful Bottecchia mixte. Upright bars, cool saddle, all kinds of Italian charm. I had very little response to my CL ad. Finally a couple came out and looked at it. The guy was fixated on the Simplex derailleurs and how they broke and didnt operate well. I explained that at 40 plus years old they were working just fine... No, have to replace those. Can't ride a bike with Simplex derailleurs. Whatever. He lowballed an offer and I took it, just to get rid of the bike.

rydabent

Older bikes with down tube shifting have the most friction free shifting there is. They stay in adjustment a very long time too.

ksryder

This. Giant has always suffered from the "nice bike... for a Giant" reputation, despite making some really great bikes at great prices. They've just never been sexy. They're like Honda Civics.

Obeast

Is Peugeot a quality brand? I have heard of the Peugeot car company but most of my friends think their cars are crap.

canklecat

The Peugeot has an appealing classic look. Back in the 1970s I considered upgrading from my hi-ten frame Motobecane Mirage to a mid-level Peugeot road bike. I just liked the looks, although the 1970s Motobecanes had beautiful paint and subtle graphics. But I realized I'd never be strong enough in crits and time trials to get any benefit from a "better" bike so I kept the Motobecane.

The Giant looks like a generic decent road bike. Most folks won't notice the technical differences in components.

And only people who self-identify as "cyclists" would care about the stem vs downtube shifters and "safety" brake levers. (My 1976 Motobecane had "safety" levers and they worked fine. I alternated between removing and re-installing them over the years.)

Some casual cyclists I ride with have talked about switching from downtube to stem or bar mounted shifters. Since good stem shifters aren't readily available (other than the cheap but functional SunRace SLM10) I usually suggest bar end shifters. But I understand the appeal of stem shifters. For the inexperienced cyclist there's less interruption of balance, reaching toward the upper center of the bike, rather than down to the downtube, or the bar ends (an inexperienced cyclist might be terrified by bar end shifters if they don't distribute their weight properly while shifting).

Ironfish653

Peugot hasn't imported bikes into the US since the early '80s. They were certainly the biggest French player in the '70s 'Bike Boom'
Like all bike mfgrs, they made nice ones, and not-as-nice ones.


As to the OP, i think it's mostly the paint job. The Pug has that iconic look to it, with the white frame and the grapics, that speaks 'vintage cool'

The Giant, is definitely the better bike for spirited riding, but it's not old enough to be 'Vintage' or new/high-end enough to have brifters, so it's kind of 'in the donut hole' of being just an old, mid-line bike with a medium blue paint job.

CL can be funny though, you have to have the right bike that the right buyer is looking for.

Cycle Tourist

Yup. I think your right. The Pug went to a guy from an LA beach community wanting to look cool, the Giant to a young newly married marine wanting transportation around the base. I guess both got just what they needed. 😁