johnnyace 

Last night while perusing the Portland craigslist for possible Cino bikes, I saw an ad for three Peugeots, including a 1972 PX-10. For $315. The ad had only been up for a day, so I bookmarked it, and figured I'd check it out this morning to see if they were still there. Surely they wouldn't last long at that price.

The ad was still there, so I emailed the seller and requested to drive up (about 45 minutes from me) to check them out. He emailed me back right away, and I gave him a call to arrange a time.

When I got there, the seller escorted me to his garage, where all three bikes were hanging from the rafters. We got 'em all pulled down, and as I examined them, we talked about the bikes. He is the original owner of the PX-10, bought at a bike shop in downtown Portland in 1972 (he couldn't remember the name of the bike shop, but it's no longer there). He related that he was a student at PSU at the time, and was tired of riding around on his heavy-as-a-tank Schwinn Varsity. After a test ride, they sold him the PX-10. He talked a bit about the ride quality, comfort, and just the right amount of flex in the frame, which the Varsity did not have.

At some point, his wife co-opted the bike, and turned it into an upright bar setup, as pictured. He bought the other two Peugeots with the intent of returning the PX-10 to it's original drop-bar glory, but never got around to it. He's looking to retire and move in two years, hence the downsizing.

He had put the ad up on craigslist a while back, and had received numerous calls, as far off as the Midwest, and some from the Seattle area, most people wanting him to ship it. He didn't want the hassle of shipping, and took the ad down, as he was leaving out of town for a couple of weeks. Also wanted them all gone as a package deal.

Then he says to me, "Oh, I almost forgot, I have three Brooks saddles, if you're interested in them." Uh, YEAH!

So I now have three Peugeots, and a 1986-1988 Peugeot PXR-80 from ebay on the way. That's definitely more French bikes than I ever thought I would own. If Mafac Racer center-pulls were currency, I'd be a rich man!



Loaded up and ready to head home


Not sure if this is the serial #, might have been on a metal badge where those two holes are. Looks like "121902."


Nervex lugs


The Reynolds 531 stickers are mostly gone


Amazingly, the Simplex derailleurs are not cracked on all three bikes


Stronglight cranks


1972 Peugeot PX-10, upright mode


Don't know which model this is, yet


Don't know which model this is, yet

nlerner

How dare you disrupt the dominant narrative of all the good deals on C&V bikes are no more!

Nice catch!

Narhay

Looks more like a 1971 px10 but the reynolds decal would have been on the seat tube. 1972 had plain lugs. Maybe 1971 model sold in 1972.

If those are forged dropouts on the white one maybe a PA-10?

The blue one seems like a U-08.

Can we see the other side of the bikes?

OTS 

Whoa, you did great !
Very Nice !

johnnyace 

I was thinking it might be a 1971 sold in 1972. I'll be digging into the details and posting more pics soon; sorry for the non-drive side pics!

johnnyace 

Thanks Neal. Yeah, and these were practically in gugie's backyard!

Ayeobe

oh man i am in love. Though i am a Mixte Man kinda guy, i can surely appreciate the glory that is in this thread, having done many a research since ...last tuesday.
Those are gorgeous

Flying G

Nice haul! You just never know what is going to magically appear on CL sometimes. Cool that you received the lot from the original owner, too!

Pcampeau

If the PX10 is your size your going to love the ride. The other bikes are nice bonuses but the PX10 is well worth the cost all by itself. I’m noticing the bikes are different sizes so hopefully the PX10 fits you. From here it looks like it’s in great condition and it’s really beautiful. Congratulations!

I wouldn’t mind seeing a couple pics of the Brooks saddles if you could maybe arrange that?

johnnyace 

Yup, the PX10 is my size (that's what made it so easy to grab these), and I will definitely keep it and ride it. If it's anything like the 1972 Gitane Tour de France that I used to own, the ride should be great. I will also post more pics of the Brooks saddles when I get the chance.

ellei.oh

Those are all in great conditions and one of them even came with a bike pump. Seriously a great deal!

markk900

The Blue one is almost certainly a UO-8, maybe 1973 or 1974..... the smaller white one is that cool model with a higher grade frame (better lugs but still Peugeot Tubing Special Allegre) than the UO series but still cotter cranks etc.....like Narhay said a PA10? A great score for sure....I was looking the other day and across the province of Ontario Peugeots (much less well preserved than yours) are selling for $200-300 at the low end and an eye-watering $900 for a UO-8.....interestingly for Ayeobe I saw at least 8 Mixtes in the Ottawa area alone......

Road Fan

On the blue one I didn’t see the usual stepped pattern head lugs …. Can it be a UO-8 without those head lugs?

markk900

Road Fan : zoom in on the picture and you will see the classic Aztec lugs 😀. It so clean there isn’t the usual dirt to make them stand out…..

johnnyace 

Okay, for those wanting to see more pics of the non-PX10 Peugeots and the Brooks saddles, I have uploaded them to a gallery. I'll be interested to know what folks have to say about these based on the details and serial numbers:

https://www.bikeforums.net/g/album/21347616

Narhay

I'm going to go with 1971 px10, 1971 Pa10 and 1972 u-08.

daka

Based on the dropouts and the crankset/chainrings, I'd say the white one looks a lot like the PA10 that I bought in 1970, except for the wheels. PA10s came with sew-up rims laced to Normandy hubs. Budget racer and fun bike - performed much better than my girlfriend's UO-8

Pcampeau

All three of those Brooks Professional saddles look pretty good. This is the haul that keeps on giving.

ollo_ollo

Congrats on another great find on the Portland CL! Haven't looked there in a while as we've been in Pensacola FL for a couple months, but depart for Oregon tomorrow and been seeking another Brooks Pro. If you want to sell one, PM me, I expect to be in Stayton Friday night. Don

johnnyace 

Thank you for your assessment, gentlemen.

johnnyace 

Don, at this point they are all spoken for, but if that changes, I will definitely let you know. Hey, just a heads-up: I was in NW Hub the other day, and they have a neat Bob Jackson mixte in green, made with Reynolds 531. I was hoping it would fit my wife (5'4"), but even with the saddle all the way down, she couldn't reach the pedals. I took it for a spin, and it was a great rider. Pricey at $650, but cool bike nonetheless. Just thought I'd put that out there.

Have a safe trip!

ollo_ollo

Thanks, will check out when we're back. Might make a good "old man" bike, but they come big sometimes. Was surprised by a mixte that was too big for me one time, turned out to be a 58 cm. Don

johnnyace 

After reading some of the comments here, I wonder if the PX10 might be an early 1973 model, despite the fact that the seller said he purchased it in 1972:

Regardless, it will be a great rider when I'm done with it. I have decided that I will not be restoring this to historical stock (I don't like the Simplex derailleurs with plastic parts) as I will be keeping and riding it, not selling it. I sure wish I still had the NOS Simplex SLJ5500 rear derailleur that I put on my 1972 Gitane TdF; I can't believe the prices I'm seeing on those these days!

rustystrings61 

The white one with the black Bocama lugs is a PA-10 - same tubing as the UO-8, but nicer lugs, forged Simplex ends, and sold with tubulars. It's the equivalent of a Gitane Interclub. The blue one is a U-08 variant.

I think the white PX-10 is a 1973 based on these things - the head and seat tube angles looks steeper, like maybe 74 degrees? The serial number is stamped by hand directly into rthe shell, something I have only seen on '73 and '74 PX-10LEs and PX-10Es. I've owned a couple of bikes marked like this and seen more, and I believe that is the factory-marked serial number. I have no clue as to why they DON'T have the usual serial number plate, but I have seen these markings ONLY on PX-10s built 1973-74. Finally, the position of the Reynolds decal on the DT says '74 to me. I also suspect the fork is a replacement from a PR-10, as the crown matches that model and not the Nervex Professional or DuBois crowns I've seen on that era PX-10.

The Nervex Professional lugs were standard on ALL PX-10s through around 1971; for some reason Peugeot used plain Nervex DuBois lugs in 1972; in 1973 the Nervex Professionals returned and are used at least SOME of the time through 1975 or so. The DuBois lugs were used on the 1974 PX-10LE, which had WHITE head lugs with gold outlining, and may have been a one-year-only U.S. market bike.

rustystrings61 

There was indeed such a thing as a UX-10, a PX-10 variant sold with clinchers instead of tubulars - from this source, c. 1974
Catalog data - .... Also listed was the UX-10, which was identical to the PX-10E except for its wheels. This model came stock with 27 x 11/4 clincher rims and tires using Schraeder valves ...

The decorative Professional lugs do show up on later Peugeot PX-10s, at least into 1975. As to whether there is rhyme or reason, I cannot say. I CAN say, firmly, that the hand-stamped serial numbers seem to only appear on the steeper-angled PX variants that appear c. 1973-74. The frame angles go to something slacker, like 73 or 72 degrees after that, back to a more classic design. There is a story there, somewhere, and probably a story as well behind how and why Peugeot went to the plain lugs in '72.