>Was the Peugeot PX-10 really "extraordinarily light" (my assertion in a
>recent post) for its era?
>
>Peugeot PX-10: 21 pounds (source: '69 catalogue and Sloans)
>Gitane Tour de France: 21.5 pounds (source: '70 catalogue)
>Gitane Super Corsa: 22 pounds (source: '70 catalogue)
>Raleigh Professional: 22 pounds (source: '73 catalogue
>Atala Professional: 22 pounds (source: '72 Bicycling review)
>Bottechia: 22 pounds (source: '71 Bicycling review)
>Colnago: 22.5 pounds (source: '71 Bicycling review)
>Cinelli SC: 23 pounds (Sloans)
Those of course are catalogue weights... and they might just show a different level of honesty among bike companies... At least for the Italians, with a full Campagnolo gruppo and Columbus tubing, the only weight differences came from easy-to-change parts like stem, bars and saddle.
To put things into perspective, Rene Herse exhibited a bike at the 1973 (or thereabouts) Paris bike show that weighed 6.8 kg - and they had a scale to prove it. That is 15.0 lbs. The bike did not have any modified components, just - carefully selected - standard components. Not a drilled hole in sight. 10 speeds, 2 brakes, a full racing bike.
There was an article in Le Cycle that listed all the components. Apart from Huret Jubilee, some obscure CLB levers and TTT handlebars, the bike used Campy pedals (ti spindles?) and Herse stem and cranks. The frame was fillet-brazed from Reynolds 531 "3/10 mm" tubing, and I am sure the fillets were minimal...
The story goes that another company (perhaps Gitane?) also had a bike they claimed as being extremely light, but it was locked in a case, and nobody was allowed to touch it. To counter that, Herse got the scale, and hung the bike from it. The bike then was exhibited in the shop, still hanging from the same scale. A friend who went there in 1975 to inquire about a camping bike saw it. (He bought a Singer, the price being 25% less than the Herse.)
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.bikequarterly.com