1987 Peugeot Shed Find!

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HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
Just finished my 1987 Peugeot restoration.

I'd been looking for a winter/bad weather commuter for a while (to replace my knackered old MTB) when I came across this Peugeot 501 framed racer. The owner said they'd not ridden it for a long time, in which time it was just sitting in their shed, and so was selling it.

The wheels were knackered (one rusted steel wheel, and one alu wheel with a snapped axle) so I replaced them both, and the usual needed replacing (cables, chain etc), but otherwise it was just a bit untidy.

Here it is in the condition I received it:

DSCF0489.JPG


(More here & here!)

I stripped it down most of the way including a service of the headset (which had too many ball bearings!) and BB, so I could thoroughly clean the frame.

DSCF0492.JPG


(More here & here!)

And then rebuilt it with new wheels, and tires I had in the shed. I cleaned up all of the stock components and started putting them back on the frame.

DSCF0692.JPG


(More here!)

And here it is completed, built up as a single speed!

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I tried to keep the costs down during the rebuild. Completed, the build came to a grand total of.. £88!

I'll probably buy it new tires at some point, as well as a dedicated singlespeed freewheel rather than using the 6 speed it came with!

Here's a breakdown of the costs for those interested:

Bike/Frame - £30
Wheels (Weinmann Rims on Quando Hubs) - £45
Inner Tubes - £5
Cables (Bell, from Asda) - £4 for a set
Chain (Bell, from Asda) - £4

Everything else is stock, which I've thoroughly cleaned and polished!

It's remarkably light (Around about 8 kg), and I'm very pleased with it - Although I have no idea what model the bike is! If anyone can help me with that I'd be grateful, and I can supply any pictures you may need for identification.
 

Peteaud

Veteran
Location
South Somerset
Lovely looking.
 
OP
OP
HovR

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
The decals and head badge age the bike between 1982 and 1990

[EDIT] just re-read your OP and remembered you know the year already :wacko:

These sites should help you get things more specific.

http://www.cyclespeugeot.com/ModelID.html

http://www.peugeotshow.com/

Thanks for that, Smokey. I got the year off the brake calipers, which had 1987 as well as the month of production stamped on them. However upon looking at the 1987 brochure on your link I can't seem to find a match, or even a bike with a flat fork crown like my model has.
 

Teuchter

Über Member
Given that it's a completely different colour to the rest of the frame, I'd guess that the fork isn't original. Either way, that looks a nice bike. I see you've kept the (5 speed?) freewheel and downtube shifters despite using it as a single speed. Was the old derailleur unserviceable or was this your intention from the outset? I'm not criticising by the way, I think that approach is a good budget solution to single speed conversions.

My Falcon fixed gear bike is Reynolds 501 and it's a nice, light frame that's comfortable to ride. I've fallen in love with my own recently restored old Peugeot though, even with its cheaper and heavier Carbolite frame.
 
OP
OP
HovR

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
Given that it's a completely different colour to the rest of the frame, I'd guess that the fork isn't original. Either way, that looks a nice bike. I see you've kept the (5 speed?) freewheel and downtube shifters despite using it as a single speed. Was the old derailleur unserviceable or was this your intention from the outset? I'm not criticising by the way, I think that approach is a good budget solution to single speed conversions.

My Falcon fixed gear bike is Reynolds 501 and it's a nice, light frame that's comfortable to ride. I've fallen in love with my own recently restored old Peugeot though, even with its cheaper and heavier Carbolite frame.

Well, the fork is chromed, which I thought was a relatively common thing, but who knows! You could be right.

For now, I've kept the 6 speed freewheel to keep costs down, and it also lets me try out a range of ratios before I purchase a single speed freewheel and set up a perfect chain line (although the chain line is pretty good in my chosen gear ratio at the moment).

The old derailleur seems to be in pretty good condition, but I haven't cleaned it up yet as I'm not using it. I've wanted a single speed for a while, so this was the intention from the start of the build.

The shifters I've kept on because they're braze-on, not band on.. I could take them off, but then I'm left with ugly braze-ons. Can't win really!

And thanks for the link to the wheels, I was impressed by how light they were for the cost. A definite upgrade over the stock steel wheels.
 

raindog

er.....
Location
France
Lovely looking bike - very clean.
I agree with Teuchter - that fork looks as if it might be off another machine.
Is there no way of telling from the old brochures?
 
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OP
HovR

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
Aha, think I just identified it.

As you might be able to tell, the bike doesn't have a traditional seat post clamp. Instead it has an allen bolt about 2 or 3 inches down the seat tube which clamps on to the seat post directly. Figuring this may be fairly unique, I Googled "Peugeot no seat post clamp", and among the results found this!

Looks like it's a PGN-10!
 

raindog

er.....
Location
France
Aha, think I just identified it.

As you might be able to tell, the bike doesn't have a traditional seat post clamp. Instead it has an allen bolt about 2 or 3 inches down the seat tube which clamps on to the seat post directly. Figuring this may be fairly unique, I Googled "Peugeot no seat post clamp", and among the results found this!

Looks like it's a PGN-10!
So you've got a set-screw at the back of the seat tube to block the seat post? Seems some also used a seat post with an expander bolt like a stem, which I've never heard of before.
Interesting stuff.

Your link won't work for me
 
OP
OP
HovR

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
So you've got a set-screw at the back of the seat tube to block the seat post? Seems some also used a seat post with an expander bolt like a stem, which I've never heard of before.
Interesting stuff.

Correct. This same bike also did seem to come with the expander-bung type of seatpost fixing, like in this example (which is also very similar to my bike).

Here's the image on the page which doesn't work for you. You can see the seatpost fixing on the back of the seat tube.

PGN10A.jpg
 

Teuchter

Über Member
Well, the fork is chromed, which I thought was a relatively common thing, but who knows! You could be right.
My mistake... from your photos I thought it was painted silver, not chromed. I see you've found another example that matches your frame and forks so that settles it then!

For now, I've kept the 6 speed freewheel to keep costs down, and it also lets me try out a range of ratios before I purchase a single speed freewheel and set up a perfect chain line (although the chain line is pretty good in my chosen gear ratio at the moment).
That's not a bad idea though could also need altering the chain length each time. I think that if you later switch to a single cog, you'd have to redish the back wheel. I could be wrong on this... when I built my fixed gear I just bought a fixed / single speed specific wheelset.
 
OP
OP
HovR

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
That's not a bad idea though could also need altering the chain length each time. I think that if you later switch to a single cog, you'd have to redish the back wheel. I could be wrong on this... when I built my fixed gear I just bought a fixed / single speed specific wheelset.

The current chain length will work with the gears I'm most interested in (17t downwards) just by adjusting the wheels position in the relatively long drop-outs, and these ratios seem to work well with my 42t ring.

Redishing the wheel shouldn't be too much of an issue, as I can true wheels perfectly fine. If I have issues I'll just ask my LBS to do it, or buy a SS rear wheel. Thanks for the advice. :smile:
 

davidbrad

New Member
Bike looks great! I have a very similar Peugeot (might even be the same model from the looks of it). One thing i've struggled with is the wheel sizing. It has the tyre spacing gap on the chainstays and i keep trying different wheels / tyres but non seem to fit well. What size Weinmanns / tyre setup did you go for, whatever i try i seem to only get a couple mm clearance. Are they custom built?
Your advice / anyone's advice much appreciated.
 
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