Long time lurker, thought I'd finally get around to posting some photos of my recent restoration of what I believe is a 1988 Peugeot HLE Premier. The frame simply says 'Premiere' but another badge says HLE, and I know it was bought in 1988 - so looking in the old Peugeot brochure I decided the HLE Premiere was the most likely bike.
The aim was to just get a useable bike, and not spend much money (hah!)
This was my dads bike, bought new in 1988, barely used by him, then used by me a bit in my teenage years. It then sat in a garage/shed for 10 years until recently when I saved it from the skip!
So here it is after I received it, stripped the handlebar tape and cleaned it (a lot of cleaning!). I unfortunately did not take many photos when I first got it.
I wanted to try and keep it quite original, but the more I checked it over, the more parts I found that were too old and worn out to keep.
The wheels looked past it, nearly a "C" shape, but a couple of hours with a spoke wrench and they are now useable, if still a little dished!
Also the following have had to go:
1. Tyres - The originals had rotted and the inner tube poked through. I now have some Schwalbe Lugano's on there with a white stripe to make it a tad more intersting.
2. Cables. The originals were white, and worn through, I replaced them with some orange ones to match the orange in the Peugeot pattern on the bike. I think it looks pretty cool.
3. The seat was some old thing (the original must have been stolen/lost at some point). So that was replaced with a spare I had in the shed.
4. Brake pads are original, so they were replaced, as they did not work too well!
5. I have some white handlebar tape, I just haven't got round to putting it on yet!
6. I have also added some Shimano SL-540 pedals so I can use my cycling shoes.
Closeups:
........ it was all going rather too well! ... and then it happened while going up a rather steep hill - the rear derailleur spring broke, the derailleur swung into the wheel, and the chain got wedged between the cogs and the wheel!
I just about survived and dodged the cars as I fell sideways.
I was now in a quandary, part of me wanted to go on ebay and get replacements that would match the bike, maybe some 105's from the late 80'e, early 90s. But I must admit that my boring logic won, and instead of a high-end derailleur from 1990 I went for the cheapest Shimano available in 2012! Theory being that the cheapest thing now is better than something from 20yrs ago?!
So I am a bit upset that the bike is no longer original parts, but I guess I can always go back on ebay and find older parts in the future.
I will update this post once my new derailleur arrives and the handlebar tape is on.
I also plan on getting some indexed downtube shifters at some point, the friction ones are a pain!
The paint job is very worn, but I'll live with it.