Reinterpreting a 1978 Peugeot PR65

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Nola Wilken

I’ve had a blue 1978 Peugeot PR65 in my shop for some time. The bike was 100% original when I acquired it, and is in beautiful condition. I had put it together after its arrival from France, but was unhappy with the ergonomics and with some of the components.

There were two versions of the PR65 in 1978, but only one appears to have been built with the Reynolds 531 tubing used on this bike – the “luxe” model.

The paint quality is very nice, and the bike looks nearly new. All of the nicer components of this era are present – a Stronglight TS 3 arm crankset with 48/38 rings, Mafac Racers, Mavic rims and Bluemels fenders to name a few.

Plastic Simplex components removed.

Simplex shifters removed.

But the incredibly uncomfortable ergonomics (long top tube combined with low stem and no rise porteur bars) along with the ugly plastic-infused Simplex components made me want to make some changes, which is not something I will usually do with a 100% original bike. But, a bike that gets ridden is always a better bike than one that is not.

A good example of the hideousness of Simplex’ obsession with plastic during this era is shown above. A normally elegant downtube cable guide is made into a bizarre monstrosity. Often these plastic components will break, especially the plastic clamp for the front derailleur, so I also regard these plastic Simplex components as unreliable.

Simplex dropout as modified to accept both Shimano style and Huret derailleurs.

Notch engagement on the Huret derailleur.

B screw engagement for a Shimano style derailleur.

First up was the need to do something about the Simplex dropouts, since I wanted to have other rear derailleur options. I decided to attempt to file notches in the the plain round unthreaded dropout, and to tap it out to 10M. I created both a “7 o’clock” notch for Shimano style derailleurs, as well as a set of notches for Huret. The process took quite a while, but I was successful.

Wanting to be true to the bike’s French heritage, I chose to use replace the Simplex components with Huret, selecting a Svelto for the rear derailleur. The Huret front derailleur is a bottom pull style that needs housing, so an appropriate Huret cable guide with a housing stop is also needed, as shown above.

Replacing the bars was also not a simple swap, due to the French sized steerer tube. Since I wanted to use a modern upright handlebar, I needed to sand an appropriate stem down to French size (22.2 to 22.0), which also takes a bit of time and patience. This is a vintage Cinelli stem mated to a set of Nitto tourist bars. I needed some strong and reliable shifters to handle the Svelto rear derailleur, and these lovely vintage Suntour bar mounts do a great job.

The bike as now configured is amazingly comfortable – perfect for commuting and for exploring. If I were to keep this bike, I would probably cold set the rear triangle to 126mm (from 120mm), and build a set of 650b wheels around a nice, vintage hubset. This would allow use of wider tires than the 700c x 28mm tires shown above, which is about as wide as the bike will accept with the Bluemels fenders. I’m planning to list this bike soon on my store page, so I’m hoping it will find a new home and have a chance to get back out on the road, as the bike certainly has many miles to go, and will get you there in true French style.

A Tale of Two Three Speeds

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Nola Wilken

Last fall I relocated our offices to the Laurelhurst neighborhood in Northeast Portland. Now, I commute to work in a lovely and historic part of Portland’s awesome east side, leaving behind the stressful and gnarly traffic surrounding our old Victorian on SW 5th near PSU. I usually commute on one of my daily riders, but also keep extra bikes on hand at the office for errands and lunchtime rides through the neighborhood, including my two favorite 3 speeds: a 1950 Raleigh Sports Tourist, and a 1947 Peugeot PH55. I restored both bikes many years ago, but the Peugeot was a more involved process because many of its original parts were missing.

The restoration process involved sourcing a vintage 650b wheelset and fenders, as well as handlebars, stem, brake levers, saddle, dynamo, lamps, and saddle.

My goal was to come as close as possible to the bike featured in this 1947 Peugeot catalog, and to err on the higher quality side when possible.

I think I achieved this objective and am happy with the way the build came together. The NOS Ducel dynamo lights work well without excessive drag. The bike is much lighter than its Raleigh counterpart, weighing in at a respectable 28 lbs. compared with the Raleigh’s 45 lb. bulk. This is because the tubing is high quality Rubis, and the bike features many alloy components.

The Peugeot’s drive train is all original, with a 19-24 “Twister” freewheel, Simplex TDF rear derailleur and Peugeot 46T crankset. That puts the gear inch range, with its 650b wheel size, at 50 to 63. Very narrow and with no low or high gears. The Simplex TDF shifts just fine, but needs a bit of correction both shifting up and down the gear range.

The Raleigh’s drive train is, of course, a Sturmey Archer internally geared hub, mated to a 46T Raleigh crankset, which is fully enclosed in its full length chain guard. The AW hub with its 19T cog gives a gear inch range of 47 – 84. A much wider range than the Peugeot, but mostly very high, especially given its bulk.

The Raleigh has steel rims, as compared to the Peugeot’s lightweight alloy Super Champion rims. Both wheel sizes are similar, and both bikes feature full length fenders. The Raleigh’s are steel (of course!) and somewhat mangled from years of use, and the Peugeot’s are lighter weight alloy. All of these elements contribute to the significant weight difference between the two bikes.

1950 Raleigh Sports Tourist

So, what bike wins my vote? Believe it or not, it’s the Raleigh. While it is MUCH more challenging to conquer hills on the Raleigh, the comfort and quality of this machine is no match for its highly competent counterpart. The bike kind of self-propels once it gets going, due to the inertia of the heavy wheels. And, the convenience of shifting whether stopped or not adds to this bike’s appeal. It’s the bike I most often select for neighborhood jaunts, even though I may have to stand up and stomp to get it up the hills. It’s a pleasure to ride and gives me a great workout. And, it’s a reminder of what it’s like to experience the quality and craftsmanship of this era’s legendary Raleigh marque.

For Your Enjoyment

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Nola Wilken

1929 Griffon as restored – out on the Springwater Trail in Portland, Oregon

1929 Peugeot freewheel and fixed cog – for the Griffon’s flip flop hub.

On this Friday evening, with the gentle cool breeze blowing across my summer garden, I thought it would be nice to share some of my favorite photos of my bicycle restorations from the 1920’s through the 1950’s:

1947 Camille Daudon

This custom Daudon was built for Irene Faberge Gunst. The engraved cap can be unscrewed, with a tool kit stored inside the steerer.

A 1946 Peugeot Polymultipliee Gent’s bike

Headlamp by Edelko – 1946 Peugeot

A 1947 Peugeot Mixte. The bike when acquired consisted only of the frame and a few components.

A beautiful Simplex TDF rear derailleur on the 1947 Peugeot Mixte.

Early 50’s Mercier Meca Dural head tube. The upper head badge is missing.

Early 50’s Mercier Meca Dural in a Portland snowy winter. I’ve taken this bike out on the road – very fun to ride. It is built with duralumin tubes which are held together with ornate lugs via internal steel expanders.