Mabel – 1950s Ladies Peugeot Townbike Restoration

1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Right Side against a tree

I bought this old French ladies’ town bike on eBay. When I got her, she looked like a wreck. As I started to clean her up, I realised that she was in mechanically excellent condition and had probably done less than 60 miles in the last 60 years. The only missing component was the original push-rod and sliding derailleur. So I set about cleaning her up and restoring her.

A great way of studying the history of bicycle design.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Right side against a log

1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Right Side with Tree

1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Left Side Against a tree

1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Left Side Against a Tree

Mmmmmmm – hand painted line work.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Front Wheel

1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Front wide angle view

Details

This is the “AntiVol” – under that cap you can slip a lock which engages a slot in the steerer tube. This locks the steering at an angle, making it harder to steal.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Antivol lock

Mmmm. Aluminium chainguard to match the mudguards.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Chain Guard

There is a great view in the cockpit, with the original bell. Ting-Ting.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Handlebars

That is a 1960s push-rod derailleur. This part is new-old-stock, not quite original.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle rear derailler

Fenders… swoon.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Front Right Side

Nice headlight. I installed an LED bulb, so it’s bright. I still have the working original bulb.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Headlight

Dynamo-powered tail light.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle rear light

Those brakes have beautiful style – those are the original brake blocks.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle front brake

1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle rear brake

1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle rear Lug Detail

1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Saddle

This is the original metal badge from the shop that sold the bike in the 1950s. Why don’t modern bike shops do this?1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Original Shop Badge

There is a French dude who bought the Michelin moulds when they stopped making 650B wheels. Once a year he has a batch of authentic wheels made in SE Asia.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle tires

On the back of the saddle is the original tool bag.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle toolbag

Complete with the original tools.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Tool Roll

The guarantee runs for 2 years from date of purchase. Those tire patches are still in there, although I think they may have dried out by now.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Original Guarentee 1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Original Guarentee

Yes, I changed the lever to a 1960s new-old-stock. But just take a moment to admire the original hand-painted line work.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle gear lever

1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle bell

1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Rear Wheel

Four Goliath butterfly-nuts hold on the wheels.

1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Butterfly Wheel Nut

1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Seat Tube, Pump and Dynamo

That bottle-dynamo has a cute little mechanism to engage and disengage the wheel and a streamline cover so it doesn’t trap your clothes.1950's Vintage Peugeot Bicycle Dynamo

Condition before restoration

Here’s what it looked like before I restored it. A proper eBay barn find. I thought it was a wreck and that I was going to do it up as a fun runabout-town. Then I saw it and realised that it was something special.