Category Archives: Vintage bicycle

1947 Peugeot Bicycle Catalogue

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Finding new vintage bicycle catalogues is a joyous occasion, especially when they feature a bike in my collection.  I really love vintage Peugeot bicycles – they are particularly enjoyable due to their emphasis on rider comfort, as you can see depicted in the drawing above.

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1947 Peugeot 650b as restored

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1947 Peugeot as a box of parts

I restored this 1940’s Peugeot without knowing its date of manufacture.  The bike came to me with many missing parts, including a missing wheelset and fenders.

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One of the things that made me want to restore this incomplete collection of parts into a complete bicycle was the presence of the two original keys to the fork lock – very unusual, given that many other parts were missing.

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This 1947 Peugeot Mixte is built with high end Vitus Rubis tubing, with an H75623 serial number. A while back a Canadian cyclist contacted me with a Peugeot Serial Number spreadsheet which indicated that this bike was a rare 1947 model.  I reviewed his analysis and agreed with his conclusion.

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1947 PRD Peugeot Mixte

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1947 Peugeot PHL 55 Mixte

But that was before I had any 1947 Peugeot catalogues.  Now, with the the 1947 catalogue newly available, I believe that the bike is indeed a 1947 model. – the PHL 55 model depicted above, and not the other mixte offered in 1947 – the PRD model.

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Many thanks to the BikeBoomPeugeot site for sharing this catalog – this site is a wonderful resource for Peugeot enthusiasts.  The 1947 catalog features many interesting bicycles from the post WWII era after France was liberated and bicycle production in France was once again underway.

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1947 Peugeot chain guard

 

Braking News

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Recently I overhauled a few of the Mafac Racer brakes I had in my bin. Why? Perhaps to keep the demons at bay.  Anyone involved in the vintage bicycle “industry” (an apt word involving boatloads of industrious activity) knows that Mafac centerpulls are the best.  However, Mafac Racer brake calipers are ubiquitous, and therefore of very little re-sale value.  In a few thousand years, archaeologists will find these brakes in their dig sites and ponder their significance.

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One of the nice things about Mafac Racer centerpull brakes is that they can accept these little T.A. front racks, which bolt directly on to the arms.  On the above brake I have added a vintage looking battery powered headlamp, which clamps conveniently on to the supplied T.A. bracket.  The little rack is really only good for strapping on a rain jacket, loaf of bread, or tiny tool kit, but it does come in handy as a light mount, and looks very elegant.

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Mafac Dural Centerpulls

Overhauling brakes is really a very easy process, and simply involves disassembly, cleaning, polishing, lubrication, and reassembly.  I won’t detail the steps here, as there are many other resources on the web and in print (Dr. Coles to the rescue), to help you through the process.  If you want to spend far more money than your brakes will ever be worth overhauling your Mafac centerpulls, you can purchase a restoration kit from Compass Cycles for about $125.00 or so.   As I was overhauling these Mafac brakes, I found that I didn’t need to replace any parts – they just needed to be cleaned and lubricated. Mainly, the steel bolts and nuts can rust, and sometimes the red washers can disintegrate – although that is pretty rare.  These brakes were meant to last, and they do.  I didn’t need to replace any parts on the brakes I overhauled – including the washers, which really held up well over many decades.

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Mafac Raid Centerpull Brakes

One exception to the devaluation of Mafac brakes is the consumer demand for and rarity of Mafac Raid brakes.  These are extra long reach brakes that can be used to accomplish a 650b conversion.  It is difficult to find these brakes, and I have horded the few sets that I have on hand.

One of the things that fascinates me about Mafac brakes is how un-glitzy they are.  The stamped logos are odd and unprofessional-looking, and it seems strange to me that their model names include quotation marks.  Yet, engineering-wise, these are far superior to many of the competitors out there.  A rare example of substance over form.

Old School Touring

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1985 Nashbar Toure MT

1985 Nashbar Toure MT

Of all the fads and trends in the cycling industry, the touring era that accompanied the 1976 BikeCentennial in the U.S. was probably the most positive.  While not everyone wants or needs a touring bike – a touring bike is a bike that can work well for all kinds of riding.  And, due to economic conditions during this era – favorable exchange rates for the Japanese yen and the oil crisis of the early 70’s – the U.S. market was flooded with low cost, high quality touring bikes in the mid 70’s to mid 80’s.  These bikes often survive intact, as they were quite well made to begin with, and were usually equipped with top of the line components.

Japanese brands like Centurion, Nishiki, Bridgestone, Fuji, Miyata, Panasonic, and Univega were among the most well known manufacturers to build high quality touring bicycles.  Raleigh, Peugeot, Trek, Specialized, Austro-Daimler, Gitane, Motobecane, Mercier, and others also joined in to build some of the nicest touring bikes ever mass produced.

These touring bikes of the late 70’s and early 80’s hold a special place in my heart.  Their excellent build quality and beautiful design represent freedom, exploration, and adventure.

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This lovely 1985 Nashbar Toure MT is a great example of the quality that could be had for a reasonable price.  The frame was built for Nashbar by Maruishi – a Japanese builder not as well known as others, but still producing a beautifully brazed machine of double butted cro-mo steel.  The gorgeous blue sparkle paint and well brazed seat cluster show off its quality.

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All the finish work is top notch.  This is a bike I would keep for myself if it were my size.

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Brazed on rack mounts

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Sealed Tange headset

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SunTour downtube shifters.

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SunTour sealed cartridge bearing bottom bracket with chain line adjuster on the drive side.

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Sealed cartridge bearing hubs. No maintenance required.

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Classic Blackburn bottle cage.

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2nd bottle cage mount underneath the downtube.

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Seat tube has no bottle cage braze-ons – left clean for mounting a frame pump.

There are so many nice features on this amazing bike that it’s hard to list them all.  One reason that the bike is so pristine, however, is because long ago the SunTour Mountech rear derailleur had failed, and the bike was put away, thankfully in a dry, clean space.

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So, I replaced the rear derailleur with a Shimano 600 long cage mechanism from the same era.  It works perfectly with the original 100% SunTour drivetrain.

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Triple crank with half step gearing.

This bike was built in the days of gear shifting pattern obsession.  Half step gearing was a way to have a routine shifting pattern that would maintain cadence as the terrain changed.  In practice, at least for me, I prefer not having to constantly double shift, so I am not enamored with half step gearing and have, when confronted with it, replaced the large middle chain ring with something smaller, such as a 40 or 42.  But, some riders love half-step gearing and more power to them (pun intended).

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Araya 27 Inch rims.

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Nashbar logo on the downtube.

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Sealed cartridge bearing hubs, Suntour freewheel.

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SunTour Mountech front derailleur

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SunTour chromed forged dropouts with single eyelets on the rear.

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Powerful Dia Compe cantilevers.

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Lowrider fork mounts.

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SunTour sealed cartridge bearing bottom bracket with chain line adjuster on the drive side.

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Beautifully machined BB shell.

It would be tough to find a similarly engineered touring bike with these quality components, for a price that even remotely comes close to what you can buy this bike for now.  One problem is that most cyclists associate Nashbar with low end liquidation components, rather than any kind of quality.  But, back in the 1980’s, the arrival of the Nashbar mail order catalog was an exciting event.  I ordered many wonderful and interesting components for my old 1976 Centurion from Nashbar back then.  Today, however, the company is known for its discounted and discontinued parts, rather than for quality bicycles, for better or for worse.

This wonderful old touring machine is going to a friend’s stable in Southern Oregon, where I know it will be ridden and appreciated.  I hope to join him and his spouse on some wonderful rides through Southern Oregon wine country, and I will be a bit jealous his bike.2016-09-13-001