bikemig 

I've been jonesing for an old french bike for a while. I even started a thread on this: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...nch-bikes.html

One of the great things about living in Des Moines (yes there really are 2 or maybe 3 great things about living here) is that there are few damn French bikes floating around. So I was very excited to find what I believe to be a 1971 Peugeot PR 10 in my size on the local CL the other day. The bike has probably my favorite Peugeot paint job (classic Peugeot white with the checkerboards and the black head tube lugs).

I'm no expert on Peugeots but the bike has a 7 digit serial number and the first number is a 1; that makes it a 1971, right? I realize that is not a sure fire way of dating the frame but the headtube decal suggests an early 70s bike and the paint job matches up with the catalog pics of the 1971 PR 10.

So this is the good:

bikemig 

And this is the ugly. The bike has 2 dings. The first was disclosed by the seller and is on the top tube. It is so small that I just figure it is part of the bike's character. The second was not disclosed (the guy was honest, I think he didn't know and in any case it was a CL sale so that means I own the frame) and is on the down tube. It is a good 8 inches down from the head tube so it's not a front end collision. Both the dings are minor indents with no creases. I think the bike just got dropped once (the ding on the top tube and seat tube might have occurred at the same time). I'll upload some pics but I'm a crummy photographer. The first is the downtube and it's located near the bottom of the pic:

Grand Bois

I can tell by a glance at the downtube decals that it's later than 1971.

juvela

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Thanks for sharing this find.

Did you take it in as a complete machine with original fittings?

Which wheels did you get? IIRC they offered them both with tubs and with wired-ons.

Will look forward to following the tread.

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juvela

If the chainwheel bolts on the 49D's are allen key it cannot be earlier than '73.

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bikemig 

So I need to figure out what to do. The ding on the down tube has me a bit bummed.

Over the years, I've squirreled away (OK, hoarded) the parts for a French bike build.

I even have a stamped steel simplex RD that will work on a simplex drop out (the S001).

I have a stronglight crank 93 crank that was a take off from a Mercian that floated through my workshop.

I have a pristine UE 8 that I can steal the handlebars (the bike was turned into a townie by the PO), mafac racer brakes with the half hooded brake levers, and an ideale 39 saddle.

I have a CTA stem that is the right length in my parts bin. I have some pretty decent lyotard rattrap pedals which are totally wrong for this bike but they're french.

I have a five speed wheelset and freewheel.

Heck I even have a 26.4 campy NR seatpost that fits which was a take off from a raleigh that went through my shop.

I am missing a simplex front derailleur which I know is going to be tough to source at a price I feel like paying.

So I guess I'm slowly talking myself into doing this build in spite of the 2d ding on the downtube,

Oh yeah, calling on @francophile since he's had his share of adventures with a PR 10 that went through his workshop,

bikemig 

This came to me as is with no parts other than the bottom bracket and headset. This is going to be a parts bin build, . The only thing I'm missing is a simplex front derailleur.

corrado33

There is nothing wrong with small dings on steel bikes. Seriously... build the bike and ride it.

bikemig 

I know the serial numbers are an uncertain means to date the bike.

Here is a headbadge timeline; mine looks like a '71:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...-timeline.html

You could be right about the decals; I did check this against the catalogs and it looked like a '71 but I could be wrong on this.

I did a bit more digging and the decals look like they could be late 70s but not the headbadge.

https://www.bikeboompeugeot.com/Broch...e%20PRN10E.jpg

rustystrings61 

I always associated that decal pattern with Peugeots built 1975-78; combined with the cited head badge timeline, I think 1975-76. the stamped plate serial number, to my knowledge, is meaningless.

I had a slightly later 77-78 PR-10L as a fixed-gear for a while and though it was a lovely bike - alas, it was just enough too small to convince me to send it on.

I wouldn't sweat the dings - one of my very favorite bikes ever had far worse ones.

John E

That is definitely later than 1970-72 vintage.

My sons took me on a Fathers Day bike ride, with my grandson in a kiddie trailer. Seeing my elder son on my old 1980 PKN-10 (successor to the PR-10) made me recall how much I liked that bike and would have kept it if it had been one size (2cm) shorter. Fix up and ride that PR-10 -- you'll be glad you did!

juvela

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Agree with a mid-'70's dating. Disclaimer: not one of the forum's Peugeot experts.

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big chainring 

I've mentioned this before. In 1974-5, a Russian, USSR, bike racer showed up at the Velodrome in Northbrook,IL. This was a different time, the USSR, communism, the whole deal. Anyway the guy had a Cinelli track bike. I have never seen such a beat up bike in my life. Dented, crudely repaired, probably 90% bare metal, very little paint. He was the fastest guy at the track that night!

So a couple dings on a 40 plus yr old bike, no big deal.

randyjawa 

I have a couple of front derailleurs and in nice shape, as I recall. And I have some that are faded. What model do you seek?

francophile 

I'm going to agree with the consensus. Decals would put it around '76 give or take a year. The french stripes on the DT and the color fill behind the lion on the seat tube are good indicators of what to look for in catalogs.

The dents aren't serious enough to be concerned. And the one on the downtube is where the levers were clamped, eh? Or am I misinterpreting the location? It was actually pretty common to find gouges and dents on bikes using the Criterium levers, people would wrench them down gorilla-tight to prevent slipping and the band would bite into the tube.

On the FD, if you find nothing, give me a shout. I doubt I have anything Simplex w/o Delrin plastic that's not a clamp-on, though. I may be wrong, I won't be near the shop for another 5 days.

Grand Bois

That down tube decal was first used in 1975. They moved the Reynolds decal to the down tube the same year on the PR10.

markk900

First of, congrats on your first Frenchie! I am certain that you will love it all built up. Agree with the others on dating - the blocky Peugeot font plus the head badge are mid 70s but really what does that matter. Build it up and enjoy! I also agree the dings are very minor and should not bother you at all. Patina, character, history...photos please once it's built up.

cadman101

Welcome to the French bike twilight zone

top506

Loose the Ideale 39. Only Ideale saddle I hated, and I've ridden 42s, 80s, and 90s.

Top

bikemig 

PM sent. I have Simplex criterium downtube shifters and a Simplex S001T rear derailleur. These aren't fancy. I could go with a Campy nuovo gran sport front derailleur but it would be cool to keep it all Simplex. I have no idea what the capacity of that RD is but velobase states that the capacity of a Simplex criterium RD is 34 and that the chain wrap is 34 as well. The SOO1T looks to be a fairly faithful copy of the criterium except that it's all metal. I'm skeptical, though, that this short of a RD can handle that much chain though.

Edit: I've been hunting around on eBay; huret FDs are widely available at decent prices which is another option.

bikemig 

Thanks for the feedback on the saddle. I'll give it a shot since I'm trying to keep the bike as French as possible but if I hate it, a brooks isn't a bad idea either.

Grand Bois

Are you using a RD with a claw as in the picture?

Narhay

Just an FYI The claw mounted simplex and the direct dropout mount simplexes are not interchangeable in terms of mounting to a simplex dropout.

OldsKool19

great looking bike

bikemig 

Actually they are interchangeable for this simplex rear derailleur. I tracked down a lovely looking braze on huret front derailleur today at one of the local shops including a pair of 86 bcd chainrings! I'll need a problem solvers braze on adaptor clamp which will be a bit too large but nothing that a bit of electrical tape can't solve.

The simplex RD comes with a claw but once you remove it from the claw, it has the right bolt on the rear that allows you to mount it to a simplex drop out. I hope it can handle the cog size and wrap of a simplex criterium (34 teeth) as I want to run half step gearing. I don't like half step gearing but with 5 on the back, 1/2 step has its charms. I'd like to run a 45/42 up front (or a 45/40) and 14-30 5 speed freewheel on the rear. There are some decent, steep hills that I ride on a regular basis so I'd like a usable low gear on this bike.