Project Lazarus

This is my first ever mountain bike, and the reason I'm talking to you today. It's a 1987? Peugeot Alpine, abused through the years, but still going strong.
Other machines came and went, but I loved this machine, and I used it a lot, as you can tell by the condition. Touring, mountain biking, commuting, everything. Thousands of miles, lots of great memories.
I had agreed to sell it to someone on the CTC forum as a train station bike, but it ended up being put with the bins at my dad's, as he was getting annoyed by it and threw out some of my stuff. I thought it was gone, but the binmen wouldn't take it! And because of that, I decided it deserved to live.
Here it is, rebuilt earlier on today. I don't have a long enough chain for it, and I really need a longer brake cable. But it'll be great to use it again. Might even get a new top tube brazed into the frame.
I know it's not from the same league of sophistication as most other bikes here, but I like it.

I remember those, a friend of mine had them long before any of the rest of us had MTB's. We were still playing with road iron. His was light blue but the 2' chainstays and slack angle look dramatically familiar!

I cannot belive it was going out with the bins. Shame on you! I wish I still had my 1st MTB! Go for a resto. Looking forward to the result!

Stick Legs":sxzua4nv said:

I cannot belive it was going out with the bins. Shame on you! I wish I still had my 1st MTB! Go for a resto. Looking forward to the result!

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I don't live with him, but my collection is around there. I was really upset when dad said he'd left it out, and eternally grateful to the binmen for their jobsworthyness in refusing to take it.
Wasn't really delighted about selling it as a train station bike, to be honest, but I've too many projects. Honestly, you would not believe the history this bike and I have.
In order to do a full resto, I'd have to replace the top tube (bent), the down tube (massive dinge), replace the rack braze-ons, and have a new fork made (that Tange one is completely wrong; I bent the original).
I have considered taking it to a framebuilder and having an exact replica made, because it's still the yardstick I use to judge whether or not a bike fits me, but I might just ride it round as is for a while.
I reckon most framebuilders would laugh me out of the shop if I talked about replacing tubes on this. But never say never.
Definitely, watch this space!

This brings back memories. My brother had this bike and I had the Peugeot Ranger, which was pretty much identical but was white.
We got them for what must have been our 12th birthday (we're twins) in 1988.
I remember they had 15 gears, full but really cheap sachs-huret groupsets and steel rims.
Deadly in the wet as I recall.
I upgraded the hell out of my bike, but on the restricted funds of my paper round, so I had to save up for the Shimano SIS thumbshifters and Dia-Compe cantis.
Rattle can resprayed it twice too. Eventually retired it after 3 years when my new DX/Mavic 231 wheels wouldn't fit the 130mm rear axle spacing, :roll: and ended up buying a complete, but minus wheels, GT Karakoram Elite off a rich mate who was upgrading to a Zaskar.
Haven't got a single photo of my old pug, which coincidentally was also the make of my first car.

If you can get hold of the parts then resto it, if not clean up the frame and hang it on the wall of your man cave.

...and thanks for the memories

Cool. good to see you are going to use it. And it's being treated well.