My Beater French Road Bike

Technically this bike is a "Peugeot PKN 10 E," not a Competition. However, the top tube says "Competition" and it's a whole lot easier to remember than "PKN 10 E."

The frame is painted to look a lot like the higher end Peugeot PX-10. For many years the PX-10 was Peugeot's top-of-the-line racer, and the PKN 10 E was a step below it. In the late 70's and early 80's, the PX-10 was labeled "Super Competition" and the PKN 10 E was labeled "Competition". The front triangle on the PKN 10 E is made from Columbus 531 tubing, while the PX-10 was entirely 531 tubing. If you're curious about Peugeot bikes, you might want to check out the PX-10 Database, or to a great site with many scans of catalogs in Dutch (scan of catalog for the 1980 PKN 10).

I bought this "beater" commuter bike for two reasons: first, I needed a bike that I can leave chained up anywhere, and know it would be there when I return, and secondly, I thought it would be fun to have a fixed gear bike to commute on. I'm still looking for a cheap fixed rear wheel (actually I'd prefer a matching set of bolt on hubs, front and rear), so the bike is set up as a cheap single-speed.

I purchased this bike from the original owner, who lived about 5 miles from me in Sunnyvale, CA. The bike was the exact size I was looking for, labeled as a 60cm, and measuring 58cm x 58cm center-to-center. I was hoping to find a 1970's or early 80's Bianchi or Peugeot (I always thought both makers made particularly cool bikes). I also wanted a white frame, as I thought it might be easier to be seen while riding at night, and because it shows dirt and rust particularly well (a very important factor when looking for a bike that you don't want to have stolen). I found this bike, and it was the right price, $100. I bought new tires, bar tape, brake cables and a stem; added pedals and handlebars from my part's bin; and removed the deraillers, shifters, and outer chain ring. A fairly cheap conversion to a single-speed commuter.

Update: I broke down and bought a fixed-gear rear wheel from American Cyclery in San Francisco. We'll see how the fixed gear thing goes. I definitely liked the single-speed set-up that I was running.

- el