A Breton bicycle converted for grinding. Owners translation below.

It was at a flea market in Villerbon just next to Blois, I saw a house sale on the way home. I found a box full of bike parts, disappointment at them being modern mountain bike parts, the seller told me
"For 10 euros you can have the box."
"That's nice, thank you, but far too recent for me, thank you."

So we leave empty-handed or almost, my wife found a picture. Once in the street I hear someone shout "oh oh sir sir sir" we turn around and the seller of the home sale ran after me and told me "I have a few things in the attic that may interest you", we go back and there he shows me a wooden box and tells me it's the. It was on the bike of my grandfather.

In this box was the whole system the grinding wheel, the chain, the tensioner, the water tank, in a second box some accessories a bottle, a horn, a ruler and tools
According to him, the bike was dismantled just before the war and would have been used in the late 30‘s and early 40’s.
So I decided to mount everything on this little Breton whose patina, in my opinion, goes perfectly with the rest.
Everything is functional apart from the rear derailleur which only serves as a chain tensioner.
The knives have obviously been added and I'm in the process of making a folding support stand.
It's heavy, that's for sure, but having tried it in the courtyard, it's rolling, the bulk is actually more of a problem than the weight.
I could weigh it, it would be interesting to know, but it's around 30 kilos I think.

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I was wondering about the Griffon and the Peugeot PH50 looking very similar. I've found some some references to them being the same
"Griffon, Hélium, Terrot, Ruche, Alcyon, Captivante had the same frames/finishes as the Peugeots, only Automoto was better finished."
The down tube lug steering lock is a bit of a give away. So it seems the French did just the same as Raleigh with badge engineering. I need to confirm the above translation from some more sources.
1947 Griffon. Owners translation below.

The day I bought my Mont Blanc, I received an email from a friend. "Laurent, I'm starting to clear my stock. I'm selling a 1947 Griffon."
Seeing the photos made my blood run cold! Shit, you shouldn't have let it go!
I went to pick it up last Wednesday. As I was waiting for the tools for the PHE20, I took the opportunity to work on the Griffon. This evening I went for a 10 km test drive.
It's in very good condition for its age. It has a brand new Wolber saddle, The handlebar is not original, but I will leave it. The blue adhesive will be removed to make way for blue braided hanger tape.
A few swipes with a cloth, cleaning and greasing of the wheel axles, freewheel and chain. There are still a few places to clean up and check the bottom bracket.
Although I have no benchmark, it's not too heavy and quite pleasant to ride. The other small jobs will be done over time.

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Translation below.
This evening 1h30 in the saddle of the Griffon. I've done maybe 20 km. I've installed an ammo pouch as a handlebar bag. I'm not ready for long rides, my muscles aren't up to it yet.
Late evening ride, I'm doing my thighs with this bike.
This afternoon, about forty kilometres with the Griffon. I'm looking for a young masseuse!!!
There is still the phone book in this phone booth.
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A Pair of Ruche, conclusive proof of badge engineering also. Owners translation below.

Searched on Sunday in Neufchateau (Vosges), found this pair of PH60 and PH65, Vitus frames, identical in every way to the Peugeots, badged Ruche, as was often the case in the Vosges or Lorraine, as Ruche is a Nancy brand.
These bikes belonged to a couple of teachers, the grandparents of the sales assistant, who bought them new. The women's bike is a little older, and may have been in the shop for a while before being sold, but the bikes were bought at the same time. Being older, the women's model didn't yet have the Prior hubs with large flanges on the first series. But I have a set of wheels with Prior hubs if I feel like fitting them. I don't know exactly how old they are,
On the men's model: The handlebars have been changed, it's from the same period, but I have the original one in stock, the paint is still correct for its age. Otherwise a good cleaning and greasing should be enough.

On the women's model: the frame has unfortunately been daubed with paint, but if you try to scrape it off, the original paint is still underneath, and the daub can be removed without too much trouble. It's just a matter of being patient, as you have to be careful not to remove the original paint. You can see the Vitus logo and the ‘Ruche’ logo on the photos, the Stronglight crankset is unfortunately missing, replaced by a simple scrap one, but the derailleur has been left. I don't know if the seat is original. The headlight is not the right one, it's been used more than the men's model in my opinion. the pedals are mismatched, fortunately I had a box with parts, and the second original pedal is inside, only the balls are missing.

Peugeot used to badge them with this brand directly from the factory, as did the Aiglon and Griffon of the time, identical in every way to the Peugeots, just with a different name. Here is the Peugeot catalogue with these beautiful ‘special ramblers’.
The Ruche brand is found a lot in Alsace Lorraine, but it's true that it wasn't distributed much elsewhere in France. I've never seen the FMC brand.
There's even the Bima, a roller moped based on a bicycle, also produced by Peugeot.

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Rescued in the nick of time Peugeot PH60. Owners translation below.

Rescued from the scrap heap this 50s Peugeot in Vitus tubing, stronglight aluminium crankset, Méral aluminium wheels, aluminium handlebars and stem, Ideale saddle.
I'm going to do the minimum to get it running
There was the skip full of bikes, but it belongs to a recycling plant, which must have emptied an old cycle shop.
I took the best one to save it from being crushed, there was a white da40 export model, a new Peugeot from the 70s in metallic green, Reynolds tubes according to the label on the packaging, still wrapped! i didn't manage to get it out, a Motobécane little girl's bike still wrapped from the 80s, quite a few city and road bikes from the 50s to the 80s

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