Cool Shop Bike: late 1950's Peugeot PX-10

     This is another one that has never been properly profiled. It is a late 1950's Peugeot PX-10 that was purchased many years ago from a bike shop in the immediate suburbs of Philadelphia. It has a lot of components and features that I find pretty interesting. I hope you do too.
     The frame and fork are constructed of Reynolds 531 tubing and the seat tube bears the French Reynolds decal, something I always liked. It utilizes early Nervex lugs which have been somewhat filed and thinned. The original older style decals are all intact and are quite ornate and have great vibrant colors. Especially the seat tube decal. The paint is a nice blue that has aged well and flattened out some over the years. The yellow accents on the head lugs really make it "pop".
     The rear derailleur is a simplex JUY 543 model, which is extremely rare and quite beautiful. It was produced in the early to mid 50's and required a special cable stop on the chain stay because it was a twin cable type. Jaques Anquetil famously  used it in the Tour De France. It can be set for use with either 3, 4, or 5 speed freewheels, hence the name 543. Stylistically, it is one of the most elegant rear derailleurs ever produced in my opinion. There is a Simplex competition rod type front derailleur with upgraded wing nuts to handle the front chain rings. It has a Stronglight 5 pin steel cottered crank set that I have not been able to find much info about. The chain rings are Stronglight model 49 type I think, but they also look the model 57 cut outs which used a more traditional BCD and spider combo as opposed to the 5 pin 49 model alloy cranks. If anyone can enlighten me, please do. The bike has a Stronglight bottom bracket installed. The hubs are low flange Prior laced to unknown steel 700C rims. It has very cool Beborex brakes and levers. The brake calipers have a unique QR system and the vertical mounting style on the rear brake, which was a relatively common French thing. there are early Simplex QR wheel skewers with the "dog bone" skewer nuts, quite rare! Really cool Ideale Type 59 Record alloy railed saddle which is in pretty good shape for its age. The sides of it are drilled for lightness? Aesthetic? Either way, it is super rare and elegant looking. There are nice unknown alloy fenders which have been painted to match the bike, a cool Ventolux frame pump, and an early T.A. handlebar bag (not original to the bike). There are also a pair of Lyotard  no. 460 Duralumin pedals that I forgot to photograph. This bike is a nice example of what was available in the mid 50's if you wanted a top of the line lightweight machine.

    

Cool shop bike: Schwinn Paramount Track

This is one of my favorite bikes the shop owns. it is a 1959 Schwinn Paramount track model. This bike is unique for a few reasons. It is somewhat of a transition bike. it has the Nervex Professional lugs which became very popular in the coming years ahead. Up to this point, Paramounts had the more iconic keyhole style lugs. It still has the older style fork crown too. The bike also has all the proprietary Schwinn Paramount components like the large flange "telephone dial" hubs, Paramount stamped cranks, adjustable track stem, "AS" stamped bottom bracket, Paramount chain tensioners, Schwinn racing grips (repop), and "AS" binder bolts all around. It also has the older decals. So, it kind of straddles two eras of production, making it stand out.
     The paint color, radiant coppertone is my all time favorite Schwinn color, and somewhat of a rarity. It consists of an aluminum under coat and then the translucent orange on top, making it really sparkle in the sun. Pictures hardly do it justice. The two color box lining is superb and shows just how much attention was paid to detail on this bike. I may have forgot to mention that these aspects are all ORIGINAL to the bike! The chrome is in fantastic shape as well! It is my understanding that this bike was never really ridden and as such is a fantastic time capsule piece! It was sold out of Bergenfield, NJ which has a personal connection for me because I have some family in that area. Anyway, enjoy the photos. This is a classic American race bike!