Peugeot Altus (Reynolds 531)

Hi all,

In 1990 I was 17 years old and my dad agreed to match half of the price of the racing bike I desired. I worked all summer at the local supermarket and saved all my earnings. I was over the moon when we finally went to the local bike shop to order the bike I had been admiring in a brochure for months: a purple & seafoam green Peugeot Izoard, Reynolds 501 with Shimano RX100 7sp components. 25 years later all that remains are an out of focus photo and a pic of me riding it down an Austrian mountain road in 1991...

A few months ago I came across a Peugeot Altus 531 in the exact same colors and in the exact same size. I could not resist and bought it on impulse. Same colors, better tubes, cool seatpost and saddle but unfortunately the 105 group with the awful light grey finish. The Look pedals and Turbo saddle are definitely keepers (though the leather needs to be refurbished).

All I did was adjust seatpost and stem to my preferred ride height (previous owner placed the handlebar much much higher, hence the long cables).

With some patience I'll be able to source all the parts for a 1989/1990 full Mavic equipped bike: thinking 840/860 or 851/870 SSC derailleurs, 631 or 630 cranks, 451 brakes, 571 or 501 hubs, 821 shifters, low tubular rims, purple Benotto bartape, etc.

Lovely, looking forward to seeing this progress.

Also, you need this to go with it ;)

http://velospace.org/node/47970

but unfortunately the 105 group with the awful light grey finish
Might look awful (I actually like it) but that thing will serve you until the end of times.
Nice catch btw, I always love to read stories like this. :)

I agree, the 1055 is incredible value for the money. I found that polishing helps to make it prettier:

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I discussed polishing it with Chris Howard (Cyclo Retro) but he said removing the paint would leave the alloy unsuitable for polishing (slightly less shiny and finish is uneven in colour and surface) and claimed it is "not worth doing to 105". My bike originally came with RX100 which was basically 105 but with bare metal with a transparent finish. These parts indeed still keep the bike of a friend running.

I polished the whole brifter by hand, the photo is the only one I had on my phone but it only shows the top cap polished. I guess I probably wouldn't do it again but it's doable in a couple hours.

Now to choose between black, white and purple bartape...

Black.

White

Hot pink would go well with the decals, i always opt for black though.

The veloflexs look great on it!

liking the idea of pimping purple I must admit.

Hot pink as above!

Or black tape and seat, with pink cables!

black tape and seat, with pink cables!

This. Subtly good

Done...

[img]

Well done! Really nice. Looks good with the black tape.

Lovely!

Going back to a more period correct though slightly Lemond/Team-Z inspired rendition and slowly getting there: tape will be classic white Benotto with Scott decals, but I'm in doubt which model and color bottle holders and whether to use white or black cables. I'm also hesitating between this stem or a black one.

This is great, I could build a project around those Scott bars! I'd match the cages to the colour of the Benotto tape finishing strip, perhaps the pink on the seat and top tube. Silver stem for me, black cables with black hoods makes sense but I think white would be more period correct and probably worth the gamble.

Slowly getting there with the Delta's and Benotto tape in place. Now for those Scott decals and to decide on the derailleurs. Think I'll go with an 8sp setup allowing me to run a 10sp cassette with the shifter set on friction.

Progress is slow but now with the correct saddle...

Okay, after a lot of doubts about which way to go my 1990 nostalgia bike almost done: looking for Look PP76 compatible cleats and still in doubt about applying Scott decals to the bar extentions or leave it like this.

That's 18-year old me in 1991 (on a students budget with Shimano RX100)

That turned out super super lovely!