Classic & Vintage Subforum Newbie
 

I hope that French bikes and components get some love on this Subforums. A lot of people tend to get irrationally upset about the shortcomings of French components.

Of course, when I remember the need to remove the drive side cones of an Normandy hub to take off the freewheel, they have a point…

Welcome to the "rabbit hole"....... I only recently took the first steps in conquering my "Francovelophobia" by jumping in head first and buying a '72-ish Gitane Interclub, a '73 Gitane TdF frameset, a '77 Peugeot PR 10 frameset, a 1980-ish PKN10 and a 1981 PXN10 over the past few months. Go big or go home as they say.

Welcome! There's plenty of love (and probably plenty of hate!) for vintage French bikes around here. And plenty of knowledge. I have owned a 1972 Gitane Tour de France, and currently own two Peugeots: a 1972 (possibly later) PX10 and a 1986 PXR80. They are great bikes.

Did someone say French bikes?
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ced97824fe.jpg

Welcome, Jacob. Thanks for coming along and for bringing up the topic, which has inspired me to ride this one today.

French bikes of all types are fascinating to me. I've been through my phase of lovingly restoring old PX-10s, to riding PX-10s that look like they survived Verdun, to learning to love old French cheapies. Among those of us who know, you'll run into the expression "The French have a way with gaspipe," because they DID. I had a wonderful summer a couple of years back riding a c.1972 Liberia built up with 27-in wheels during the crush of the bike boom - it was really meant for 700C and you really can't put the rear wheel in with an inflated tire! I also have enjoyed the battered Mercier 200 with a mishmash of parts that, after straightening the crash-bent frame, has also turned out to be a cool bike.

Ah, but my favorite French bike yet remains the weathered c.1971 Gitane TdF I bought as a frameset with headset and BB. That one has been my primary early morning beater bike for many years now, and remains the first choice for vacations and first-light-of-day rides. I remain convinced that metric gauge Reynolds 531 is just a touch springier, though I am sure it's all in my head.

I don't believe this is all in your head. I have experienced this as well, and so have many others.

i like most all bikes. Have pictures of one to share?

You may have not known it but you've been a part of this forum for a while :-)
Welcome to the forum, @Jacob_R_59!

Matt

First, though I do not have one at the moment, I am a fan of vintage French bicycles, having owned, restored and ridden Peugeot, Jeunet, Motobecane, LeJeune and... My favorite had to be either my Peugeot PX10...
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fa5fa6d69b.jpg

Or my Motobecane Grand Jubilee...
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...534d0aee04.jpg

As for this comment - "A lot of people tend to get irrationally upset about the shortcomings of French components." There is nothing irrational about being upset with this sort of thing...
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6d9b2f1b17.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...dd1be95e72.jpg

someone needs to 3D print a replacement front mechanism body for those explosive Simplex mechanisms.


I own 10 French bicycles, Not Afraid.

Welcome Francophile, I have 9 or 10 myself, I lose count, but if I can pull it off, there will be another soon. More later. Don

New here too, and if not in love, intrigued, with French components. The stronglight 93 cranks are some of the most beautiful. I want to try a jubilee rear derailer. The metric 531 on my 73 le champion makes for a beautiful ride… but it can be a pain.

The copper wire looks great! 10 gauge Romex?

Welcome to C&V. There is an entry level U08 survivor local to me and a bit too tall that I want to love enough to rescue just because. The seller started at $200 and is now at $50 and I'm at $35. I'm thinking it will be in my garage this weekend and I'll be $50 poorer.

Welcome. I definitely like my French bike.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b806bfc2a.jpeg

Added another French bike today, 1970s Liberia with 90s Sachs-Huret levers/shifters, derailleurs, and crankset. Had a moment of panic thinking I had bought yet another 70s French bike without water bottle braze-ons, but no, it has one. (I know that can be overcome in a variety of ways, but I'm kinda OCD when it comes to these things.)

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...021b49938.jpeg

New French convert
 

One third of my collection is French, now.
I picked up a Peugeot PX-10 a month ago.
I am already a third of the way to getting it back on the road.
I did not think I wanted a French bike until I saw so many posts on
this forum. I'll find out what the fuss is about later this summer.

Reading your post made me realize that my collection is now 3/4 French bikes. Never would have figured that.

Im a fan of French bikes as well. I started this thread, https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...nch-bikes.html

Oh man, thanks for linking to that thread, I just re-read it all again. That was fun. :thumb:

Welcome to the forum, Jacob!

I try to keep my French bike habit under control. I've only got four at the moment. ;)

I think you may have seen this one before.

https://live.staticflickr.com/1855/4...8cb94abe_b.jpg

So, you see there are many admirers of "The Beautiful French" in C&V:
One of my long sought, grail bikes was French, and somewhat special in that I could restore it and legitimately place Peugeot, Motobecane, Gitane, Mercier, Bertin or even a few other marquis' decals upon it. I did not seriously expect to ever own one, but recently found that there were some out there for very reasonable prices, and through a serendipitous chain of circumstances, found and purchased "just 1 more French Bike" as i told my wife. If you haven't guessed by now, I speak of the Vitus 979. This Wednesday, I picked her up. Pics will have to wait my return, since my phone aversion makes me hopelessly unable to use its capabilities and i left my camera behind. Don

French Bikes
 

Hello and thank you for all the answers! My experience with French bikes is as mixed the comments here.

My 1966 PX-10 (my first of 3) had a failing and then broken seat tube, which explained the “lack of urgency” that accompanied out-of-the saddle efforts…

French components are one thing and French frames quite another. Big frames, and for me a “big” frame (actually a normal sized one) is 66cm and up. They are hard to find! Why?

A friend opined that most of France’s taller men were killed in World War 2 so there was less need for large frames. I don’t know anything about post War French bike production. The largest French frames I’ve seen were a 67cm Bertin C-35 on the Bertin Wordpress website and a 66cm Alex Singer that a friend offered me at a time when I was broke 🤢.

I have a 65cm circa 1969 Bertin C-37 “project” frame and a 1975 PX-10LE. The LE was one model above the iconic “standard” PX-10 with the black Nervex lugs and had plain Nervex lugs painted white like the rest of the frame. I bought it because of the 60cm top tube, the longest I’ve seen so far on a French bike.

Thanks for all of you who’ve taken the time to reply here. Maybe I’ll start another thread about Simplex Delfin derailleurs…

🤡

I have owned three Frenchies, the first and oldest of which I still have.

I retired the 1973 UO-8 when the chainstay cracked between the chainring and tire dimples, and I gave my beloved 1980 PKN-10 to my elder son, because it was one size too long and too tall for me. I still have the 1970 UO-8 I bought as a bare frame when I worked at a Peugeot/Nishiki dealership. To be fair, I have used a lot of Japanese driveline components, although the PKN-10 still has Simplex derailleurs.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...96226888a6.jpg
My old PKN-10, now my son's kiddie-puller, although the boys are getting big for the trailer now.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...53ea7fe239.jpg
My UO-8 with barcon cables routed between the rack and the cylindrical Bellwether front bag.

Hi Jacob!

Good to see you’re testing the waters here at the dive bar after spending so much time at wine bar (CR).

I try to be rationally upset at French components.