1905 / 1906 Peugeot Model A

More pictures of the recently acquired 1905 or 6 Peugeot Model A. A basic cycle but light and stylish, I like it rather a lot. It is rusty but certainly not beyond repair or in fact in any way unsound, just a few spokes missing. It looks like perhaps the original colour was a dark green, though it is hard to tell. No brakes are fitted but it seems from the original catalogue spec that they never were - quite scary as it is not fixed wheel.

It's always hard to know when to repaint and restore, I tend to shy away from re-finishing. I quite like rusty two wheelers and for me as long as it works properly a characterful patina is most welcome. That and the fact that I am not much good at painting and a full restoration costs a lot more. Hence this Peugeot shall have the loose rust removed, be preserved with a coat of Renaissance Wax and made rideable. I shall try to find a sympathetic cable operated front brake to give me some stopping capability. Hmmmm.... the bicycle projects are stacking up.

Peugeot Model A side view. A beautifully simple
cycle but not basic in construction.

Distinctive Peugeot chainset.

The saddle is an 'Excelsior'. The style looks right
and it is perhaps the original saddle. It will stay.

Frame number looks like 176906. Anyone out there
have any knowledge on Peugeot frame numbers?

The head bearings are a lovely detail. They are very
much are in the style of modern integrated headsets.

Near side view of the Peugeot.

I picked up this lovely bell with the
Peugeot Lion recently. Probably a fair
bit more recent than the cycle is,
never-the-less lovely and compliments
nicely.

Steerer tube showing the lugless
construction and stylish fork crown.

1906 Peugeot cycle

1905 / 6 Peugeot cycle

I recently had a lucky find (thanks to James Kelly for the tip off) and picked up four early cycles that had been rotting away in a barn in France. Thankfully I didn't have to go over to France to get them as another chap had already done that hard work. It would have made a nice trip in other times but not during the pandemic.

The first I'll feature here is a Peugeot from, as far as I can work out, 1905 or 6. Luckily this cycle has survived reasonably well apart from some damage to the handlebars - sadly a couple of the the others in the haul are in a slightly more sorry state.

I'm a bit of a stranger to French cycles and had to get help from the VCC facebook group to identify. I've got to confess that I had thought it was a bit earlier as when comparing to British cycles of the period it looks to be at least five years older. It seems that British fashion was towards luxury and the French favoured minimalism. What appears to identify the age of the cycle is the fork crown - it is brazed up whereas pre-1905 models had a cast crown. Anachronistically the Peugeot still uses a block chain with skip tooth chainwheel. Looking around at other Peugeots pictured on the net a lot of folks date their Peugeots earlier than they actually are, probably due to a mixture of lack of knowledge / resources and wishful thinking. In all honesty I had desperately hoped that this would be a cycle I could join in with the London to Brighton veteran car run on (needs to be 1904 or earlier).

This site was a great help in helping to date the Peugeot too: https://www.bikeboompeugeot.com  The remit of the site is Peugeot cycles of the sixties and seventies but there is a great library of early brochures too. 

It seems like the Peugeot is a Model A which came in a very basic spec with no mudguards or indeed brakes. This one though shall receive something to slow progress at least on the front wheel. All Peugeot frames except the chainless models seem to be the same though so a pair of drop handlebars could convert this into a more desirable racer.

The plan is to give the Peugeot a sympathetic restoration and get it roadworthy again with a minimum of fuss. From a quick scan of the condition it shouldn't be too challenging.

Apologies for the poor quality photos. Taken on my phone in the rain as the cycles were dropped off at a lock up.

My Peugeot is missing its head badge.
It should look like this, if anyone knows
where I can find one then please do let me
know. Image taken from the Peugeot official
site.

Two up Peugeot

Two dapper gents astride a small Peugeot. I'm no expert on French bikes but I'd take a guess as a Model 54 or 55 from between 1947 and 1949. If there are any French bike nerds out there who know for sure please do comment!

1962 NSU Quickly / Peugeot Mopeds Layford Automotive brochure

Layford Automotive of Hammersmith were the UK importers for a number of different continental mopeds. This brochure promotes both the NSU Quickly and the Peugeot BB ranges. Strange to have two competing brands on one advert but I guess Layfords didn't mind too much which they sold.

Peugeot Moped model BB c1960

A flyer produced by Layford Automotive, the British importers for the Peugeot BB model moped. Dates from around 1960. 

Peugeot BB moped flyer front side.

Peugeot BB moped flyer reverse side.