jonwvara 

This is the PX-10 that I had planned to load with camping gear and ride from San Francisco to Cambria earlier this month. As many of us a aware by now, that event was canceled--some kind of virus or something, I think. I made a bunch of modifications with the tour in mind, but because it's been so cold and muddy here (I live on a dirt road), I didn't have a chance to give it a test ride until yesterday.

The Soma front rack speaks for itself. It seems solid and functional. As I expected, the p-clamps on the fork look like hell. I'll get used to it. Other gear goes in a Carradice Camper saddlebag.

The previous gearing was a 52-42-28 in front and a 15-18-22-27-34 freewheel. I wanted lower cruising gears, so this version has a half-step-and-and-granny setup with a 47-42-28 front and a 14-17-20-24-28-34 freewheel. Really low gearing--maybe a little too low, since my highest gear is something like 88.5 gear inches. On the other hand, when touring I'm happy to coast downhill as needed. A 47-tooth big ring would have worked about as well for half-stepping and maybe pushed my high gear up to 91 or so, but I didn't and don't have one.

I was going to be traveling by car, train, and taxi. Having drunk the rinko Kool-Aid, I wanted to be able to remove the fork for transport. I came up with a fairly kludgy method of doing so. As you can see in the close-up (and out-of-focus) photo, I interrupted the housed cable to the rear brake just behind the head tube and installed a cable splitter between two clamp-on cable stops. That lets me disconnect the rear brake cable, remove the front cable from the yoke, remove the handlebars, and unscrew the headset. I replaced the loose balls with balls in races. They go in a little ziplock bag when everything is apart. The fork and attached rack fit into an airline carry-on bag. The wheels and handlebars get strapped tightly to the frame and the whole thing goes in to a giant 6-mil poly bag that gets taped closed.

The 28.6 clamp-on guides are oversized for the top tube and had to be shimmed to fit. On the other hand, that raises the cable splitter high enough above


the top tube that it doesn't drag against it. It's admittedly ugly, but only if you look at it. All in all, it doesn't look too much worse than the p-clamps. At least it's consistent with the black-on-white color scheme.

It will be pointed out that if the clamp-on stops slip I will lose my brake. But he clamps go on there pretty tightly, and they haven't shifted so far under heavy braking pressure. I'll try to remember to check them from time to time. In any case, it's the back brake. I would not do anything like that on the front.

To Eroica next year, maybe? I hope I'll get to do a short tour on this bike later this spring or in the summer.

bikemig 

Neat bike and set up. We have at least one BF member (probably more) who toured on PX 10s back in the day. One thing I like about old racing bikes is that they typically have eyelets and generous clearance for decent volume tires.

What size tires are you running?

You went with suntour shifters and simplex derailleurs. Given the gearing I would have been tempted to run suntour all the way around but I know this is a French bike.

That front rack looks strong. Is this the soma lucas 3 front rack? I'm curious, did you consider running low riders instead? If I were going to to with a carradice camper in the rear, I'd be tempted to run a low rider rack in front. I like the way a bike handles with the front bags lower.

I'd be curious to see pics of the bike set up in touring mode with all your bags.

jonwvara 

I think it's a Lucas 2 front rack. I tend to tour pretty light, so most of my stuff will go in the saddlebag. I hope not to need panniers at all--just a waterproof bag of clothing, sleeping bag, etc., strapped to the top of the rack.

The tires are Compass 32s. They're pricy, but they ride really well. I have to deflate the rear to get it on and off--a common issue with PX-10s, I think--but plenty of clearance otherwise. My resistance to butchering the derailleur hanger caused me to spend a spectacular amount of money (by my standards) for the long-cage Super LJ rear. It shifts extremely well, though, so no complaints.

Salamandrine 

Yep, many older road bikes are basically interchangeable with touring bikes. Supposedly this was because the old pro road racing circuit used to involve a lot or riding on dirt roads, up until sometime in the 70s. Old road bikes were the original gravel bikes! My PX10 has very nearly exactly the same geometry as my Mercian touring frame. Same angles, same rake and trail, same chainstay length, etc.

bikemig 

My early 70s Motobecane Grand Record would make a fine touring bike especially since it came stock with a TA cyclotourist crank. There's lot of rooms for fenders too when running 27 x 1 and 1/4 Paselas. Yeah I thought of running it as gravel bike too but I like vintage MTBs for that better.

non-fixie 

Pure wisdom, that is.

gugie 

Yeah, I really miss having the opportunity to ride at least part of the coast down to Cambria with you.

Looking at your setup, it's hard to tell but it appears the clamped on cable stops are both slotted. If so, it's easy enough to disconnect your MAFAC brake yoke from the straddle cable and wind everything up around your handlebars for shipping, so you wouldn't need the Ritchey brake disconnect.

noglider 

I'm probably not the only one. I took a 3-month tour of Europe in 1981 on a 1981 PX-10 frame, and that was when they had tightened up the wheelbase a lot. It wasn't ideal, but I enjoyed myself. It didn't have any eyelets, but there was a Blackburn adapter that fit in the little triangle in the rear dropout, so I was able to attach a rack, and it held up well. It rained a lot, and fenders would have been nice.

nlerner

I can imagine a whole series of threads for rides we're not doing and the bikes we're not doing them on.

jonwvara 

For the front brake, I do disconnect the yoke at the straddle cable. The Mafac hanger on the steerer is slotted so the cable comes out. But for the back brake, only the two stops I added are slotted. The rearmost two-thirds of the housed cable to the back brake is secured to the frame with the standard-issue chromed Simplex cable clamps with the tiny nuts and bolts, so there's no way to free the housing without removing the clamps. I did it that way because I wanted to do as little violence to the traditional PX-10 configuration as I could.

If I had run unhoused cable and slotted clamp-on stops all the way back, I could have used your method. But this way it looks normal as long as you don't look at the very front. And if you do look at it by mistake, you can pretend that you just didn't see it.

At one point I even considered making some sort of little fabric sleeve, fastened with velcro, to conceal the clamp-on guides and cable splitter. But I thought that would be a sign of some kind of personality disorder, and so have stopped thinking about it. (Except, you know, right now.)

I know, I was also looking forward to that ride, too. Next year, I hope. Pretty sure I won't be going this fall even if they hold the rescheduled event as planned, which I doubt.

gugie 

Td Eroica 2021, let's do it!

mgopack42 

I was so excited I had a jersey made! Since I was riding my Masi, I got myself a cheap Cutter jersey.

i blame my excitement and committing that excitement to fabric, as the cause of the cancellation!

jonwvara 

That's going to be a sought-after collector's item someday, like those "1986 World Champion Boston Red Sox" caps.

jonwvara 

Okay, man, count me in!

noglider 

@jonwvara, I'm not a sports fan, but my heart fills up when I remember the 1986 World Series. What an exciting time that was! NYC was absolutely electric. TV stores displayed the games in their windows, and the sidewalks overfilled and people spilled out onto the streets, blocking traffic. Subway conductors were announcing the score on the trains. People would call out the scores loudly on the sidewalks so strangers could hear. I had a family member, born in 1919, who said it was the most exciting World Series in his lifetime!

nlerner

Too soon.

gugie 

Bucky f****** Dent!

jonwvara 

Yeah, that was another heartbreaking year.