Classtime 

I had been on the lookout for a nice UO-8 when I got lucky and a trash picker let me have this well neglected PA-10 for cheap.


1972(3) PA-10E

A NOS bike is here :
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...t-pa-10-a.html

It is not too heavy and has what I would call long course chain stays at 43cm, a little extra fork rake, 103cm wheelbase, and near enough 73 degree angles to make a charming and classic racer.
The Simplex drive train is swift and sure with the 52-45 in the front and 13-21 rear.
I don't perceive any flex (as yet) with the no-name cottered crank arms with Simplex adapter and rings.
It is so very easy to flip these Lyotard 36 pedals and my sneakers into the clips. They spin like crazy and I haven't replaced the bearings yet.
The seat post clamp is so very cool with its micro adjust feature.
These Mafac levers will never ever need new hoods.
A fair rake on the fork is important to me and every picture of a PA-10 has one.

I've done a few things: Added some spare tubulars on mismatched tubular rims (It came to me with clinchers), put on my old Brooks Pro, a French SR stem to replace a dead AVA, and a pair of less oxidized Racers with new Kool Stops.

Between now and next spring, I need to find appropriate tubular rims to put on the OG Normandy hubs, find fancier branded crank arms along with new ready to go cotters that will put my crank arms at 180 degrees. I think these are off by a degree.



Steel is Real.

More Steel.

Bocama. And note the heavy straddle.

We don't need no stinking brake lever hoods!

markk900

Looks like a fun ride! First upgrade to my AO-8 BITD was to lace up some tubulars and the bike was transformed.

juvela

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thanks very much for sharing this find!

the PA-10 was a bit of an "orphan" from a sales standpont in my San Francisco Bay area during the boom

dealers had them in stock but sales of Peugeot bicycles seemed to be almost completely confined to models A08, U08/U18 and PX-10

the PR10 was also little encountered "in the field"

we did not see the juvenile or utility models at all
do not know if this may have reflected a distributor or a dealer decision

suspect your example would be likely a '73 rather than a '72 with that model of MAFAC brake lever


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bikemig 

I'd be sorely tempted to build clinchers for this bike but tubulars do have a lovely ride. Tubular wheels seem to just grow in my garage. I have a set from a fuji finest and from a follis 172 . . .

Classtime 

The serial number indicates a 72. One bicycle license is dated 1973 and the other says “Expires July 1975” I couldn’t find U.S. catalogs for 72 or 73 but I dig the levers — Very comfortable. I was lucky to find that clean adjuster on eBay. I think the guy I bought it from grabbed the Velox plugs and one of the flint catchers. I rewrapped the bars with the original tape which also feels good to me as is and will be hard to part with.

Tubulars are catalog spec and fun for me if it’s not too expensive. The silver rim on there now is an Arc en Ciel that I clamped and pressed into usable even tension. From what I can find out, that Super Champion rim model is period correct and would go fine on the normal Normandy hubs. For serious miles, I would like two good rims and my other tubular wheel sets are 126 or 130mm.

juvela

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jantes -

recall the PX of this time as coming with MAVIC Montlhery, red labels, ferruled and serrated

they may have been OEM on the PA & PR as well

recall the OEM tubulars as Hutchinson cotton 280's

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John E

Agreed -- when I worked at Bikecology (1972-74), the PA-10 was misunderstood and not a big seller, despite its utility as a budget entry-level racer. The 14-21 freewheel usually got replaced by a 14-26 or 14-28, at customer request, as on the PR-10s and PX-10s. A PA-10 with modern lightweight clinchers and aluminum cranks would indeed be a very practical and enjoyable machine. (I rode on tubular tires frequently in Los Angeles, but I soon gave them up when I moved to San Diego County in 1981 and discovered goathead thorns.

juvela

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the similar in concept to the PA-10 at this era Gitane Interclub was a popular model in the Bay Area, selling well

they yet turn up regularly on the classified adverts

no idea why the Gitane was a good seller and the Peugeot not

the Peugeot may have only come in white while the Gitane was offered in several colours, including purple flambouyant, have had one in that finish hanging in me shop for many a year

worked on Interclubs for customers and never had a PA-10 come through


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Classtime hath certainly done an exemplary job here!

have enjoyed very much following along

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rustystrings61 

Another possible option - Mavic Sport, a tubular rim but WITHOUT eyelets. I misremember which bike that passed through my hands had those - maybe a Raleigh Competition?

John E

Throw a set of aluminum cranks on it, and only very close inspection (rear dropouts and seat post diameter) would distinguish it visually from a PR-10, which was a great bike and truly almost as PX-10.