TYPE:
12 speed - "lightweight" race type - 1978 model PY-10 CP - serial number 8.01.1894 ... [Peugeot PY-10 CP models for 1978 were made available exclusively through authorized dealers on a strict custom order basis. The serial number stamped into the underside of its bottom bracket shell would indicate that this bike was built in January of 1978 and that it was the 1894th Peugeot frame made in that month (...the build count number decidedly NOT being unique to the PY series of bicycles). Whereas other contemporary Peugeot competition oriented bicycles such as their PX-10 LE and PY-10 E typically sold for $395 USD and $690 USD respectively in 1978, the F.O.B. stateside delivery price for a custom Peugeot PY-10 CP that year topped out at around $1100 USD (...depending upon the exact combination of component options one selected), a number which would equate to roughly $3923 USD when cost adjusted for inflation using a benchmark of 2013 dollars.]
SIZE:
59 cm : 590 mm (physical seat tube C-t-T) - 580 mm (physical top tube C-t-C) - 410 mm (chainstay) - 100 cm (wheelbase) - 270 mm (bottom bracket height) - 60 mm (bottom bracket drop) - 33.25 inches (standover height with 700c wheelset) - 45 degree (fork rake) - 74 degree (head tube angle) - 74 degree (seat tube angle)
COLOR:
Pearl Silver ... [Correct as original excepting the absence of paint on the facings of both the front and rear dropouts - this specific difference being both an homage to that convention adopted by Peugeot-Esso-Michelin team bike mechanics for the 1977 and 1978 seasons, and perhaps more importantly, a practice consistent with my own desire to minimize paint damage with respect to said dropouts which would otherwise surely occur over time as the result of repetitive removal and replacement of the wheels. To the best of my knowledge all PY-10 CP bicycles produced from their inception in 1974 through approximately October of 1977 were painted Metallic Silver, including those ridden so successfully by the Peugeot-BP-Michelin later Peugeot-Esso-Michelin cycling teams (...for the sake of accuracy and completeness, I should also like to point out that other similar models such as the PY-10 E and PY-10 EC could be had in a choice of White, Blue, Red, Silver, Black, or Bronze starting in 1977 - but NOT the PY-10 CP). For model year 1978, however, commercialized versions of the PY-10 CP would officially be offered in a limited choice of special request colors in addition to the default Metallic Silver including Pearl Sky Blue (...Peugeot paint code AK), Pearl Yellow (JK), and Pearl White (BK). So you can well imagine my puzzlement when this bike came into my possession having an undoubtedly authentic and original Pearl Silver paint job - just like the new for 1978 coloration seen on Peugeot-Esso-Michelin team bikes that year - but having a typical "first edition" decal scheme (1974 to 1978) as opposed to a "second edition" style (1979 to 1983) that genuine team bikes sported in 1978 one year earlier than otherwise made available to the general public. Sadly, I can offer no conclusive evidence in explanation as to why this would be the case, merely my own speculation that early on (...remember, the serial number on this bike indicates a January of 1978 build date) Cycles Peugeot may have toyed with the idea of supplanting their Metallic Silver with a Pearl Silver more in keeping with the other newly offered pearlized paint options, but ultimately thought the better and abandoned that notion early into the model year excepting for genuine "team bikes" - and if anyone else out there has more specific knowledge as to the origins and history of this oddball paint scheme, I invite your considered input to my public email address of rsb000 (at) hotmail (dot) com (...where those would be a trio of zeros and NOT the letter “O”). Inasmuch as this particular bicycle was indeed originally rendered in Pearl Silver, that very same hue was replicated when I had the entire frame and fork combination professionally refinished and repainted by Gene Powell of RAD Finishes in Portland, Oregon.]
FRAME:
Reynolds 531 SL (...i.e. Special Lightweight - 5/10 mm wall thickness) manganese-molybdenum alloy steel tubing (...double-butted top tube and down tube / butted seat tube / plain gage head tube and stays) - French metric sized tube set (...26 mm top tube / 28 mm down tube and seat tube) - Nervex DuBois short point lugs with 68 mm bottom bracket shell - 35 mm x 1 mm (25.4 TPI) French threaded bottom bracket shell (non-drive side - right threading / drive side - also right threading) - braze-on brake caliper mounting bosses at the juncture of the rear bridge and seat stays / shift lever bosses on the down tube / front derailleur cable guide underneath the bottom bracket shell / rear derailleur cable guide on top of the bottom bracket shell / down tube water bottle mount (...with four-point star shaped reinforcements) / right rear stay derailleur cable stop - custom filed Simplex model 3755 / 3756 forged long horizontal rear dropouts with rack eyelets removed / non-threaded derailleur hanger / spring tensioned adjustment screws - 126 mm dropout spacing
FORK:
Reynolds 531 SL (...i.e. Special Lightweight - 5/10 mm wall thickness versus 7/10 mm used in standard 531 tubesets) manganese-molybdenum alloy steel tubing (...taper gage fork blades) - "New Continental Oval" blade profile - 25 mm x 1 mm (25.4 TPI) French threaded steer tube - post 1977 semi sloping investment cast fork crown - inner reinforcement tangs with windows - braze-on brake caliper mounting bosses at the top of the fork blades just below where they attach to the fork crown - custom filed Simplex model 932/933 forged dropouts with rack eyelets having been removed - 100 mm dropout spacing - 3" long hardwood dowel insert at the bottom of the steer tube which is locked into place with a single Phillips head set screw (back side of crown) ... [Whereas previous models of Peugeot PY-10 bicycles featured a Nervex DuBois forged steel fork crown (...from 1974 through 1976, having horizontal chevrons punctuated with exposed chrome plating found along their shoulders, and for model year 1977 exhibiting a completely covered with paint flat top absent any chevrons), the new for 1978 editions of PY-10 featured a duly painted investment cast fork crown incorporating a semi-sloping style of design.]
