David, who often comments here, found a Peugeot PFN-10 frame made from Vitus 181 tubing in a dumpster. He added a Reynolds 531 fork from a Peugeot PX-10 and found he had a sweet riding French bike. Obviously he's lavished a fair bit of time and money on his project, and the
results is a beautiful rando/commuter bike.Of course I have to mention the Velo Orange rear rack, decaleur, mud flap, bell mount, and toe clip covers. But that custom front generator braze-on is a brilliant addition. And the Berthoud bags add a bit of class. The Mafac front rack and TA bottle and cage, as well as the Stronglight crank are also notable. If you study the photos you'll find a lot of little details that make this bike special; it was obviously set up by someone who knew what he was doing.
David, who is an ex-racer, prefers the race bike-like fit of this bike with its low bars and tall seat post.
Even though David has a very nice brand new sports-touring frame, he's wondering if he should build it up. He's not sure it would be much of an improvement over the Peugeot. He writes of the Peugeot, "...its ignoble provenance adds character."
More photos here. And if you want to see what what a PFN-10 looked like when new, here's a link (and look at the stem on the bike at the bottom of this link).
A classy old French lady. Very, very elegant. After the bags show a little use it will be a perfect bicycle. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteNicely done David. A very classy, classic looking bike. I'm sure it rides wonderfully too.
ReplyDeleteJohn
Very nice. There's actually a really nice looking all original PX-10 on e-Bay today.
ReplyDeleteGreat bike, that has me inspired to get back to work on my junk bin Peugeot.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys. This was a hilarious project because I was buying an inner tube for my son's bike at a really cruddy local shop and I noticed they were chucking an old Pequot frame with a goner fork. So I provided a bit of care and feeding. They were like, "sure dude, it has really wierd threads or something.")
ReplyDelete... _but_ the important item du jour is:
GO FLOYD!!!!!!!!!!
My God, my eyes were literally watering to watch that kind of suffering, determination and absolutely stunning character. That will go down as one of the epic feats in the Tour. Ever. (Don't forget: the typical TdF gearing for Joux-Plane is 38/26 ... to get a bead on this, consider that the typical gearing for Galibier is 39/21!)
Beautiful. Any chance of a closeup shot of that custom brazed-on generator fork mount?
ReplyDeleteIt's a beauty. I've got a good bike that needs the David-NJ-treatment; any interest in freelance build-up work?
ReplyDeleteDid you hear Al & Bob rambling on after Landis won yesterday's stage? They were losing it. It was great.
David, nice job mounting the V.O. rear rack, close to the rear fender as it should be. I also like the decaleur "retension ring" that prevents the bag from jumping out of its mount, perfect.
ReplyDeleteNice details, well done, she has a balanced, unified look.
Thanks for the kind remarks Peter. I am ->not<- worthy; it's really just a bike-boom special, not from the same galaxy as any of your svelte machines! Clunker or not, I just felt like it was like a stray dog at the pound and when it looked at me with those sad eyes I couldn't help but take it home.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I just put that little ring on there as the front bag jumped off a couple of times. You'd think with the level of property taxes they might fill in some potholes here in New Jersey -- I guess they just route all that dough straight through to organized crime ...
Steve, it has one of those little TA racks up front. Tiny, but big enough to hold up the bag!
David, is there any chance your bike was stolen? A reader posted what looks exactly like your bike on a Craigslist ad. Link is the comments below.
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ReplyDeleteChris, you web site may be the ruination of my life. I now find myself checking out thrift stores and garage sales in search of old bikes with which to tinker. I eye up my 1980 Trek 412 wondering what I can add or subtract to enhance its appearance. I recently purchased a 1969 Raleigh three speed for an around-town bike. My wife is beginning to think I may be a freak. Keep up the good work. In the mean time I'll just have to take one for the team.
ReplyDeleteAlan
This is a marvellous bike. I just built on the Velo Orange front decaleur on my old Motobécane, and also received the René Herse- style "remake" Mafac cable hangers. So I'm into this classic Randonneuse stuff, as You can see and love this Peugeot upgrade and new life. Thanks so much for this.
ReplyDeleteJean-Marie ( Luxembourg, Europe)
https://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/bik/6131704783.html.
ReplyDeleteWas this bike stolen at some point? This ad just popped up yesterday
Thanks for the heads up, I have attempted to contact David. Hopefully he gets a ping on my reply and the email is still valid.
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