1988 Peugeot St. Laurent Step Through

The Peugeot St. Laurent is a companion to my son's bike. Same year and model. How cool is that?

Introducing my next commuter bike: a 21" Peugeot St. Laurent! A Craigslist purchase, I found this bicycle close to home from an avid cyclist ready to pare down his fleet. The bicycle was originally being sold with fenders and ergo grips, but the seller accepted a lower offer and kept those items for himself.

The bike has the usual frame wear a 30 year old bicycle should have, but it's structurally solid. Wheels are sound, spokes are tight, with flat rim walls. Front wheel is original Weinmann while the rear is a replacement with a newer Shimano freewheel. The frame has typical fender and rack eyelets of a 1980's bike.

The Shimano thumb shifters are the nicer version than currently on my Ross, though the seller couldn't find a missing cap. I'll try to source this locally or online, but as a last resort I could transfer one from my Trek (now a parts bike). As is, the current shifter functions well but I wouldn't want to expose the inner parts too long to the elements as my workplace bike parking is outdoors. Interestingly, the bike has SIS shifting (index shifting), a bonus and similar to my Trek. All parts appear to be original Shimano components, other than the rear wheel.

The right shifter is missing a cap.

Curiously, both sets of brake pads appear original, using the metal-clad brake shoes, but that seems unlikely for the age of the bicycle. Perhaps someone has gone through the trouble of re-soling the rubber?

I spent a couple hours cleaning what I had hoped was surface grime, which fortunately, turned out to be true. Wheels spin fine, headset seems tight, crank spins well. I will not do a thorough overhaul unless a problem crops up in the future. I will pop on a new chain. I plan to transfer racks, fenders, and handle bar, grips and pedals from the Ross plus, most likely a Pasela tire to replace a wider, slightly worm and nubbed front tire. I haven't decided whether to swap the Peugeot's rear wheel because both freewheels are 28 tooth low gear so I don't think I'm gaining anything by swapping the rear wheels, as much as I love Araya rims.

I'm delighted to have a commuter bicycle frame that's not black, fits me better, and a side benefit: I sit more upright on the Peugeot, which I hope will better prepare me when I transfer to bike touring on my Clementine.

For the curious, a link to the 1988 Peugeout St. Laurent specs.