This 1940’s Peugeot was one of the first restorations that I completed. There were a number of challenges, but because the bike was complete and original, it was worth it. This Peugeot was well loved and well ridden by its owner. So, I wanted to make it totally rideable again, as well as to preserve its original beauty and function.
The bike had both keys to the original fork lock, plus the owners engraved tag on the down tube. All the reflectors were intact, and the original toolkit bag looked great.
The bottom bracket had a small dent on the underside, and one of the pedal cones was toast. Fortunately, the axles looked good and the other pedal was fine. To find the parts necessary to repair these old bikes can be a challenge. Fortunately I found a replacement cone in my parts bin, and I was able to thread the bottom bracket in without a problem.
There were a lot of hours put into cleaning and dealing with mechanical issues. A particular problem was learning how to adjust and set up the Simplex Juy Tour de France rear derailleur. Originally, I had the chain routed incorrectly, but this drawing helped to solve the problem. There aren’t a lot of adjustment options in the rear derailleur, so the shifting is still being “fine tuned”.
The end result proved well worth all the effort – this is a beautiful and fun to ride bike from the late 40’s. It is equipped with aluminum Mavic 650b rims, Lefol hammer fenders, Simplex Tour de France derailleur, aluminum bars, a rear constructeur rack, a working dynamo with front and rear lights, a complete leather toolbag and kit, Peugeot chain guard, and two keys to the fork lock – all working perfectly.
Update January 2014: SOLD! Congratulations to David in California.