Mystery bike possible Peugeot?

[PerB]

I recently purchased this bike from the original owner, he was racing at the highest level here in Norway in the mid eighties to late eighties. The bike below is supposed to be the bike he used when he won the national championship in 1987. The bike was then labeled as a Peugeot as he was riding for a Peugeot sponsored team. The frame is a custom built at 56 C-C seattube and 57 C-C top tube, it weights in at 9,8 kg as it stands today with mostly Record C components. The seat post is a odd size of 26,6mm. The Record C crank has a date stamp of 11 in a square, this should indicate 1985 as far as I know. The custom paint job was done in the early nineties, (possibly in 1991).

I have been looking trough a lot of pictures and catalogs on the net here but I am not able to fine any reference to a similar Peugeot, thus I am asking the question is this really is a Peugeot or a frame from someone else labeled Peugeot?

The bike as it came out of 20 years sleep in a garage.


The original owner crossing the line in 1987.






frame number 5.88.3600 ( I have not seen this type of number mentioned in any Peugeot literature)


English thread bottom bracket.


Very tight clearance between rear tire and seat tube, only two mm with 23 mm tire.


Plastic cable guide with french wording.


Ultra short, close to vertical dropouts, no marking.

 

[marshalllucky]

Hi,I reckon this is definately a Peugeot. It is a custom build and the serial number indicates its made in May 88 which you probably twigged already. This would have been built by the specialist builders within the Peugeot factory who were once employed in their `Prestige` frame shop which used to build the custom order PY models and team frames for the various continental teams Peugeot sponsored in their heyday. The Prestige frame shop had long closed by 1988 but the best frame builders were still employed at the main factory building the custom order 753 frames. I have had a fair few Peugeots and the serial number markings are the same format as the 1987 753 TDF bikes built for ANC Halfords ( they also used 531pro which were supplied to them off the peg in 1986 ) . In 88 Peugeot changed the dropouts on the higher end bikes from Simplex to the ones on your frame ( sorry I dont know the name of them) so that also fits with the date marking on your BB. I have a 1986 ex ANC team 531 Peugeot and also a older PY10 and they both have the same plastic cable guide on the BB shell. Hope this helps at least a bit

 

[PerB]

Thanks for the reply.
Its quite clear then, this particular frame is not from the bike the seller won the National Championship in 1987. The Record C group is most likely the same. The pro and semi pro teams replaced their frames quite regularly, the seller seems to have ended his competitive carrier after the 1988 season and kept his 1988 bike. This fact makes it most easier for me to mount the Record C group on my Rossin Ghibli.

By the way the seller believed the frame was made of Reynolds 753 tubing, is there any way to confirm this?
Does this custom built Peugeot carry any particular model name?

 

[Chat Noir]

Re:

Certainly looks very similar to Peugeot frames: shape of the forks, cable guides on the top tube, cable guide under BB, etc. Haven’t seen cut outs in their lugs before but all broadly similar. My 753s (have 2 of them) both have lions cut into top of forks: the 2 531 Pros I have don’t have the lions and the top of the fork is more rounded, like the one you have pictured. Don't think the lions were exclusive to 753s.




Also, there isn’t a bridge between the wheel stays on your pictures: the 753s and 531 Pros I have all have a bridge just behind the BB. The 653 I have from 1990 does not have a bridge.

In terms of weights, the 753 frames are 1747 and 669 (forks) and 1797 and 695 g (both 58 cm) and they both have chrome on them. One of the 531 Pros weighs 1961 and 704 but I know that the steerer tube is actually Columbus (has rifling found on one of their tubesets – Peugeot did build some out of Columbus so obviously someone mixed and matched!).

If you want any more pictures, let me know.

Good luck.

 

[PerB]

Strange things happends, I have been looking for Delta brakes for a reasonable price for a long time to fit to my Rossin Ghibli. To be honest I bought the above Peugeot for the Record C group. The bike was reasonable priced at £250 and the group is in good condition.
Yesterday I was offered a box of bicycle parts, and guess what, the remains of a similar Peugeot was included, most of the Record C group was there including brakes, derailleurs, wheels and extra hubs. The bicycle was scraped due to a broken frame and the components has been lingering in basement for years until a summer clearance of the basement. He was about to deliver the bits to the skip, but was advised to check for interest on a local Facebook group. Also included in the sales was a set of Nuevo Record brakes, two or three Campagnolo Record seatpost, two Rolls seats and two sets of some modern Shimano brakes I made an offer for £200 for the whole lot and got it! I smiled all the way home.