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My 1985 PSN-10


JunktionFET

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Since I never made it official, I figure now is a good time, especially since I snapped some nice pictures today.

Over the summer I impulsively bought a 1985 PSN-10 off Craigslist for very little money. It was mostly original as far as I could tell. Extremely lightweight for a vintage steel tube bike (21 lbs). Super Vitus 980, Mallard freewheel, Modolo brakes, etc.

It needed new cables and bar tape. The cables that were on it were original, and they functioned alright... But the sleeves were worn and cracked. The bar tape had seen better days.

I decided that red was a good contrast color for the bike's beige/gold paint, so I bought all new teflon cables, red bar tape, and since I'm completely hopeless with downtube shifters, I managed to scrounge a set of Kelly Take-Offs to relocate the shifters up near the brake levers.

I added a pair of red bottle holders (frame had 2 sets of braze-ons), and a red under-seat storage bag.

It was a gorgeous sunny fall day here today, so I took her for a spin and then snapped some photos. Enjoy!

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Takes a little getting-used-to, but I got the hang of it. It's much easier (for me) than downtubes, and probably safer than the stem-mount shifters. Overall I'm pleased. I do wish they sat closer to the brake levers (in other words, not as "inboard"), but it's good enough as is.

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Thanks! I need to get back on the Galaxie too. I got discouraged when my attempt to assemble the 7 speed freehub failed. I think the barrel I got off eBay has some irreparable wear internally. Seems that when I torque it down, it's noisy and there is a great deal of drag. I may just take it to a bike shop and have them put together whole rear hub assembly for me.

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  • 2 months later...

My PSN-10 has developed a bit of a shifting issue. While pedaling, it often feels like it is popping out of gear and slipping. At first I thought the freewheel was internally failing, but upon closer observation when it happens (which is hard to do!), it seems the chain is riding off of whatever cog and slipping over top of the teeth.

As luck would have it, I found a guy who writes a blog on the Park Tool site. He had a post about restoring a PSN-10, and experienced the exact same problem. He tried a number of solutions including different chains, etc... I think in the end he just blames it on the design of the teeth; They are squared off, not ramped like some of the Japanese designs.

My bike has Normandy Luxe Competition hubs, and so far as I can tell, the rear hub has English threads, not French. Therefore I should in theory be able to ditch the Normany/Maillard freewheel and install a much less expensive and more readily available Shimano (or similar). Furthermore, I can theoretically step up from a 6 speed to a 7 speed since the spacing should be the same.

I've not been particularly happy with the range of the stock freewheel. Top gear is a 12 tooth and that's fine, but the 21 tooth granny gear is just a bit tall for some of the hills around here. I can ride the bike of course, but it is taxing in some areas.

I have ordered a set of freewheel tools so that I can remove the freewheel, and I have my eye on a Shimano 7 speed freewheel with a 14 to 28 tooth range. I figure that will give me a more friendly granny while sacrificing only a little top end. Next up from that has a 34 tooth granny, but I think that might be overkill?

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Cool - do you know if their are any more modern shift mechanisms for 7speed clusters?

My initial plan with the Comete was a modern build, but an upgraded period type resto like you did is making the most sense...

Very interested to see what the final solution works out...

Rabin

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I was about to pull the trigger on the 14-28 tooth freewheel, but last night I found a NIB Shimano hyperglide 13-28 tooth 7 speed freewheel for $17 shipped, so I jumped on that instead. Inexpensive, and the 13 tooth top gear shouldn't be too far off from my stock 12 tooth. Being a hyperglide design, I'm hoping for awesome shifting behavior (and compatibility with modern chains). Stay tuned!

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