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peugeot classic bicycles - brian long & philippe claverol. veloce publishing hardback. 170pp illus. isbn 978-1-787112-15-5 £35

classic peugeot bicycles - long & claverol

decorating the walls atop the staircase to the upper reaches of the croft are two items of robert millar/peugeot cycles memorabilia. one, a promotional poster published by the cycle company celebrating millar's 1984, tour de france king of the mountains victory, the other a signed woollen peugeot jersey from the years when team riders wore such apparel. augmenting both of these items of memorabilia are several items gleaned from the cupboards of prendas ciclismo, when mick and andy were still the guiding lights (and from where this book can also be purchased). included are two casquettes, one black one white, and a similarly coloured pair of polyester peugeot jerseys. yet despite all the foregoing, i have never owned a peugeot bicycle of any description.

for scots cyclists, the principal attraction to the chequered pattern adorning both bicycles and jerseys, is undoubtedly the millar connection, but there are several other reasons to cheer from the sidelines in the shape of tommy simpson, eddy merckx and gilbert duclos lassalle, to name but three. you might also add stephen roche, phil anderson and alan peiper, so there's a great deal to admire from a professional point of view.

but peugeot bicycles didn't necessarily set out to win yellow or polka dots in the tour.

the company's origins can be ostensibly laid at the feet of jean-pierre peugeot, who was famous for making hand tools until his demise in 1814, his sons, however, jean-pierre ii and jean-frederic, had established a metal foundry on the swiss border four years previously, and a further 22 years passed before the formation of sociétè peugeot frères aînés. the next generation renamed the company les fils des peugeot frères in 1876, but it was armand peugeot who ultimately changed the firm's direction.

having spent some time in england developing his engineering skills, armand was the fellow who added bicycles to the peugeot catalogue. perspicacious to the last, he was also the peugeot who introduced motor cars to the brand a few years later.

peugeot's first bicycle was a penny-farthing (or 'ordinary' to give the genre its correct title). however, like many a bicycle manufacturer, following starley's 'invention' of the safety bicycle, with its two equally sized wheels, the penny farthing was retired in favour of what became the future of the bicycle. this point in the book is illustrated with the contemporary 'course' model which featured on the cover of the 1891 peugeot catalogue, a decade which began with consolidated sales hovering around the 10,000 mark. ten years later, and buoyed by orders from the military, sales had effectively doubled.

the early 1900s capitalised on the popularity of cycle sport with the 1903 creation of the tour de france roundly welcomed by the peugeot marque. in fact, in the 1904 catalogue listed three models displaying a distinct racing flavour: course-piste, course-route, and modéle stayer. though peugeot, like most manufacturers, produced racing bicycles to help publicise those made for the less intrepid, this studious book leans heavily on the racing activities of the brand. in fact, for the sporting peugeot acolyte, this book is total nerdsville, filled as it is with copious illustrations pertaining to each distinct era of its chequered (literally) history, along with model numbers and names.

author brian long outlines in his introduction that his writing talents are more usually occupied on the automotive side of the transportation paradigm. however, "...a huge fan of the tour de france [...] the peugeot marque holds special appeal for me...". he and his co-author, phillippe claverol must have spent endless hour upon hour trawling every relevant archive they could find for the almost unbelievable number of illustrations featured throughout the book. so copious is their number, that there is frequently a danger that the text becomes overshadowed, relegated to a few lines at the foot of the page (sometimes to the extent of interrupting the book's continuity.)

however, peugeot classic bicycles is a well-organised volume, leading from the firm's beginnings, through the decades, culminating in the glorious eighties where the factory team metamorphosed into team z. along the way, messrs. long and claverol include words on the competition, the componentry (did we know that sedis chains were originally a part of the peugeot empire?), while delineating each and every model (and number) featured in the annual catalogues that were part of cycling life prior to the introduction of the interwebs in the mid to late part of the decade.

for the avid peugeot enthusiast, this volume can be regarded as utterly essential, one that can be regularly used as a consolidated resource for everything you'd ever need to know about peugeot bicycles. however, if your interest is a tad more cursory and you'd prefer to read a few interesting anecdotes and a the odd brief biography, this might not be the book you're looking for. it is, however, a complete triumph in terms of the research that undoubtedly went into compiling and writing its 170 pages, backed with a comprehensive index.

peuget classic bicycles is available to purchase direct from veloce store

tuesday 26 september 2023