alexnagui

I've been busy with some French project at work which is now coming to an end so I thought that it's high time to get a French bike project
I've actually got two of them, because why not? And both are the same bikes more or less and even the same size: 59.5CT, which is kinda a French fit for me. Perfect!

Here are the pictures.
Bike 1. Should be '75 or '76 according to https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-timeline.html



The grey bike has stayed almost completely French



The Reynolds decal on the down tube suggest that it should be after '74, right?



The head badge indicates that it is either '75 or '76



The only non-French part I could find so far

alexnagui

Bike 2. Falls into time period between '71 and '73, judging by its head badge and Reynolds decal



The white PR10



Reynolds decal and marks from a pump peg which I used on my Gazelle CM

alexnagui

As you can see from the pictures, the grey bike (bike 1) is almost original, while the other one has lost almost all French components. Next to that, the derailleur hanger of the white bike was filed at some point in order to accept campagnolo mech.
The idea is to use the grey bike as a donor bike for the other one and make it French again The white frameset is anyway in a better condition paint-wise, plus I like the white paint scheme much better.

That's the first time I'm gonna work on French bikes, by the way. However, I've read quite some threads on the forum about French bikes so I feel like I am equipped enough with knowledge to proceed (not really, see the posts below, update 19/11/2019)

Will keep this thread updated!

alexnagui

Stripped the white bike today. The frameset should clean up quite well, gonna be doing that over the weekend.
The serial number is 2316450, which means that it is from 1972, I suppose.

A bit confused with the headset, the locknut is marked with 25x1 (French) while the crown race is marked with 26.4 B1. French should be 26.5, right? The headset is Shimano UA-100, but Velobase doesn't mention French UA-100 at all.



Frame number



Crown race marking 26.4 B1

alexnagui

It seems like the black version of the headset was available in French configuration, at least according to Velobase. Anyway, I've got a mishmatch plus the locknut washer is missing.

non-fixie 

Nice projects, Alex!

I like the PR10. 90% of the fun at half the price. I have a '76 of my own, that I got from the original owner's estate. Fork's bent and the FD clamp's Delrin has collapsed, alas, and I have "borrowed" some of its parts for other projects.

John E

PR/PKN-10s are delightful. As I have mentioned before, I would not have given mine to my son if it had been 2 cm shorter in top tube and seat tube, but it was just too much of a "stretch" for me, literally.

alexnagui

Thanks Maarten!
I've seen your PR10 already. If I am not mistaken, you posted it in "Show us your grey bikes" thread a while ago.

The FD clamp is steel, isn't it? I haven't had a chance to take a closer look, but it's not the standard full Derlin clamp, right?

alexnagui

That's unfortunate for you, but not for your son! Feel free to post a picture of the bike in any case

alexnagui

That's the FD, as far as I can tell. Still a lot of Derlin indeed.

alexnagui

Cleaned the frameset today, still have to address some rusty spots and touch up the paint here and there

alexnagui

I think I ruined the Simplex rear derailleur , I posted about it here

Also, I can't remove the headset adjustable race cup from the grey Peugeot . Nomally, they can be unscrewed quite easisly even without any tools but not in this case. It seems that someone might have used threadlock on it. I have to find larger tongue-and-groove pliers and try it again.



The adjustable race won't come loose

verktyg 

The French Standard for the headset crown race is 27.0mm ID. Some Japanese headsets are/were made in that diameter but most non French headsets have a 26.4mm or 26.5mm ID.

All Campagnolo headsets have a 26.4mm ID... But I think the NJS Keiren track racing standard is 27.0mm so Campy maybe makes some special headsets for that market???

verktyg

alexnagui

Thanks for your post, verktyg!

I saw on the website of Sheldon Brown that French headset crown race I.D. can be also 26.5mm. Is that so?
I suppose that the crown race seat in question has been reamed to accept 26.4mm crown races. Standard French crown races most likely won't work anymore, will they?

francophile 

https://www.bikeforums.net/21190804-post30.html

hokiefyd 

I did the exact same thing with the SX410 on my '81 PBN10. That's a mistake one makes only once! I have an alternate derailleur on it now...I may try to get a Simplex replacement on it one day...

alexnagui

I've got a new derailleur which I am gonna use for the build (white bike). It came attached to a bike which I still have to get rid of . I did't dare to disassemble it completely this time, I soaked it in WD-40 and brushed off all the grit and dirt.


Simplex SLJ SX660, a bit scretched but should work fine

The front Derlin derailleur is broken, by the way, which I kinda missed before. I should have a replacement laying somewhere around so that is not a big deal.


Broken front derailleur

I've been also working on other fittings such as brakes, pedals, bottom bracket snd some other small parts. Cleaning and polishing mostly.

Mafac Racer brakes after polishing

I have to deal with the seatpost tube which appears to be ovalized. The bike came with an undersized seatpost with a shim and the seatpost binder bolt was tightened super hard.

alexnagui

Apparently, it can be still used if you follow the instructions from this thread.

alexnagui

A small update on the project. I was able to fix the seatpost tube on the white bike a bit, it now accepts a 26.6 seatpost which is about right, I suppose.
Cleaned and polished the crankset, I could have done a better polishing job, but even this took me like 3 or 4 hours.


Stronglight 49D after polishing

After inspecting the bottom bracket cups, I decided that it needed replacement. I tried to remove the fixed cup from the other bike and see if I could use it, but it was super stuck. So in the end I just ordered a new sealed BB which gonna replace the Stronglight unit on the white bike. I am also waiting for some other parts, among others a headset, which was not good either (on both bikes actually). Once the parts are here, I will be able to go ahead with the build.

alexnagui

I thought that I was close to the finish line with the white bike, but I ran into a problem today. I had (almost) everything ready for reassembling so I slowly started doing that last weekend. After I installed the headset, I decided to check the alignment of the dropouts and fork ends. The fork ends were weirdly spaced to 90mm, so I decided to go ahead and spread them to 96mm using the same tool (Park Tool FFG-2). I was doing it for the first time but had read about it a lot before and it seemed to be quite straightforward. I assumed that each fork end has equally plastically deformed from its original position, so I didn't check it with a front wheel at that point. Well, my assumption was not correct!! Today, I discovered that the fork needs straightening now because the wheel is not centred between the fork ends anymore.


This is where I started today


Decided to keep this Shimano DA headset which came with the bike. This actually meant that there were no threads left for a washer/Mafac cable hanger. I could have tried using smaller ball bearings I suppose but I was not really attached to Mafac brakes that much.


Will be using this Shimano DA brakes which I already had in combintation with Shimano 600 brake levers which also came with the bike.


Gonna give a try to this Ideale 39 saddle


Rear brake installed


I ended up using a Token BB with french cups which I ordered from Velosaloon. Gotta check the chainline but it seems to be just fine

alexnagui

So this is what I discovered once I reinstalled the front wheel. I have to find someone who's gonna straighten the fork for me.

francophile 

so, wait - the FFG is showing the fork ends are in perfect alignment, but the wheel is that far out?

alexnagui

Yes, exactly! I double checked the alignment after I had discovered this issue and it was fine. The fork blades seem to be bent sideways though. I wrote before that I have spread the fork ends to their nominal OLD, which caused this problem. The fork end on the right (in the picture) seems to take all the deformation.

3alarmer 

...check the wheel for rim centered and true, and that that both axle ends are full seated in the fork ends first.

alexnagui

I did. The wheel is dished properly, the problem is still there when I flip the wheel in the fork ends so it's gotta be the fork!