Spokeydokey
Retro Newbie
I needed a comfortable and indestructible bike for my winter commuting so I picked this 1987 Peugeot Provence up from Ebay for about £50. There's something about the styling and decals from that period that I really like and that evokes memories of my childhood, so it was too good to pass up when I saw it for sale. I was on an ultra-tight budget so some of the other steel tourers of that age were too pricey (and possibly not in as good nick).
It was in pretty good condition for a 30 year old bike. It had been kept in a shed and unused for a very long time. The bike had to be practical and comfortable to carry me to work with all my kit every day so although I've had to do a bit to get the set up right it is by no means a project to get it back to original condition.
The Provence has a Carbolite frame rather than top-end Reynolds like some Peugeots of the time but it's hard to notice any real difference when riding. The ride is comfortable and smooth and with 38mm tyres it soaks up everything the roads throw at it.
The only major change I made to the bike was to replace the stock 52-42 chainrings with a custom Spa Cycles 42-34-28 triple. I live in the Yorkshire Dales so need a bit more at the bottom end to get up some of those vicious climbs It was originally going to be a 42-28 double with a chainguard but the chainguard I had spare didn't fit so a spare 34t ring went on instead to fill the gap. Lowest gear is 28-28 which gets me up anything while the highest is 42-14 which spins out going downhill sometimes but I can live with that and I'm not chasing Strava KOMs on it.
I struggle with a long-term shoulder injury so I added an extended handlebar stem for additional comfort. It isn't as aesthetically pleasing as the original but a bike's no good if it looks smart but causes me pain after half a dozen miles. I'm probably just getting old but I much prefer comfort over anything these days. There's an old inner tube wrapped under the bar tape too for extra padding.
There's a rear rack to add on and in the future I'd like to add a front rack and a set of Nitto Randonneur handlebars. The bike is so much more pleasant to ride than my modern alu/carbon machines that it will probably become my full time do-everything bike over the course of the year. I'd like to add on a Carradice Bagman too but they cost almost as much as the entire bike.
The eagle eyed will notice the saddle is far too low on this picture. This was on a first test ride when I'd over-greased the saddlepost and forgotten to take any tools out with me to do up the seat clamp
