sfazio 

Hello all. I have been searching for a PX10 in my size for some time and finally came across what looked like the perfect bike--it was listed for $175 and I dropped everything and grabbed it before anyone else could beat me to it. Everything looks right, Reynolds 531 frame and fork, chrome stays with Simplex dropouts, Stronglight 93 crankset, Mafac Racer brakes, Mavic wheels, Brooks professional saddle and the weight is right. It will have to be completely gone through of course but everything is here--the decals and a "70" stamped on the original Simplex derailluer seems to clearly make this a 1970 bike. The serial number is only 5 digits which I have read in other posts is not typical but not unheard of either.

The only thing I can't figure out are the suicide brake levers. The seller said he was the original owner and that the levers came with the bike. I have my doubts that he was the original owner--he knew next to nothing about the bike and even thought it was a 1950's model. My theory is that this is a PX10 that someone added these levers to, not something that came this way from the factory. I have never heard of a PX10 having these levers and I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would want these on a racing bike but here they are. My nagging fear is that this is not in fact a PX10 but I can't find a Peugeot model that would have all of the items listed above along with the suicide levers.

Any help or comments would be appreciated. I can't wait to start tearing this down and getting it back on the road!

ARider2

Those levers were popular in the 70's and it may be something added by the original owner.

bikemig 

Good deal at $175. You'll have fun rehabbing it.

randyjawa 

I would not be upset about the dual position levers as they appear to be Mafac. It is likely that the original owner wanted them installed when he or she bought the bike. That said, a set of ordinary Mafac levers are readily available on Ebay almost all of the time.

Warning - the steering stem is set way too high! That can cause damage to the steering tube of the fork. The same goes for the seat post, which can damage the seat lug. Please take this warning seriously.

By the way, you will love the ride quality of your PX10. I have owned a couple and both were very impressive to ride and, in my opinion, to view...

Classtime 

NICE! Likely the shop put the safety levers on for the buyer because -- Safety. Tubulars? And the original saddle? Don't be afraid of the front derailleur. It looks crack free so just install it gently. It won't have to be torqued down like more modern versions. I miss my '69

juvela

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the conversion of the MAFAC brake levers to extension levers was accomplished with a hardware kit produced by Bicycle Research Products of Concord California:





the BMX accessories firm of ACS (American Cycle Systems) in southern California also produced a similar kit:





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T-Mar

Agreed the safety levers are non-OEM, though not many owners had them retro-fitted them to this level of bicycle. Given the dangerously high position of the stem, they were likely added to allow braking from a more upright position. Curiously, it still has the OEM tubular wheelset, which was generally the first thing to be replaced.

sykerocker 

Pity it doesn't have the actual Mafac safety levers, which were the only effective ones made back then. I've got a set on my Magneet for touring, and they're a lot more positive if you have to panic stop than the DiaCompe's that seem to have been adapted. I'm also stunned that, with the setup, the tubular wheels were still on.

DiegoFrogs

Did those adapters have a bolt that threaded into the other end, or did they really just utilize an E-clip?

sfazio 

Thanks for the good words and for the warning. The guy I bought this from was 6'1 and this is a 54cm frame--hence the crazy high seat and handlebars. I will inspect everything carefully and look for any damage.

juvela

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both systems are secured with an e-ring which snaps into a groove at the end of the pivot pin

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T-Mar

I liked the Shimano Tourney safety levers used by Sekine. The brake levers were factory installed using jigs, for optimum position and functioning of the safety levers. The adhesive handlebar tape was also factory wrapped to discourage repositioning of the levers. This resulted in optimum, consistent braking performance and saved a lot of assembly time.

Subliminally, it helped sales too. When you set the stem on the insertion mark and lined up bicycles of the same frame size, they were remarkedly consistent in appearance. Customers couldn't put their fingers on why but it gave them the impression that the Sekine was a better bicycle than the Gitane, Raleigh and Peugeot, which we also sold.

repechage

just a clip. We did the mod almost daily for a while, most often on UO8’s but any Mafac brake lever was a potential victim.
add ons like that made a shop owner smile.

We did call them “comfort” levers, not safety levers. People wanted he race bike aesthetic but liked to brake from the tops.