DQRider 

Don't apologize - that's a great bike! I've got one as a Velo de Ville right now, and I love it!

DQRider 

(Apologies for double posting these photos - they first appeared in "Where did you ride today")

I've reconfigured my Peugeot PFN-10 "Velo de Ville" to be lighter and faster. I know the trunk bag is ugly, but it is the perfect size to carry everything I need around town (spare tube/flat-kit, multi-tool, gloves for cold days) and still have room left over for small cargo.





It was the handlebar swap that really made a difference on this bike:



It allows me to ride a larger frame with my preferred saddle-to-grips geometry. It is my current favorite mount.

greg3rd48 

@DQRider That last photo is outstanding.

juvela

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yes, and one can tell by the mirror adjustment that he is fond of monitoring satellite activity...

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bertinjim 

DQRider-

Years ago I owned a Peugeot PF 40 Gentleman with Vitus 181. It was a lovely ride as I suspect your Velo de Ville has turned out to be. Very 1890s on the bar configuration.

DQRider 

Thanks, @greg3rd48. It just seemed to fall into place.

Wellllll... you may not have noticed, but the bar was turned, and there is rake involved... please don't ask me to `splain the physics, but I do see cars sneaking up on me.


I've found that I am fascinated by historical bikes, like many others here, but I don't have the budget to pursue the Singers and Bertins of the world. So, being a good little Franco-American, I do what I can with what I have.

Yes, that bar configuration does reflect the style at the turn of the last century. I don't know what the French term is for "Scorcher" or "path-racer", but that is the spirit in which I constructed this bike.

Again, drop-bars have never suited me; for whatever reason they always feel uncomfortable. But this bike puts me into a relatively aggressive posture, and I find that I really like it. Stretched along that top-tube, the pressure comes off my back and the pain goes away. Having all the controls at my fingertips comes from my motorcycle background, I suppose. Reaching all the way to the down-tube to change gears has never made sense to me. I learned an awful lot with this build.

greg3rd48 

Put on Vitoria Corsas and took the '72 PX10 for a quick 23 miles to test them out today. Not only do they look great they feel great.

Untitled by irishbx4th, on Flickr

Untitled by irishbx4th, on Flickr

mountaindave 

Indeed!

Akkorn

Here's another winter project to rebuild. A '83 Grand Touring. All original except the saddle. A little surface rust. I had started to strip it to clean when I took these photos.

greg3rd48 

@Akkorn I look forward to seeing this project progress. Do you have any specific plans for it? Great looking Moto.

Vintage_Cyclist

To continue the 83 Motobecane Grand Touring theme.

mountaindave 

Those are interesting looking shift levers. They look similar in body shape to Simplex Retrofrictions. Though I've never heard of a Huret copy.

Akkorn

Nice GT -Vintage Cyclist- gives me inspiration & motivation. All the components are fully functional, so I'm going to keep it original, except maybe upgrade to a lighter wheel set. These conclave rims are a bear to clean up too. I'm looking for a good match for touch up paint. Any suggestions?

greg3rd48 

Great build. How many speeds is it and what handlebar tape did you use? Very nice and hopefully we'll cross paths on the streets!

Vintage_Cyclist

The tape is Newbaum's maroon, with clear shellac, which matches the headtube color. It has a 7 speed Shimano freewheel, 14 x 28. This replaced a rusted Suntour freewheel, which was itself a replacement. The bike has the original Stronglight 99 crank, with 52-42-34 chain rings.

The bike came to me with a replacement Shimano LX rear derailleur, which I kept, and paired with an LX front derailleur I had in the box of crap. Shifters are Dia Compe. Other updates were: a fluted SR Laprade seatpost; Dia Compe quick release brake cable hangers; MKS toe clips; the Blackburn rack; and the usual consumables.

PilotFishBob 

Just finished refurbing this '72 PX-10. It had hung by the wheels in someone's rec room for 30+ years, but was in remarkable condition after cleaning, polishing, and lubricating.

The only tough spots were the wheels, badly out of true and it took me longer than usual to get them back, both seemed to be pulled in one spot more than the rest. Could hanging from hooks for decades cause that? Hmm. The other issue was the Ideale saddle, it was rock-hard and desiccated from neglect, mink oil and rubbing followed up with Proofide brought it back to life.

Rode it today for the first time, a 33 mile shakedown ride. The only problem was that the seatpost slid down about 3 inches over the course of the ride as seen in the pic, I didn't feel it happening. I felt like it was harder to pedal the last 10 miles or so, I thought it was because i hadn't ridden in 2 weeks..

3alarmer 

...lucky find. I always liked the blue ones. No to your question, can't happen with properly tensioned wheels. It's not unusual to find that the rims will be especially out of round at the seam junction of the extrusion. So with a bike like that, which probably came with tubulars originally, it's anybody's guess if the person who built the replacements did so properly.

PilotFishBob 

Thanks. Yes, it seemed very unlikely. Odd to me that the wheels are Campy hubs laced to Weinmann concaves - I'd never seen that before but it looks pretty good. And after today's ride, I understand now why the PX-10 has a dedicated following - outstanding ride and handling characteristics.

canuto

I was going to post my new build, a Motobecane Grand Record, but I'm not allowed to post URLs because I don't have 10 posts to my name yet. Ironic, given how that the build was much inspired by C&V threads such as this one!

dunrobin

vitus 992 built up with old ventos and campy 10 stuff. looking forward to try it as it stands now. Getting new white hoods to soften the contrast.
20171106_161846.jpg

taguy4

This is my PR-10 with Stronglight 104 crank and Simplex Super LJ derailleurs (and other minor upgrades):

merziac

Nice bike, how about the driveside pic upgrade?

taguy4

My UO-9 with Nervar cotterless crank, Simplex Super LJ derailleurs and alloy 700c rim swap. This is an uncomfortable bike to ride compared with my PR-10 set up like this as a racing bike because of the shallow seat tube and and long top tube (1 1/2" longer than the PR-10 in the same size). I like the color and graphics on this bike though; I just wish it had a frame more like my PR-10.

verktyg 

I haven't posted to this thread since 2015. Some more bicyclettes françaises for your viewing pleasure:

1. An early 90's Gitane Team bike. I got the frame from the UK. It had been raced by someone who rode for a sponsored semi pro team in France. Oversized Columbus ELOS tubing makes it very light but still stiff. I used mid range Shimano components.

#61 was Fignon's number. I had it out for a memorial ride after he passed away.

2. Late 60's Bertin C37 with all French components.

3. 1972 Motobecane Grand Record. Bought the bare frame about 2 years ago. Finally finished assembling it this past spring. I always like the yellow and black "bumblebee" Motobecane Grand Records back in the early 70's. I found this frame with great original paint on eBay. Grand Record frames had only 3 main tubes Reynolds 531 until 1974.

The components are original spec except for the seatpost, stem, pedals, 700c vs. 27" rims and tires. I got some repro Universal brake hoods and some NOS Universal brake blocks online.

It's a 57.5cm (22 5/8") frame center to top with a 55cm top tube - 72° angles and ~60cm fork rake. I have a 74 Grand Jubile with a similar sized frame except 74° angles, a 57cm top tube and 45mm fork rake. It's a great riding and handling bike.

I was expecting that the 72° angles and longer fork rake would make for a smoother ride than the Grand Jubile but was really disappointed when I took it out for it's first test ride. It was pretty harsh compared to the GJ, probably because the forks and stays of the GJ are made of thinner walled tubing than the GR.

The 72 Grand Record rides and handles just like many entry level bike boom French bikes. One nice thing is the Grand Record is the best hands off riding bike I own.

The other thing, I had a pair of Challenge 700x27c Parigi-Robaix tires that I bought when they first came out about 6+ years ago. I used them on this bike. They measure 29mm wide on Super Champion Mod 58 rims. The ride of these tire is amazing.

My favorite sewups BITD were Clement red label cotton Paris-Robaix tires. They had a 30mm cross section. These Challenge clinchers coast and have the same feel.

I get used to the old French clunker ride after an hour or so.

striegel 

What a gorgeous machine.