top506

Yeah, well....1st day of a three day event was wet.

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AdventureManCO 

Oh, for sure. It's just most of the ones I've seen (mine included) have had their nice tubby wheetsets replaced with huge steel clunkers. Like, sure, you don't like tubulars? No problem. But you gotta grab those things?!

I think I'm going to get the PX-10 down this weekend and take it for a spin.

ehcoplex 

I suspect in many cases the swap was done at the time of the original sale, an unwitting 'bike-boom' customer sold on the convenience of clinchers and the tubular set was then put on a higher end bike or sold to someone else. Heck, my PX-10 had even had 'safety' levers added to the brakes (as well as the heavy steel clunker wheels...).

AdventureManCO 

I must thank @3alarmer for starting this thread - finding it and reading through it has inspired me to get my PX-10 back on the road. Not that it needed much work, but I rolled it in the house, cleaned it up, waxed it, took the pedals apart and serviced then, then put a seat back on it and took it for a stroll.


Right now it has a decent sunshine/araya wheelset on it. Changes, as you can see, are randoneur handlebars, modern Tektro levers and dual pivot brakes, Shimano 105 derailleur w/ claw (original hanger undisturbed), single chainring, and non-original alloy seatpost. I've been going back and forth on whether to touch up the paint, or just leave it as is. The picture above makes it look better than it is. Good news is the chrome is absolutely perfect. Any dullness is just the clear coat wearing thin or off.

Anyone who has not had a chance to jump on one of these bikes really should try one. The ride is spirited, and the frame is compliant in all the right ways, yet tracks beautifully and is forgiving towards the rider in both road harshness and steering towards the rider. It is probably not as fast as some (like a Cannondale crit bike), but it is fast and quite an enjoyable ride. I commuted on this bike for a stint and it was plenty enough with the single chainring for a variety of terrain and kept up just fine with other modern bikes and riders - I never felt undergunned on it.

My more recent pickup is this one, a 1981 PXN-10, from a different co-op, last December. As you can see, it is a tad smaller than the PX-10(56-57cm), coming in around 54cm. I'm still trying to decide the bike is too small, but I know there is quite a bit of leeway with these things...and a more 'racey' fit tends to be one that is on a smaller bike, versus a 'French' fit, even though it is, paradoxically, on a French bike. I took this one around the block after riding the PX-10 -



I know it may be shooting from the hip, but I'm definitely interested in anyones thoughts on the fit of this bike, as is (above), The seat height is correct, but I could stand to move it back another 5-10mm). I do tend to like handlebars even with the seat, but this one obviously has more of a 'classical' positioning where the hood position is a good 4" or so lower than the seat. After compensating for all that, it may just be a little too obvious that the frame is a tad too small, but goodness its such a beautiful bike. Still, I'll let it go if the fit is wrong...but it will be a bit painful. It is not quite as lovely of a ride, but I really think that has to do with the tires. I'm going to throw the PX-10's wheelset on this one and give it a go and see how it changes.

ehcoplex 

Curious to know how you'd 'qualify' the differences between the PX-10 and the Super Competition. I love my PX-10, but now and then I see the later Super Comps pop up for sale and think hmmmmmmm........

3alarmer 

...the Super Competition (and Competition) models, with the various letters addended to the PX-10 designation, follow the general trend of most makers' bike frame geometry from the early 70's on through the mid to late 80's. So think: shorter wheelbase, quicker steering (except for a batch of '70's bike that were especially steep at the head tube angles), water bottle bosses appear, while fender and rack eyelets gradually vanish. In a word, they feel "quicker" to me, along with a marked improvement in the Simplex components that were supplied as standard equipment.

It's a gradual transition, that you can follow by looking at old Peugeot catalogs. (lifted links from The Official Vintage Bicycle Manufacturer Catalog List w/Links)

Peugeot 1 (1952) - Peugeot 2 (1974) / (1977) / (1978) / (1979) / (1980) / (1981) / (1982) / (1983) / (1984) / (1985) / (1986) / (1987) / (1988) / (1989) / (1990) - Peugeot 3 (1971) / (1973) / (1974) / (1982/3) - Peugeot 4 (1926, 1929-1930, 1932-1936, 1950-1953, 1955, 1957-1959, 1962-1993)

By 1975, they were already offering the Simplex Super LJ as an option on the PX, but the bikes were still more or less the older geometry until about 1979 with the birth of the Super Comp, and the explosion of various pleasing color schemes that continued through the mid '80's, with the various PY and PZ models. Then the designation seems to disappear, with the advent of model names that are hard to sort through.

chain_whipped

Any guess what famous US racer started his career on this gifted PX 10 by a motorcycle gang leader? San's front derailleur.

AdventureManCO 

Its a little tough, because of the sizing difference between the two frames. I tried swapping the wheels from the PX-10 over onto the PXN-10, but both were too narrow. Surprisinging, the rear was 128mm, and so I just grabbed a modern wheelset that I have setup for 7-speed (was on my Ironman), and it fit beautifully on the PXN-10. Its a really lightweight wheelset (relatively speaking), and took it for a very quick spin. I found that the ride to be a little more cramped than the PX-10 (sizing), and had to move the seat all the way back, as I kept getting a funny feeling in my knee. Moving the seat back helped. As far as the ride between the two of them goes, the suppleness comes through on both (thats db 531 for you), but right now I prefer the ride of my PX-10, mainly due to sizing. I'm going to give the PXN-10 more saddle time, but the fact that the frame is smaller means that I'll never get the handlebars where I usually would like them. It might make a great straight or north road bar bike. It did feel quicker with those newer wheels for sure, but I was mainly doing that for the tires not the wheels.

I would say that if you find one of the later ones in your size, go for it! I'm actually really interested in trying both one of the later internally brazed Peugeots, and also a UO-8 since I keep hearing great things about both.

chain_whipped

I notice there's both a metal and plastic Simplex version plunger front derailleur but this video mentions another, Campagnolo Valentino like. Google search under Simplex matchbox comes up with a toy model car from England and ebay showing one on a bike.



Metal plunger type

Plastic plunger type

Simplex matchbox metal type on ebay

Google search Simplex matchbox derailleur