Does anyone have an idea what this is?

Hello everyone,
This is my first post on this forum. I've been riding bikes all my life and have recently become more interested in 'older' bikes. The increase in interest followed riding Eroica in Gaiole last year. If you had a van, and unlimited funds, you would return home with some stunning bicycles from the numerous street markets. I bought a PX10 for the trip, my other half rode the Falcon Black Diamond I bought new from a bike shop in Tang Hall Lane, York in the late seventies. Boswell's or Shannnon's, can't remember. Was it really that long ago.......
Anyway, that aside, I picked up this project bicycle last year and finally decided to set about smartening it up. The trouble is I have no idea what it is and therefore what it should look like. The bike has internal routing for the rear brake cable and Mafac cantilever brakes which might point towards cyclocross, but I am completely guessing. I know many of the components gets changed over the years but it does have Stronglight crank and head sets. There are no markings on the frame other than Simplex (I think) on the right hand drop out, I can't find a frame number anywhere. The Peugeot stickers don't really mean anything other than someone had some Peugeot stickers! The front wheel spokes are wired where spokes cross, strengthening the wheel I understand.
So, it would be nice to have some idea of what it is before I decide on the paint being done by Argos or by myself after visiting Halfords. I paid little for it, probably less than the value of the components, so I won't be hurt if you tell me the brutal truth. If you have an idea but need more information please let me know. The guy who sold me the bike did mention that it may have belonged to Theirry Schnider. Sorry Theirry, can't say I've heard of you.
Regards to all,
Chris.

Boswell's. I worked for Tony on and off for a number of years through to the mid-80s. He eventually retired to France some 15 years or so back.
On to the bike - at one time in the mid/late 70s the high end Peugeot road bikes had Mafac cantilevers and the absolute top model was supplied with tied and soldered spokes. They also had Simplex gears and Stronglight cranks as Peugeot were typically partisan and stuck to French components at the time (I think they may well have been a driving force behind Spidel which grouped Simplex, Mafac, Stronglight and Maillard components together). There are some oddities - the decals for a start are the type Peugeot tended to use when they rebranded non-Peugeot sourced frames and the internal cable guide is something that would have been extremely uncommon for the late 70s.
Often a model code would be stamped into one of the rear dropouts.

Hi and thank you for the reply. I think the stickers were just put on to try to make the bike pretty, I wasn't even sure if the bike was a Peugeot. I'll check the drop outs again and scrape of the paint off to see if anything lies beneath. The rear brake cable routing really is a mystery.
Regards,
Chris.

It's prompted me to chat to a couple of people about things back in the past and dig into Peugeot catalogues on the 'net. Peugeot had a randonneur model which had cantilever brakes but didn't have that chainset and it also had 650B wheels so the brakes would be at the wrong height for the sprints that are in your bike.

jim haseltine":p1e4trrz said:

Boswell's. I worked for Tony on and off for a number of years through to the mid-80s. He eventually retired to France some 15 years or so back.

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Small world, started using Boswell's in about 84 when I started out!
Used to ride with Gerry Boswell on the CTC rides.

I grew up in York and although I used to cycle to and from school (Archbishop Holgates from Fulford) and then work I wasn't really a 'cyclist' if you get what I mean, it was just a means of transport until I discovered motorbikes. Cycling came to me much later in life.
There were a couple of lads I went to school with who were 'proper' cyclists, Peter Longbottom and I can't remember the other guys name, I wish I could, but as I understand it he was very good too, same school year as Peter and myself. I left school in 1975 but can remember being bewildered at the mileage Peter was doing at that time as a 16 year old. I did read that Peter sadly died in an accident, such a shame, I remember him as being a really nice lad.

Yes, I remember Pete, used to ride with him a fair bit with Clifton CC and VC York in the late 80s early 90s.
He went to the commonwealth games a couple of times and IIRC went to the World's and the Olympics once each.

Was killed by an inattentive driver on the A64 I think, late 90s. Just as I was getting back into cycling after a few years injured.

Re:

Ian Leckenby? Was National Junior Road Champion in 1976, passed away in 2011. He, Peter and various others used to put me through hell on Sundays.

Ian Leckenby, crikey there's a name from my past, I do remember him from school. I did a web search for Ian and it turns out he was born two days before me. We may have been in adjacent cots at Fulford Maternity Unit! This 'looking back' business brings on a touch of sadness though, Peter and Ian were of no age. It serves as a reminder to make the most of life.

They were the year below me at Archbishop's and way more talented than me on bikes (no matter how much I look back with rose-tinted specs) . Ian had a younger brother who's name escapes me, possibly David? Of all the people I used to ride with back then I now see absolutely none of them around - I think the last one I saw was Peter Watson who I met while riding through Haxby one evening about a decade back.