Back in the 70s we sold Gitanes Andre Bertins and other French marques but never Peugeots. I never liked the way the early 70s PX-10s rode.
Just about 2 years ago I walked into my favorite bike "junk yard". Low and behold but what did I see sitting in a pile of other old bikes but an old PX-10! The Brooks Pro had dried out and was a beautiful matte russet color (unfortunately as soon as I touched it the leather turned dark brown).
I ask, "How much?" and they said they were saving it for someone just like me. "$200 and oh, there's a second set of wheels that go with it too"!
There was an ATM around the corner and the PX-10 was in the back of my car before there were any changes of heart! :-)
Turns out it was a true "barn bike". It was an all original 1967 PX-10 that had been sitting in someone's shed since the late 70s. It came with the original Mavic sewups rims and Normandy Luxe Competition hubs plus a set of 27" clinchers with 1987 vintage Normandy HF hubs.
The bike was covered with almost an 1/8" of dust and crud, everything but chicken feathers! When I got it home, a quick vacuuming, a few seconds with some 409 cleaner on a spot on the paint and some 3x fine steel wool on the seat stay chrome and I could see that I got a bargain!
Two weeks later I had a similar stroke of luck. I walked into my favorite LBS and they said "Do we have a bike for you!". It was an almost identical white 1969 Gitane Tour de France in the same condition and for $200 too!
The PX-10 was ridable with some heavy duty cleaning and minimal work. I tore the Gitane TdF down to the bare frame and I'm just getting around to finishing it.
So now I have a pair of rivals from the 60s and soon I'll be able to compare the rides and handling.
The paint on both frames had seen better days but I didn't want to do a complete restoration, just have a couple more riders. I got a "tube" of white touch up paint from an auto parts store and went to town.
After letting the lacquer set for a month or so it was hard enough to polish out with some rubbing compound. Both bikes pass the 5' test.
Getting back to the "Buying on the cheap" issue, I had no qualms about paying $200 for either bike because they were both "donations" that cost the sellers nothing.
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA
Harvey Sachs wrote:
> Yesterday, I bought the first Peugeot PX-10 I've ever owned, from a
> friend. I thought I was going to buy one new about 1969, when I lived in
> Providence, R.I. It was time for me to get a bike as good as Beloved
> Spouse's ~1961 Atala Columbus tube special with the huge windows in the
> cast lugs.
>
> I'd been amazed that folks could actually sell bikes w/o any Campy stuff
> for as much as they asked for the PX-10. $169, as I recall, but $$ were
> hugely bigger then. Maybe 5x bigger than today. But, last minute, at the
> precursor to the internet (notes on college bulletin boards), I found a
> Raleigh International, one year old, for less. Since then, I've had lots
> of bikes, some great bikes, but never a PX-10.
>
> Yesterday, I finally found one funky enough (read: cheap enough and the
> right size) to get under the bar for me. Just what I wanted: white,
> black graphics, Nervex Pro lugs, and really beat up paint. With nice
> mid-life upgrades, too: Campy bar-ends, Cyclone derailleurs, TTT saddle.
> Tonight I stripped it for a full overhaul. Remembered again the neat
> V-groove Stronglight (competition?) headset, and the fixed up came out
> with out arguing with me. This one will be fun, and just might be a
> long-term keeper. Even though this one, after thorough cleaning, may
> show more patina than even my Cinelli. Is it Maytag or Whirlpool that
> makes the matching white touch-up for their washing machines?
>
> Maybe we need a new category, most Patina'ed, at Cirque?
>
> Maybe someone will bracket the age for one of these white critters with
> the Nervex Pro lugs but new enough to have one of the riveted-on number
> plates on the BB. Or, I'll look it up one of these days.
>
> harvey "funkmeister" sachs
> mcLean va.