Gosh guys, $3500 doesn't seem to buy much nowadays, not even grudging respect for one of the most iconic racing bicycles of the classic era! Imagine riding that cheesy bike with those crappy plastic components to victories in every European classic in the mid to late 1960s. How did Simpson, Merckx, Pingeon, Bracke, Gaul, Thevenet manage it? And don't trot out the old "didn't Masi make Simpson's and Merckx's bikes" story... they rode those for the '67 season only. Simpson died on his. What does that tell you? And this was just the Peugeot team, the PX-10 frame design and its components formed the core of French pro cycling for the whole era with Gitane, Mercier and others making their own versions. And how many young amateur racers got their start on PX-10s? More than a few.
$3500 won't convince you, too, that the PX-10 cost half what an Italian pro bike cost, weighed less (a PX-10 weighs about 21.5 lbs, a comparable Italian machine of the same era is about 23 lbs is it not?) and if you think Campagnolo NR shifts better than a delrin Simplex Criterium, I suggest you've never used one.
But tis no use. Imagine a group calling itself Classic Rendevous that has a Cirque du Cyclisme that distains THE French Racing Bike of the classic era! Oh well, most of you wouldn't spend $3500 on a bike anyway. Even one with white plastic gear levers.
Peter Kohler
Washington DC USA