Nokton

I've got enough bikes. Okay, being honest, I have way more than enough bikes. Which means, of course, that I want more.

I'm looking for a challenging, but not too challenging (no major frame rehab or impossible to find parts, sort of a 7 or 8 on the degree-of-difficulty scale) build/restoration project and have decided that my collection lacks three things: an Italian racing bike, a really nice English three-speed and a French touring bike. I probably wouldn't ride the racing bike much, nice as it might be to have, and I already have an AMF-branded Raleigh three-speed that will do just fine until I find the right three speed for a project, but I don't have anything resembling a French touring bike.

What are some good candidates for a restoration project? I'm thinking of the more normal Peugeot, Motobecane and Gitane sort of bikes since I don't have the budget for a Rene Herse (as cool as that would be). I'm thinking a Peugeot of some sort would be nice, but what model should I look for and what time frame? I'd like something that's a practical, rideable bike that still has a nice cool factor.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

wrk101

Andy_K 

jj1091

I just completed a '74 Peugeot PX-8 rebuild. A not-too-common model. Here's a link to the Forum post:
​​​​​​https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...8-rebuild.html

Also, here's a catalog scan of the fully-equipped version with fenders, racks, etc.
​​​https://www.bikeboompeugeot.com/Broch...oomPeugeot.JPG

Jesse B 

It depends on what you're looking for weight and challenge-wise, but there are many good candidates under the Peugeot tent. In the past few years, I've built up 70s UO-8s, PX10s and 80s PHLE105s, Triathlons, etc.

I know some might disagree, but the mid-80s HLE and 501 frames are pretty nice and relatively light. And by the mid-80s, Peugeot went to English bottom brackets.

I recently built up an '89 Triathlon that I really love. It has Shimano 105 components.

I was going to post a link to the 1985 Peugeot catalog, but I'm too much of a newbie here to post links.

bikemig 

A lot of the French hi tensile steel bikes make fine tourers. The real classics are are the Pugs, the UO 8, 9, and 10. They have nice long wheelbases and lots of room for fat tires and fenders.

The other alternative is to simply go with a 70s era French racing bike. Those take pretty fat tires since they were designed to deal with a wide variety of roads and typically came stock with mafac racers. I just built up an early 70s PR 10. I'm running 28c tires but I'll bet it can take a 32c as well. You should look at some of the vintage French bikes set up as randonneurs.

gugie 

Size? local CLer's will help...

bikemig 

+ 1 on size. The OP does not live too far from me.

There's an overpriced Gitane Hosteller for sale 23 inch that looks pretty interesting. It's been on the market for a while and maybe the seller is willing to deal:

https://rmn.craigslist.org/bik/d/git...584394927.html

Tall moto grand touring at a more reasonable price, here,

https://cedarrapids.craigslist.org/b...612394459.html

rhm

I think @lostarchitect has the bike you're looking for, though I'm not sure about the size.

dweenk

I have a 1968ish Gitane Hosteler that I have been "going to restore" for 3 years now. It is a 23" high tensile steel frame, triple steel cottered crank, small front and rear racks, and fenders. It has a bottle generator, intact headlight, broken tail light, Rigida steel rims, and lots of patina. All original parts except the skewers as far as I can tell. Frame and fenders have tabs for the light wiring, and I want to move it on. If you are interested, PM me.

Nokton

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I really appreciate it.

I generally ride a 56-58cm frame. My 1980 Trek 414 has a 22 1/2" frame and fits me very well.

Aubergine 

bikemig 

I don't live too far from you and I ride the same size bike. I have a Peugeot PR 10 frame I would let go cheap if interested. Back in the day, it was called a racing bike. Today it's more of a sports touring bike. It has eyelets and generous tire clearance which was pretty common in old school French bikes. Shoot me an IM if interested. Great bike but I picked up another French bike, a Mercier 300, and I plan to shift the parts over to it.

fietsbob

Gilles Berthoud

non-fixie 

There are several ways of going about this. I've felt a similar longing, and I'm still looking for the right frame (or bike) to come along. I need a large size for a nice French fit (~64cm) and the French weren't the biggest, so that may take a while. I am also not the most patient person, and when I found a frame in my stash with the right dimensions (tall and short), I decided I'd build that into a "faux French tourer" for the time being. It would give me something to play with and test some of my assumptions regarding the ideal set-up of a French tourer.

This is what I came up with. I'm leaning more towards the 'sportif' than the 'campeur', so Inspiration came mainly from what Alex Singer was doing in the seventies. The frame is a Japanese Miki, 64 x 55, that I'd picked up for €5 years ago. Brakes are Weinmann Vainqueur, cranks are TA, with Cyclotouriste chainrings, shifters and derailleurs are from Huret.

scozim 

Then there's me - the oddball. My kids tell me I'm not normal. Oh well. I was given a late 80's Peugeot hybrid bike in rough shape. I contemplated for awhile what to do with it and eventually did a drop bar conversion, had new wheels built up and made it my tourer. It's a little heavier than I would like but it's also not meant to go fast.

This photo was before I switched out the oval Stronglight chainrings for round ones.

Salamandrine 

It might sound kind of funny to hear this, but there really weren't a lot of French pure touring bikes sold in the US during the 70s. At the time touring often meant a bike optimized for enjoyment and recreational riding, not racing.

Anyhow, Motobecane Grand Touring or Grand Jubilee are good ones that I remember. The later Grand Tourings with Vitus are worth noting, as are the early 531 Grand Jubilees. These were upper midrange bikes. Fancy at the time, but not really in the same league as custom built touring machines like Herse, Singer, etc.

It is worth pointing out that my Peugeot PX10 is just about exactly the same geometry as my built-to-spec custom British touring bike. 72º parallel, long chainstays, ~60mm trail. Certainly it could be used for touring, and they were. This holds true for a lot of early 'road' bikes, many of which were designed for racing when lots of gravel was involved. PX-10 after 1972 went to a much steeper criterium sort of geometry.

bikemig 

Right, that's why I suggested to the OP that he should look at older French racing bikes; they were designed for rough roads and make fine light touring/randonnee bikes. Plus the quality of the bikes he is likely to find will go up.

Salamandrine 

Yep, I should have +1'ed your post. So I'll do it now, +1, what bikemig says....

bikemig 

Hah, you gave a much more detailed explanation than I did!

There just isn't much out there in terms of a quality mass produced French touring bike which is why post 14 suggested an uber expensive custom French bike.

The OP's best bet is likely one of the many, many hi tensile steel French production bikes that make terrific tourers once you go to the trouble and expense of changing out the wheels, the crank, and derailleurs. If you want a better quality frame in an old French bike, then a great many of the older racing bikes that came with eyelets and mafac racers will certainly make for a fine all around machine.

Edit: I was curious so I just measured out my early 70s Peugeot PR 10. That bike has eyelets, the wheelbase is 40 inches and the chainstays are 17. There is plenty of clearance for a 32c tire or even a 35-38c tire. This could easily be made into a fine gravel/touring bike to deal with the OP's nebraska roads.

Road Fan

For the PX10, do you mean 60 mm rake, or 60 mm trail? 60 mm trail is "high trail," and is thought of as an element of mainly a racing bike, and has been since at least the mid-70s. When the Peug geometry was tightened the trail went to around 60 mm and it employed a trail probably around 43 mm.

On the earlier frames, say PX10 in the late '60s, rake is closer to 60 mm giving a trail around 44 mm. My '67 has (if I recall) wheel radius 330 (narrow tubulars), 73 degree head angle, and let's assume the rake is 60 mm since I don't recall the measurement: here the standard trail equation gives trail 38 mm. 44 mm or 38 mm, I would rather have a touring bike with those smaller trail numbers than one with 60 mm trail. It will make a significant difference in the fork flop.

So I suspect you mixed up 60 mm trail with 60 mm rake.

Salamandrine 

No, I meant 60mm trail, not rake.

57 or 58 mm trail is generally considered neutral, and typical for racing bikes. My Masi is in that range. 60-61 moderately high trail and was typical for traditional touring geometries. My Mercian touring bike is also in this range. Good for long fast descents with bags. Rock stable. Can be a bit divey at low speeds. I've never owned a low trail bike. I guess it's on my list. Low trail geometries used to be the exception more than the rule, from what I recall. There's so much hype about it nowadays people forget that. It seems that it was mostly popular in French rando bikes intended for the French domestic market.

scozim 

I'm still holding out for a 1984 Gitane Gran Tour - I'd sell several bikes for one of those. Cantilever brakes and Vitus 181 tubing

USAZorro

Here's a suggestion - if you can find one, should be a lot less than a Herse or Singer, but a lot more character and "Frenchness" than just about anything else you could get from 1970 on.

Classtime