hokiefyd 

I scored a lot of four bikes today for a get-them-out-of-my-garage price. I just couldn't resist. Folding bikes have always intrigued me, and this is a pair, plus two "extra" bikes.

I'd have paid what I did just for this little Pug folder. The hubs are Normandy high flange, dated 31-78 and 11-79, so I guess it's a 1979 model. It has the oddball 490mm BSD wheels (22 x 1-3/8, 550A, etc.) with really crusty tires. It has an Altenburger Synchron front brake and an un-branded U-brake type setup at the back. Stock fenders, racks, and bottle dynamo are all there. The paint is an emerald green, though it seems to photograph as "blue".





The older folder is a maroon Rixe. I don't know much about this yet. The man bought all these bikes when he was stationed in Germany in the Army, so I suppose a West German brand isn't unexpected. What appears to be a crack at the top of the head tube is just a piece of debris. It has a Torpedo 2-speed hub. I don't know if it works yet or not. It appears that the seat stay bolt (at the top) is also the seat post clamp. And that seat tube -- arguably the largest I've ever seen!





The next one is a Kia 24. It seems as if the Kia automotive brand built bikes early on. I think these would best be classified as Bicycle Shaped Objects today. This frame is crusty and there's really not much to save here, unfortunately. It does have a Shimano 3-speed hub. I've never messed with an IGH, so this might be fun to play with just to learn. I don't anticipate keeping the bike frame, but I may keep at least the rear hub system.



The surprise of the bunch is this PH15. The hubs date it to about 1982. The frame is a cheapo frame, but it has a beautiful coat of this white pearl paint that is in remarkably good shape. It's not showroom fresh, but I'd give it a 7/10, easily the best of this group. It has Simplex stem shifters with a Simplex front derailleur and an Huret rear derailleur. Both derailleurs are really stiff -- and the front derailleur and crankset is pretty rusty. This one really just needs some less crusty components and it will be in good shape.



So I have some projects for this winter! I'm grateful for a warm basement shop.

noglider 

I remember those Peugeots with 22" tires. I have no idea where you'll get tires.

BFisher

Neat bikes. On the tires for the Pug folder, would you believe they are still available?!

https://www.harriscyclery.net/produc...-tire-1739.htm

francophile 

What's up with the blue folder where the seat stay meets up top? Almost looks welded, that's can't possibly be spatter? They wouldn't make it that sloppy?

I hope you have a cotter press, friend!

hokiefyd 

They are welded, and I'm very sure the spatter is actually rust bubbling. The condition of this bike is a little worse than I had hoped, and there is some rust bubbling here and there around the frame. I have not taken a file to that area to see if it's rust bubbling or something else. I'm slowly removing the accessories to get down to the frame so I can decide what I'm going to do with it (fix it up or pass it on). I have a feeling I'm going to want to get this bike going as a project, so I'm sure I'll decide soon what I'm going to do with the rust.

The folding mechanism seems stout, but the cabling is all internal, and there seems to be a rubber sleeve inside the down tube through which the cables pass. So it'll be interesting re-cabling this bike.

Seriously! I was not able to get the pins out of the only other cottered crankset I've worked (my '70 mixte). I ended up drilling those out (I wasn't going to re-use them anyway). I may need to invest in a tool to extract these in a cleaner way. I seriously doubt I'll mess with the Kia's crank, but I'm very sure I'll convert the PH15 to a square taper crank. I'm not sure what I'll do with the folding bikes yet, but if I want to paint this Pug, I'll need to get the cranks off.

hokiefyd 

The front tire on it is a Swallow (Schwalbe)!! I can't tell what the rear is -- the white sidewall is so bubbled/rotted, it's unreadable. I think it's different though -- the tread pattern is slightly different as I recall.

BFisher

Here is my folder:


I rewired it from the generator to the contact at the hinge. If yours is like mine, there is a grommet inside each plate of the hinge with a crimp-on contact held in the center. The contact can be pulled from the grommet, if you feed some of the wire into the frame, and carefully uncrimped. The hardest part for me was removing and reinstalling the smaller grommet near the head tube so I could fish the wire through. But dealing with the contacts at the hinge was not difficult.
Best of luck.

thumpism 

Velo Classique in Virginia has several of the bikes and is the spiritual and literal heir of Mel Pinto Imports so has the tires.

hokiefyd 

This is the second time I've heard of this shop. They're about 45 minutes east of me in Purcellville. I need to go check them out sometime.

hokiefyd 

After some initial triage, some updates:

• Peugeot folder: generally in poorer shape than I had hoped. With all the cables routed internally, and the weird U-brake at the rear (with very close quarters for cable arrangements), it's been more difficult to assess than I had planned. I aired up the tires and the tubes are holding air, so I've set this one to the side for the moment.
• Rixe folder: this one is actually in the best shape mechanically. The Torpedo Duomatic hub works great. It has what I believe to be original Continental "Nylon-S" tires and original Continental tubes with Dunlop/Woods valves. I swapped in some new 20" Schrader tubes yesterday and the tires, though obviously old and cracking, appear fine to use as ride-it-around-the-driveway tires for now, so it's rolling on those. (If someone is really jonesing for some vintage Conti tubes with Dunlop valves, I'll send them to you for free.)
• Peugeot PH15: in the best shape cosmetically, but it appears to have a bent fork. It doesn't look bent from the side, but with a tire in it and the crown perpendicular to the frame, the hub/wheel is turned to the right about five degrees. I don't guess it would ride strange, but I have to believe something happened to this bike. The right side dropout has some weird paint flaking on the inside, so I suspect something impacted it in the past.
• Kia 24: I plan to do nothing with this frame, save for scavenging the Shimano 3-speed hub and shifter, and possibly building that into a different wheel at some point in the future. Maybe I'll put this on my '70 Peugeot mixte, and turn that into a 3-speed bike.

I'll post some pictures in a different thread of the Rixe bike. I've pretty much got it running now, and I think I'd like to make this my primary winter project. I may tear it down and give it some new paint. It could really use a paint job, but there's really no rust on the frame and the seat tube and stem are free and adjust nicely.

hokiefyd 

As I noted in a post in the ISO sticky thread, the Peugeot folder is worse than I had hoped (frame rust), so I will not be restoring that one. I've stripped the frame and it has some decent parts. The 550A wheels (22 x 1-3/8") are probably hard to find, and they're in decent shape. They're free to anyone on BF who would like them for their project (just PM me). If no interest in the wheels, then I'll probably take them apart and keep the Normandy hubs for another day. I got the Rixe folder stripped down to just the frame and crank. I cannot get the cotter out, and I may need to drill it. I'd like to pull the crank so I can paint the frame this winter.

randyjawa 

I know the feeling. There was a time when I got all excited when I found a Peugeot. Not so much, anymore now that I have owned a couple of PX 10s...

Pompiere

Thanks to this thread, I may have finally cracked the code on my wife's Japanese girl's bike. It has white-wall tires marked 22 x 1 3/4, but no other size markings. A 24 x 1.75 tire is a tiny bit too big, but the tube nestles in nicely. I kept looking at 22 inch tires, instead of 550A, and none of them were working. I'll try to accurately measure the rim and verify, but hopefully this is the answer I have been looking for.