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Peugot Reynolds 531

Old 07-22-21, 08:31 PM
  #1  
Mdl
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Peugot Reynolds 531

Hi Everyone.

I came across this Peugot today and wonder whether a) it's worth the $375 asking price b) it's a great bike. I've posted below a few of the pics on, and the link to, the Facebook listing.

My concerns are:
  1. I'm not sure which model the bike is. I know next to nothing about Peugots (despite reading a couple posts here on BikeForums)
  2. If it truly has Reynolds 531 tubes, then why does one of the labels say "Inoxidable(?)", which I think means stainless steel, correct?
  3. I'm considering checking out a Bottechia and a Ross Signature tourer, both of which I linked to in recent posts this week. I know the Ross' value but:
    1. how would this Peugot compare to the Ross and Bottecchia (brazed instead of lugged) in terms of riding enjoyment?
    2. Is the Bottecchia worth the price?
    3. Which model Campy are the components (I'm familiar with Shimano but, clearly, not Campy - yet) on the Bottecchia?
Apologies for the multiple posts as of late. However, each of these bikes are ~1.5 hours away and, unfortunately, I have very little free time. I've saved up and want something really special. Therefore, if you would help me steer clear of lemons, it would be much appreciated. Thank you!

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...0-dbcfa864d378



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Old 07-22-21, 08:49 PM
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The Reynolds label is in English. Usually it was the French version and found on the down tube, IIRC. Seems a little suspicious to me. A better shot of the DS drop out might help. The bars and brake levers are not original, too.
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Old 07-22-21, 09:00 PM
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The bike is Peugeot's top of the line PX10 a wonderful and highly collectable bike that offers really good ride quality. At the asking price, it is a great deal. Were it my size and in my area, I would have bought it in a heart beat. I speak from experience having owned two already...
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Old 07-22-21, 09:10 PM
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Originally Posted by randyjawa
The bike is Peugeot's top of the line PX10 a wonderful and highly collectable bike that offers really good ride quality. At the asking price, it is a great deal. Were it my size and in my area, I would have bought it in a heart beat. I speak from experience having owned two already...
Randy, what gives it away as being a PX10?
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Old 07-22-21, 09:11 PM
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-----

looks to be a 1972 model PX-10E, top of the line U.S. market model of the time


-----
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Old 07-22-21, 09:21 PM
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Originally Posted by randyjawa
The bike is Peugeot's top of the line PX10 a wonderful and highly collectable bike that offers really good ride quality. At the asking price, it is a great deal. Were it my size and in my area, I would have bought it in a heart beat. I speak from experience having owned two already...
Originally Posted by elcraft
The Reynolds label is in English. Usually it was the French version and found on the down tube, IIRC. Seems a little suspicious to me. A better shot of the DS drop out might help. The bars and brake levers are not original, too.
Elcraft (and Randy) thanks for your quick response. I also notice that the lugs don't look like the fancy lugs on Randy's bike. In addition, the stem is painted on this bike (and not on Randy's). Is that normal?
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Old 07-22-21, 09:29 PM
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Originally Posted by juvela
-----

looks to be a 1972 model PX-10E, top of the line U.S. market model of the time


-----
Juvela, would you buy this bike?
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Old 07-22-21, 09:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Mdl
Juvela, would you buy this bike?
-----


mais non


-----
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Old 07-22-21, 09:43 PM
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Originally Posted by juvela
-----


mais non


-----
Merci beaucoup
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Old 07-22-21, 09:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Mdl
Hi Everyone.

I came across this Peugot today and wonder whether a) it's worth the $375 asking price b) it's a great bike. I've posted below a few of the pics on, and the link to, the Facebook listing.

My concerns are:
  1. I'm not sure which model the bike is. I know next to nothing about Peugots (despite reading a couple posts here on BikeForums)
  2. If it truly has Reynolds 531 tubes, then why does one of the labels say "Inoxidable(?)", which I think means stainless steel, correct?
  3. I'm considering checking out a Bottechia and a Ross Signature tourer, both of which I linked to in recent posts this week. I know the Ross' value but:
    1. how would this Peugot compare to the Ross and Bottecchia (brazed instead of lugged) in terms of riding enjoyment?
    2. Is the Bottecchia worth the price?
    3. Which model Campy are the components (I'm familiar with Shimano but, clearly, not Campy - yet) on the Bottecchia?
Apologies for the multiple posts as of late. However, each of these bikes are ~1.5 hours away and, unfortunately, I have very little free time. I've saved up and want something really special. Therefore, if you would help me steer clear of lemons, it would be much appreciated. Thank you!

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...0-dbcfa864d378



Originally Posted by Mdl
Elcraft (and Randy) thanks for your quick response. I also notice that the lugs don't look like the fancy lugs on Randy's bike. In addition, the stem is painted on this bike (and not on Randy's). Is that normal?
...from whenever they went to the white and black, with checkerboard graphics, color scheme in the late '60's, until the late '70's/early '80's when they came out with the shorter, tighter PX 10 LE (and other assorted letters), this is about what they were. They were the cheapest all 531 bike you could buy, so they sold a lot of them all over, especially in the US. The sales concept was that you, too, could ride what the Peugeot team rode in the TdF, even though most of those were custom frames, repainted in the team colors.

I've had four or five of them here, and I even started a thread on modifying them, to make them a little more functional for the more aggressive rider.

Weaknesses in the original components are the shifters, the derailleurs, the stem and bar. Your example has been fuglied up a little with a threadless adapter, and a transplanted bar, stem, and levers that ought to be recycled into beer cans ASAP. Those are Prugnat lugs, rather than Nervex. they work fine, even if a little simpler in appearance. The fit and finish was sloppy on many of them, because that's how it was in the bike boom era.

It's not an especially great price, when you consider that you're gonna need to source a stem, bar, and MAFAC levers, at a minimum. You can adapt an Asian stem and bar into a very serviceable improvement over the originals, by sanding down the stem insertion to 22.0 from 22.2. The MAFAC levers that were original worked well. I guess this guy wanted those stupid safety levers, which are not safe at all.

More problematic is the front derailleur, but almost anything with a clamp that fits the tubing will work. That's already been done. Whoever has it set up that way is too tall for this bike, which is why that seat post is extended so far. That may or may not be the original post, but the saddle looks OK in the pictures, which is worth something.

Mostly this is an older French bike, and all the tubing and threading standards on it are metric. This makes it a little harder to source parts and to work on it, if you have no experience with them. But it's a nice, open, longer wheel based frame, and for an older "race" bike, it's a fun ride. If I really wanted it, I'd offer a little less because of the fugly cockpit, but if the wheels are good, it's not a big deal to change that out. Here's one of mine set up as a sports tourer.




For many years these sold here in all original, but project condition, on the local CL, for between $300 and $500. And you needed to replace the front derailleur, stem, bar, and tyres on those at a minimum. They show up less frequently now. I guess they all got collected or recycled.
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Old 07-22-21, 10:11 PM
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Originally Posted by 3alarmer
...from whenever they went to the white and black, with checkerboard graphics, color scheme in the late '60's, until the late '70's/early '80's when they came out with the shorter, tighter PX 10 LE (and other assorted letters), this is about what they were. They were the cheapest all 531 bike you could buy, so they sold a lot of them all over, especially in the US. The sales concept was that you, too, could ride what the Peugeot team rode in the TdF, even though most of those were custom frames, repainted in the team colors.

I've had four or five of them here, and I even started a thread on modifying them, to make them a little more functional for the more aggressive rider.

Weaknesses in the original components are the shifters, the derailleurs, the stem and bar. Your example has been fuglied up a little with a threadless adapter, and a transplanted bar, stem, and levers that ought to be recycled into beer cans ASAP. Those are Prugnat lugs, rather than Nervex. they work fine, even if a little simpler in appearance. The fit and finish was sloppy on many of them, because that's how it was in the bike boom era.

It's not an especially great price, when you consider that you're gonna need to source a stem, bar, and MAFAC levers, at a minimum. You can adapt an Asian stem and bar into a very serviceable improvement over the originals, by sanding down the stem insertion to 22.0 from 22.2. The MAFAC levers that were original worked well. I guess this guy wanted those stupid safety levers, which are not safe at all.

More problematic is the front derailleur, but almost anything with a clamp that fits the tubing will work. That's already been done. Whoever has it set up that way is too tall for this bike, which is why that seat post is extended so far. That may or may not be the original post, but the saddle looks OK in the pictures, which is worth something.

Mostly this is an older French bike, and all the tubing and threading standards on it are metric. This makes it a little harder to source parts and to work on it, if you have no experience with them. But it's a nice, open, longer wheel based frame, and for an older "race" bike, it's a fun ride. If I really wanted it, I'd offer a little less because of the fugly cockpit, but if the wheels are good, it's not a big deal to change that out. Here's one of mine set up as a sports tourer.




For many years these sold here in all original, but project condition, on the local CL, for between $300 and $500. And you needed to replace the front derailleur, stem, bar, and tyres on those at a minimum. They show up less frequently now. I guess they all got collected or recycled.
3Alarmer, Thank you! I will...need to pass. If it were in great condition, I'd be interested. You and the others have saved me some trouble! By the way, your bike looks very cool. I hope you are enjoying it. Cheers!
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Old 07-23-21, 05:19 AM
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Originally Posted by Mdl
Elcraft (and Randy) thanks for your quick response. I also notice that the lugs don't look like the fancy lugs on Randy's bike. In addition, the stem is painted on this bike (and not on Randy's). Is that normal?
The non-fancy lugs are indicative of a slightly higher end PX10 and the stem is not original to the bike. The positive slope stem was, most likely, installed to improve rider comfort.
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Old 07-23-21, 05:22 AM
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Originally Posted by Mdl
Randy, what gives it away as being a PX10?
Obviously a Peugeot and, for me, the big PX10 clue is the chrome plated socks, on the fork and the stays.
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Old 07-23-21, 05:51 AM
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I'd pass on this PX 10 at this price. It can be turned into a spiffy sports touring bike given the clearance for larger volume tires but you will need to deal with the oddities of French bikes. I like French bikes a lot (I own and ride a 1982 Peugeot PXN 10 and a 1973 Motobecane Grand Record). The Tom Kellog Signature Ross is the pick of the litter. It will be easier to work on than this Peugeot or the Bottechia as it has standard English threading, it is a Tom Kellog built bike, and it has a fine component group. That is a bike worth owning and it is set up for long distance riding.
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Old 07-23-21, 07:02 AM
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1972 PX-10 - identified as that model by the presence of chrome socks fore and aft, identified as 1972 by the combination of plain Nervex Dubois pattern lugs painted black at the head with the more relaxed 72-degree head and seat tube angles. Those lugs resurface in '74 on the PX-10LE, but with WHITE headlugs outlined in gold and with much steeper (74-75 degree) head and seat angles.

I have never run into any explanation as to why this one year the standard PX-10 came with the plain DuBois lugs rather than the fancy curly Professional that was standard through 1971 and that returned and then ran concurrently through as late as 1975. I long suspect it was a supply chain bottleneck due to the demands of the great bike boom. The best parallel to that is Raleigh's use of their Carlton Capella lugs in 1973, something I long thought was also a supply chain issue, but which was instead due to the discovery of many long-forgotten boxes of lugs during a building renovation.

All that aside, the PX-10 has its own distinct ride quality, and it is a classic in its own right. Were this bike mine, I would remove the nasty stem and replace it with a Nitto Technomic, which will usually fit within a French 22.0 mm steerer tube without requiring filing (though you may have to remove any internal overhang on the headset locknut to make sure it's not smaller than the steerer tube interior itself). I would also replace the brake levers with something a little more suitable and wrap the bars in black or white cotton tape.
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Old 07-23-21, 10:09 AM
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Originally Posted by bikemig
I'd pass on this PX 10 at this price. It can be turned into a spiffy sports touring bike given the clearance for larger volume tires but you will need to deal with the oddities of French bikes. I like French bikes a lot (I own and ride a 1982 Peugeot PXN 10 and a 1973 Motobecane Grand Record). The Tom Kellog Signature Ross is the pick of the litter. It will be easier to work on than this Peugeot or the Bottechia as it has standard English threading, it is a Tom Kellog built bike, and it has a fine component group. That is a bike worth owning and it is set up for long distance riding.
Bikemig,
Once again, I must thank you.
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