Peugeot Ventoux Age

[PaulBrown]

I recently bought a 1980s Peugeot Ventoux with Reynolds 510 tubing and I’m struggling to find the year of manufacture. I’ve found two different numbers on the frame, one under the bottom bracket and the other taped to the down tube (photos attached). There are a couple of characters at the start of the BB number that I can’t quite make out. The first looks like a ‘B’ but not sure about the next character. The rest of the number is 03 07526. I’m wondering if 03 is 1983, what do you think? Any help with this would be very gratefully received.

 

[Cycleops]

No idea but looks like a quality bike. Some More pics would be nice.

 

[biggs682]

It's a Ph501 model as per label .

Look at this https://www.peugeotshow.com/

 

[PaulBrown]

It's a Ph501 model as per label .

Look at this https://www.peugeotshow.com/

Yes I understand it’s a PH501, as you say it’s on the label and it’s Reynolds 501 tubing. What I’m trying to find out if possible is the year of manufacture

 

[biggs682]

Yes I understand it’s a PH501, as you say it’s on the label and it’s Reynolds 501 tubing. What I’m trying to find out if possible is the year of manufacture

Explore the link in my previous post and the PH501 are in the 1985 catalogue with the PH501 ventoux mentioned in the 1986 catalogue

 

[PaulBrown]

Explore the link in my previous post and the PH501 are in the 1985 catalogue with the PH501 ventoux mentioned in the 1986 catalogue

That’s very interesting, thank you. It would suggest that the PH501 Ventoux was manufactured in 1986. However, the photo shows the bike with exposed cables. Mine originally had cables concealed in the bars and we exposed them as part of the restoration, just because I looked the look really. I’ve attached before and after photos. The cables need shortening as the original idea was to have bar mounted bidons, which we scrapped when I realised they went out in the 60s!

 

[biggs682]

I would say originally it had had exposed cables when it rolled of the production line

 

[Paulus]

By the looks of it a previous owner had put aero brake levers on it at some point. I agree with @biggs682 that it would of had exposed cables with non aero levers when built.

 

[Cycleops]

Yeahbut I don't think the cables would have been arching up so high like that. Just a small point.

 

[PaulBrown]

Yeahbut I don't think the cables would have been arching up so high like that. Just a small point.

As I said earlier in the thread, the original idea was to have bar mounted bidons so the restorer allowed for clearance. When I researched it though, bar mounted bottles went out in the 60s, so we do need to shorten the cables a bit

 

[PaulBrown]

By the looks of it a previous owner had put aero brake levers on it at some point. I agree with @biggs682 that it would of had exposed cables with non aero levers when built.

Yes the photos in the Peugeot catalogue don’t show models with aero brakes until 1989, so I reckon it must have been a later upgrade.

 

[PaulBrown]

Thank you everyone for your help and particularly biggs682 for the link to the Peugeot catalogues. I know a lot more about the bike now, much appreciated