Brian, if the first fork pictured is original, it is much different from the "classic" PX-10 fork which had the "epaulet" like the one shown on the Gitane for comparison. I'm pretty sure both my 1972 PX-10 and my mid-70's (probably 1975 to 1977) PX-10 have the classic fork crown, though I wouldn't rule out different crowns in a single year as the PX-10 definitely had a mixture of fancy Nervex Pro and plainer lugs in some years. The crown on the fork in question looks more like the one on my Follis 172. Actually the one on the Follis is solid (probably cast) and chromed and I think pretty nice. I think the reason many people dislike this style is that it looks a lot like the thin cap that was used to cover the crude fork crown on cheaper French bike for cosmetic purposes. I have observed, as you did, that mid-70's PX-10s, including mine, often have steeper angles and shorter rakes than late 60's/ early 70's PX-10s.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
brian blum wrote:
> That is the original fork. I have a 1974 PX-10 obtained from Velo Sport. It
> has the downtube reynolds 531 DB decal. I hate the crown also but love the
> Nervex pro frame lugs. What is very odd about the bike is the rake and frame
> angles. The rake is very small and the angles very steep with short
> chainstays. The guys at the shop traded for a Japanese bike. They said they
> thought it was crashed because the rake looked wrong to them but I have
> owned it for over a year and it has no evidence of tubing damage. I believe
> it was the modernization of he PX-10 geometry. BrIAN CHIlly in Berkeley and
> raining again.
>
> Message: 15
> From: Mark Bulgier <mark@bulgier.net>
> To: Classic Lightweights <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Subject: RE: [CR]How To ID a UO-8 or PX-10
> Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 17:37:37 -0800
>
> Howdy all you Peugeot experts out there,
>
> I just got a Peugeot and I'm curious what I've got. (It's not in good
> condition but it was free so I'm not complaining). I'd be inclined to call
> it a PX-10 except for what seems to be too cheezy a fork crown. The tips on
> the fork are Simplex to match the rear, and the paint and chrome seem to me
> to be identical, so I don't think it's a replacement fork. You can see what
> I mean at
> http://bulgier.net/
>
> The frame, in addition to the Nervex pro lugs as you see in the picture, has
> the full Reynolds DB decal on the seat tube that says the blades are
> Reynolds. I wonder, did these blades ever have the Reynolds decals but lose
> 'em? I see no trace. And didn't PX-10s have the matching Nervex crown,
> like on this bike:
> http://bulgier.net/
>
> The workmanship on the frame is really sloppy. You can see a blob of brass
> on the downtube lug in the picture, on the forward-pointing point, and
> that's typical. The stay ends have all the burrs from slotting left on and
> brazed in place.
>
> Was there a lower model than PX-10 that had Nervex and Reynolds?
>
> Mark Bulgier