This past spring, I came across a listing on Craigslist for an interesting looking Peugeot. It was hard to tell exactly what it was but it looked amazing. The bar end shifters in particular seemed to indicate a bike worth riding and upgrading.
i has just finished refurbishing my Motobeecane tho and really didn’t need another bike. But day after day I kept checking on the listing, obsessing over this bike and trying to figure out what it was.
Finally, I gave up and wrote the seller, who lived across town in Edina. After several emails trying to figure out where and when we could meet, he told me the bad news: he’d just sold the bike to another buyer.
Damn! I was kinda salty about that. I’ve missed out on lots of great deals but this one was probably the most disappointing.
A few days later, I was totally bowled over when my wife wheeled the Peugeot out of a closet as my Father’s Day present. She had been the other buyer and my daughter had driven across town to pick it up. I was truly speechless.
It turned out to be a 1981 PFN10 with a Vitus 181 frame, the original Simplex derailleurs, the original Mavic 700c front wheel, an upgraded Grand Cru rear wheel (with a freewheel instead of the archaic Helicomatic hub)i and 32c Panaracer Pasela tires that just barely clear the chainstays. It fits me perfectly and feels fast and spry.
Since late May, I’ve ridden 1570 miles on it. I fell in love with it, as one is apt to do with a great bike, and it seems to have sated my desire to keep searching for the perfect bike.
I sold the Motobecane to my friend Jared (who intended it to be a utility bike but fell in love with it as well, polishing it to a mirror finish. It looks amazing.)
i’ve had to replace a tire, the chain, bar tape, and the bottom bracket (luckily English threaded, which was rare for Peugeot in the early eighties).
Most definitely, this was the best Father’s Day present ever. 😍
i has just finished refurbishing my Motobeecane tho and really didn’t need another bike. But day after day I kept checking on the listing, obsessing over this bike and trying to figure out what it was.
Finally, I gave up and wrote the seller, who lived across town in Edina. After several emails trying to figure out where and when we could meet, he told me the bad news: he’d just sold the bike to another buyer.
Damn! I was kinda salty about that. I’ve missed out on lots of great deals but this one was probably the most disappointing.
A few days later, I was totally bowled over when my wife wheeled the Peugeot out of a closet as my Father’s Day present. She had been the other buyer and my daughter had driven across town to pick it up. I was truly speechless.
It turned out to be a 1981 PFN10 with a Vitus 181 frame, the original Simplex derailleurs, the original Mavic 700c front wheel, an upgraded Grand Cru rear wheel (with a freewheel instead of the archaic Helicomatic hub)i and 32c Panaracer Pasela tires that just barely clear the chainstays. It fits me perfectly and feels fast and spry.
Since late May, I’ve ridden 1570 miles on it. I fell in love with it, as one is apt to do with a great bike, and it seems to have sated my desire to keep searching for the perfect bike.
I sold the Motobecane to my friend Jared (who intended it to be a utility bike but fell in love with it as well, polishing it to a mirror finish. It looks amazing.)
i’ve had to replace a tire, the chain, bar tape, and the bottom bracket (luckily English threaded, which was rare for Peugeot in the early eighties).
Most definitely, this was the best Father’s Day present ever. 😍
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