That French eBay Peugeot which Steven Maasland pointed out looks like a real gem to me. { posted as: Subject: [CR] Older Peugeot randonneur bike on French Ebay }
http://cgi.ebay.fr/
I love old French bikes. If shipping cost from France were not so outrageous (and my wallet so thin) I'd definitely have a far worse velo-habit to deal with. Something like old JOS or Radios head lamps alone, now seem to draw some MAJOR yen from the pockets of Japanese collectors. So, I suspect it is becoming increasingly difficult to find any complete and original vintage French bikes. Should be interesting to see where that bike finally ships to... and for what final cost.
I am the buyer of the '70s (?) Peugeot PX50 purchased on eBay.com recently, which Steven also mentioned. Again, here is the still scant info I have on that bike... which is currently in transit:
http://community-2.webtv.net/
Regarding that purchase: The seller had taken her sweet time having the bike packed up by her local bike shop, but I am FINALLY tracking it's shipment via DHL and it should be delivered on Thursday. And, I will definitely post info once it has arrived and is fully assembled.
This brings up another unexpected purchase... and also a question.
Today I happened to be browsing one my local bike shops, and began looking through a wall hanger of miscellaneous rims, hoping to find some interesting older tubular rims. These were all rims recently dredged out from their storage abyss.
No nice tubulars, but I was surprised to find a pair of Super Champion 650B rims (look like a model 58 perhaps?). They were labelled with a recent tag which stated: "Old 26 inch - the weird size - not for MTB." They're just simple, alloy, single-wall, hooked-bead rims, polished finish, pinned (vs welded), 36 holes, 515 grams.
I bought them; and, they "might" actually fit the Peugeot... I'll know for sure in a couple days. Regardless, they are NOS, and for just $10 each, they seemed an irresistibly good buy.
Now, regarding 650B tires: I'm curious if anyone has extensive experience with currently available 650B tires? I see there are now quite a few available here and there (Rivendell, Harris Cyclery, Jan Heine / VBQ). I'd be very interested to hear if there are certain ones I really should avoid, and perhaps others which stand out as being of far superior quality. I'd welcome any comments. Thanks!
Bob Hanson, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA