1985 Peugeot PH501

[jon_918]

Just finished cleaning this up. Very nice bike and my first experience of Maillard Helicomatic. I had to replace the freewheel hub body which took a bit of working out but it now runs nice and smoothly.

A few parts replaced here and there but it's mostly original. I really like the colour.

 

[Lemond75]

Congratulations; it looks fantastic.

 

[Cavalier]

That looks absolutely lovely. I can't believe how spotless that chrome-work is and the colour really works for the bike. It looks like it has benefited from Peugeot's in-external brazing technique to produce those super clean tube joins as well.
And congratulations with sticking with the Helicomatic! A system that, given time and enough money, had the potential to be the next world beater.

 

[foucalt]

A very nice bike. I have fond memories of mine as it was the bike that got me into cycling 'properly' in the 80s. My bike was in a burgundy red colour. Replaced wheels with some mavic ma40s & eventually painted it in yellow & white which was a mistake but did many thousands of miles on it until moved on to higher spec bikes.

 

[chrisv40]

Re:

That's stunning, botm winner for me.

 

[sherlylock]

Re:

Stunning bike!

Mine was pretty original when I got it......although I still have all the old parts (apart from the rear wheel which started to crack around the spoke eyelets!)

Mine's very dirty......although it gets used......a lot. Just so nice to ride

 

[jon_918]

Re:

Made a couple of changes just to improve the ride. Notably running a Stronglight 80 triple chainset and Shimano FD as it's hilly where I live and the 52/42 was proving a struggle because I'm unfit. Naturally I've kept all the original bits incase I sell in the future. it feels pretty light for 501, having weighed it, it's just over 11kgs. I have got some Mavic tubs I might fit soon.

 

[Goldie]

Re:

That is just beautiful - from the sweet spot where the graphics were really clean, the paint colours were great but before those unicrown forks arrived. Stick it in RBOTM - it’s got my vote for sure.

 

[Goldie]

Re:

And keep finding reasons to post more pictures!

 

[jon_918]

Re:

Thanks for the appreciation.

I did recently list the bike on eBay as I've got quite a few bikes and frames now including a Peugeot 531 pro but I've decided to hang on to it for the time being. It's actually quite a light bike, I've certainly had heavier 531 framed bikes.

It's currently back on NOS 20c tyres and I've put white bar tape on to keep it looking close to original catalogue spec. Also back on the original crankset etc.