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> I'm curious - Were PX-10's marketed with geographic sensitivity in the US?
Well Peugeots were certainly marketed or shall I say sold where I grew up.. Washington DC. I mean who even heard of French bikes before the bike boom? I sure didn't.. it was Raleighs and Schwinn.
When the bike boom exploded, we saw a LOT of Peugeots and Gitanes around here. Raleigh's prices were high and got higher and I think they were very hardline with their dealers in terms of deliveries, discounts and parts supply. And I know they alienated some of their oldtime dealers before the 70s madness had worn off. I just was amazed when our preferred local dealer, Tow Path Cycles, started stocking Peugeots c. 1972. Their endorsement and the simple fact that you got a LOT more bike for the buck with Peugeot vs. Raleigh resulted in me doing the unthinkable: I bought a new UE-8 in late '74.
I know Tow Path sold PX10s; I saw one of the rare black ones there.
What was "marketing" of bikes back then? My dad and I loved cycling but we sure didn't get any cycle magazines.. I didn't even know such things existed. So it was wasn't ads or "reviews" but what the LBS sold and recommended. That usually was enough: my UE-8 was a wonderful bike, sadly stolen from our backyard just three years later.
One still sees some battered Peugeots on the paths around here. But this weekend my PX-10 was the only French bike I saw. It's amazing how few classic bikes you see on the paths.. interest is at an all time high it seems, but guys just don't ride them. Now that's crazy!
Peter Kohler
Washington DC USA