Steel frame, unsteel forks likely?

[Ajoten]

I recently got an 80s (probably) Peugeot (possibly) with no original components so obviously was someone's project, but it has a Vitus 979 fork paired to a (allegedly) 531 frame.

Am I right in assuming this would never have been a retail pairing, and the fork was a later addition?

 

[omegastrada]

Doubtful a vitus fork would have been fitted originally, it's almost certainly been swapped out at some point in its life. Makes me wonder what was wrong with the original fork to make someone do this. Have you checked for front end damage to the frame?

 

[Ajoten]

Re:

Oo, hadn't thought of that. I'd just assumed that as all the other components were of a different brands it was just another component that had been chosen as "one that was lying about". Will have a look - although its source is trustworthy.

 

[dirttorpedo]

Agree - typically you would have found an early aluminum frame matched with a steel fork until they got the engineering down for aluminum forks. It might not be a sign of damage - someone could have been trying to cut some weight off the bike by replacing the fork - similar to the modern practice of putting a carbon fork on a steel frame.