C'est fini! -- PX-10 content
 

After many trials and travails, I think I have finally finished my Peugeot PX-10 Super Deluxe build. Sort of. There are still a few details to be worked out. The headset is loose. The seatpost binder bolt won't tighten properly (but I think I understand why). I probably need a longer bottom bracket. There's a very good chance based on my past experiences that the handlebars are crooked. And so on. Nevertheless, it at least looks like a finished bike now, and I could ride it like this if I had a day off with dry weather.

As I've said elsewhere, I decided to go with a "sympathetic build" for this one -- not exactly period correct, but at least maintaining a strong sense of continuity with the original configuration.

Simplex Super LJ derailleurs
Simplex Criterium shifters
MAFAC Racer brakes
MAFAC brake levers with half hoods
Simplex seatpost
Brooks B17 saddle
Normandy hubs
Mavic Module E rims
Velo Orange Grand Cru crankset (46-30)
Cyclo 72 5-speed freewheel (15-26)
Vittoria Corsa G tires
E. Huc Cycles-Moto bell

I won't be winning any sprints with this gearing, but it's well suited to my abilities. To quote Sheldon Brown quoting Victor Hugo, "Le beau est aussi utile que l'utile."

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Special thanks to @gugie for replacing the derailleur hanger, helping solve the steerer/headset problems, and supplying the derailleurs and bell. Special thanks to @bulgie for advice on how to solve the ovalized seat tube problem. Special thanks to @Force for selling me this frame. Ordinary thanks to everyone else who participated in the numerous threads I started as I worked through various problems to get to this point.

First, that looks fantastic, even better than it looked as a bare frame at the Atelier! Next, the bell "top" screws onto the base, how did you get it clocked so that the logo is parallel with the ground? Finally, is the race loose on the fork crown? If so, the "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" repair didn't stick. I was thinking about smearing JB weld over the fork crown race, letting it cure, then milling it down in the standard method.

I didn't do anything to the bell other than clamp it on. I guess I was just lucky.

I'm not sure what's going on with the headset. All I know is it knocks when I hold the brake and rock it. It feels and sounds like a typical loose headset. I can't adjust it without removing the lock nut and lifting the serrated washer, so I don't know if the standard adjustment will take care of it (with limited time during a break from work, I prioritized taking pictures over fixing the mechanical problems). If it isn't a simple fix you'll definitely be hearing from me.

The seatpost issue is the one I'm most annoyed by. The old binder bolt was keyless and serrated. The MAFAC hanger has a keyed slot, so I switched to a keyed bolt. Only after I discovered that I couldn't get it tight enough to keep the saddle from turning did I realize that the key slot on the brake hanger isn't deep enough to hold the key on the binder bolt. I don't know what I'm going to do about that, but I expect either a file or a rotary tool will be involved.

I'm not sure what to make of the upper bands here. Was it an attempt at the French colors by someone who is insufficiently skilled at heraldry? Or is it meant to be the Netherlands' colors? The Ireland sticker makes the Netherlands a possibility, I think, if a previous owner was tracking where the bike had been ridden. I've seen the bleu-blanc-rouge in this orientation, but if that's what it's meant to be they're in the wrong order, I think, and the proper French flag would have the colors vertical. I'm not sure my latent OCD will allow this to stay.

Looks fantastic! I want to see a 93 crankset on a PX-10, but the V-O really works (and precludes the aging-cyclist need to triplize...)! And the bell looks great, too.

Very nice build, Andy. Typical of what you usually put together.

I really like the subtle decals of the earlier Peugeots like this. If I ever do a PX-10 restore that requires paint, I will finish it off with the same decals.

Nice work.

Yeah, I wanted to go all French with the build, but there are just a few things I needed to change to make it a bike I'll ride. I figure this crankset is at least French-inspired.

Yeah, they're nice. The older you get with Peugeots the cooler they are, I think. I really like the decals on @gugie's 1948 PH-60.

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When I think of PX-10's, I imagine the white bike with black lugs and the black and white checkerboard bands on the seat tube. Mine doesn't have either of those details, and yet somehow I find myself captivated by it.

PX-10s are so cool and you made it match your current riding habits while maintaining that cool. Bravo. (That’s French for bravo.)

Two Questions:
1.) Does the front derailleur cable need to pass in front of the seat tube?
2.) Normandy Sport hubs with French threading?

Andy,
I agree with all of the above comments, there is something about the simplicity that I like on your bike. I think it has much to do with the white rather than black painted lugs as well as the nice pin stripping....in my opinion, a very elegant build.
I prefer this one even more than those of the late 50's early 60's blue with yellow details.......however given the opportunity to own either I would gladly join that club. :thumb:
Best, Ben

You know, I wasn't sure what to do with that. The front derailleur hole for the cable is on the front side of the derailleur. I don't think the cable I had on hand (which I have no idea where I got) is long enough to go around the back. With a longer piece of housing I'm sure I could rout the cable around the back, but that would violate one of St. Sheldon's Four Commandments of Cable Routing. It would look better, though, wouldn't it?

I think it's English threaded. At least, VeloBase lists only English threading for this freewheel. The freewheel was already installed on the wheels when I bought them and I didn't see any need to remove it. I think they are Normandy Sport though -- no label, imprinted lettering.

I really like the blue and yellow ones. There was one for sale on Portland CL a few years back, but I waffled too long about whether or not to buy it and it was gone by the time I decided I wanted it. I'm very happy with this one though.

I used to think PX-10's that weren't white with black lugs were like Bianchis that aren't celeste -- lacking that iconic detail. But the more I see of the variations, the more I like them.

Those hubs came both ways. Hard or impossible to tell which thread by looking. If I had to guess the likelihood by market share, I'd say around 60-40, or a little more likely to be French. Tons of those hubs came with French threads; I think even my '71 Raleigh Super Course had French there but don't trust my memory. Schwinn of course got theirs English threaded but those usually say Schwinn Approved on them, and/or have different-shaped "lightening" holes in the flanges.

Having an Eng FW on there doesn't tell you the hub is for sure Eng — an Eng thread FW will thread all the way onto a French thread hub. Getting noticeably tight for the last few threads, but not too hard to force it all the way on). But then later you'll probably strip the threads off the hub on a steep hill, especially if you use a large cog on a touring bike. Some light riders who pedal gently have gotten away with it long-term.

The way to know for sure is to try to thread on a known-French thread FW. If it goes on more than a few threads, then the hub is French.

If a French hub has had an Eng FW threaded all the way on, then the hub threads are already damaged some, but it's usually not fatal, you can just put on the French thread FW and ride happy, as long as it wasn't pedaled hard enough with the Eng FW installed to strip the hub threads.

Mark B

This bike is beautiful. This is good inspiration for me as I need to build up a Mercier 300 one of these days. I like the idea of doing a sympathetic build like this on the Mercier.

I like the gearing. You have to make trade offs with 2 x 5 gearing and I plan on focusing on the bottom end as well.

Hah, my own OCD kicked in when I saw this, too, but for a different reason: r/w/b bands at the top just looks wrong - the World Championship bands should bracket on both ends. I don't know if that's how it originally left the factory, or if the r/w/b band was added by a PO, but it just looks wrong. Plus, it's foil while the rest of the ensemble appears to be normal water-slide decal.

The bike came out beautifully - one of your best builds in recent memory. If I could be so bold: how about a close-up of that purty rear derailleur?

DD

Hmmm. I bought the wheels from a seller in France, so I figure that makes it even more likely that the hubs are French threaded. I've always thought it was strange that Cyclo wouldn't offer French threaded freewheels. Maybe they did and VeloBase just doesn't know?

I guess now I have a good reason to take the freewheel off before I ride it. I do have a few definitely French threaded freewheels on the shelf.

The gearing was kind of a happy accident. I was looking for these rims specifically, and a seller on eBay France had the wheelset with the freewheel. Cyclo freewheels seem like they're pretty decent quality, and I would much sooner give up high gears than low. If I really spin, I can probably get this gearing close to 25 mph, but if I'm going 25 mph, I'm going downhill so pedaling is optional.

Yes, the original top decal matched the lower stripes. Curiously, Gugie's 1948 Peugeot has the order of the r/w/b stripes inverted on the top bands. So maybe the French aren't as picky about that as I would have thought.

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I can't believe I left that one out. I took the picture with the others and meant to post it.

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Notice how invisible @gugie's derailleur hanger repair is with the derailleur on there.

I would think the bands in the first pic is simply a mirroring thing. I've seen other builders do the same with the Worlds bands. Are those foil?

I've always thought gugie 's Pug is his best-looking, original, vintage bike. The decals on yours are similar; nice and understated, and I still find the headbadge to be be one of Peugeot's best. Is the paint micro-cracking (or whatever the cool word is) like that on Mark's Pug yet?

Second pic: that's it! And getting a good look at the repair - which is pretty much impossible to make out, as expected - is the icing on the cake :)

DD

Yeah, mirroring for sure, which definitely makes it more palatable. I wasn't even sure how legitimate it was to have the bands horizontal. If I were feeling particularly pedantic (which I guess I am right now), I'd say that looks like the flags of the Netherlands and Schleswig-Holstein.

Oh, and I don't think they are foil.

At last, something went smoothly with this bike! And as a bonus, I finally found a practical use for my 14-21 French threaded Regina freewheel -- no longer just a paperweight, now it is my French threading test tool. :thumb:

I'm happy to report that both hub and freewheel were, in fact, French threaded. I didn't think I'd ever be happy to find that a hub was French threaded, but there it is.

Re FW threads - If the has a groove machined around the section of the flange to which the freewheel attaches, it's imperial threaded.

Re the binder bolt - if you cannot find one with a longer tab, get one with a hex socket on both ends, use two keys to tighten it.

Awesome! Did you use silver paint on the RD hanger to blend with the chrome?

I hope it rides as nice as it looks. Personally I find the ornate lugs a tad gaudy when they're painted black on a white frame, but the blue lining on white/white is really nice looking- calls attention to the ornamentation without screaming it.

You should add the pics to this thread, too- Show us your Peugeot PX10!

Did you use the original Stronglight BB, or is that a V-O?

I'm planning on using a first gen Stronglight 99 for my Mercier and running a 48/32 with a 14-28 ultra 6 freewheel. So the gearing will be pretty similar to your set up. You have to make trade offs when running 2 x 5.