You mention the Peugeot PR-10 bikes with 3 main tubes 531. There was a period in the early to mid 70s when Peugeot used some fork blades on their less expensive models that weren't made from tubing.
They were made of formed sheet metal with a brazed seam down the back of the blades. I found this out when I tried to straighten a slightly bent fork on a customer's UO-8 back in the day.
Both blades split like a banana peel right at the bends as soon as I applied some force using one of the old bumper jack frame straightening tools.
I saw a number of PR-10 Peugeots from that era with seamed fork blades too. They had a lot less rake than the UO-8 forks. How many centimes did Peugeot save by not using tube for their fork blades?
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA
John Hurley wrote:
<snip>
> Most of the catalogs on this site are Dutch, not USA, and there were
> differences in Peugeots marketed in different countries. Some USA
> catalogs can be seen on bikeboompeugeot, but I can't get to the site
> myself right now. I can't get to the Craig's List either, however, I do
> have some printouts from USA catalogs of 1977 and 1978. Given the
> confusing array of model numbers from Peugeot and the often generic use
> of the PX-10 designation, I wouldn't depend upon nor blame a seller for
> not getting the model number just right. There was a PRN10E model in
> 1977 and 1978 that had Reynolds 531 main triangle with non-chromed
> stays. Maybe the bike in question is one like this with a fork
> replacement.
>
> John Hurley
> Austin, Texas, USA