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Cycles Peugeot

From Alfawiki
Cycles Peugeot
Company typeDivision
IndustryBicycle manufacturing
Founded1882
FounderArmand Peugeot
Headquarters
Sochaux
,
France
Area served
Worldwide
ParentCycleurope (owned by Grimaldi Industri)

Cycles Peugeot, established in 1882, is a bicycle manufacturer located in Sochaux, France, and is currently a division of Cycleurope, which is owned by the Swedish company Grimaldi Industri.

History

The origins of Peugeot trace back to Jean Pequignot Peugeot, who operated a water mill manufacturing business in the 19th century. Revenues generated from these mills facilitated the expansion into steel production facilities in Montbéliard, overseen by Jean Peugeot and his siblings. The company's emblem—a lion—was designed in 1858 by engraver Justin Blazer to represent its steel goods, including cutlery, hydraulic machinery, and starting in 1882, bicycles marketed under the name Cycles Peugeot. That same year, Armand Peugeot crafted the inaugural bicycle, a penny-farthing named Le Grand Bi, in Beaulieu-sur-Doubs (Mandeure).

During the First World War, Peugeot's output included nearly 63,000 bicycles per year alongside manufacturing 9,000 automobiles and trucks, 1,000 motorcycles, 10,000 aircraft engines, and producing six million artillery shells.

In 1926, Peugeot divided its automobile and bicycle operations: Automobiles Peugeot concentrated on car production while Cycles Peugeot specialized in bicycles. By 1930, annual bicycle manufacturing at Beaulieu had risen to 162,000 units.

By 1955, the Beaulieu facility employed approximately 3,500 personnel and produced 220,000 bicycles each year; concurrently, Automobiles Peugeot marked the production of its 100,000th vehicle. Nevertheless, as cycling interest declined across Europe during the 1950s, bicycle production dropped by half by 1956.

To counterbalance shrinking bicycle sales, Peugeot branched out into automotive component manufacturing in 1958. When cycling experienced a resurgence in popularity during the 1960s, Cycles Peugeot expanded its output of sporting, racing, and touring road bicycles.

Racing heritage

The Peugeot family was an early adopter of racing sponsorships; Paul Bourillon secured the world sprint championship title in 1896 riding a Peugeot bike. The company supported cyclists in road competitions and backed their first Tour de France champion, Louis Trousselier, in 1905.

Peugeot's cycling squad became the most triumphant factory team in Tour de France history with ten overall wins. Occasionally, the company procured handcrafted racing bicycles from independent builders such as Masi, modifying them to resemble official factory models.

Alongside competitor Mercier, Peugeot was among the last manufacturers to retain direct team sponsorship despite escalating expenses that led others to seek external funding. While rivals adopted Italian Campagnolo components, Peugeot consistently used French-made parts like Stronglight cranksets, Simplex derailleurs, and Mafac brakes. The team's final yellow jersey wearer was Pascal Simon in 1983 until injury forced him out.

By 1986, inflation combined with an oil crisis exhausted Peugeot's racing budget of 1.06 million francs before the season concluded. Director-general William Desazar de Montgaillard declared the cessation of fully sponsored Peugeot racing teams due to financial limitations.

Production bicycles

Throughout much of the early twentieth century, the majority of Peugeot bicycles were manufactured at Beaulieu (Mandeure), France; additional production occurred in Spain and after 1978 also in Canada.

The Peugeot UO-8 was introduced to the U.S. market during the 1960s as an affordable ten-speed sport/touring bicycle featuring a mild steel frame. It remained available until 1980. Equipped with Simplex derailleurs and designed with a long wheelbase for enhanced stability, it competed against heavier models such as the Schwinn Continental during the bike boom from 1972 to 1975. High manufacturing volumes occasionally resulted in quality control challenges including paint imperfections and weld flaws.

In America, the AO-8 served as Peugeot’s budget-friendly ten-speed model competing with Schwinn Varsity and Raleigh Record; its fender-equipped variant was known as the AE-8. The UE-8 came outfitted with fenders, racks, and generator lighting. Mixte frame versions included AO-18, UO-18/18C, and UE-18 models that corresponded to France’s P-, PL-, and PX-8-series road bikes.

Since its debut in 1953, Peugeot's premium offering was the PX-10E—a lightweight (21 lb) bicycle constructed from Reynolds 531 double-butted steel tubing paired with aluminum alloy components. By the mid-1980s it incorporated Campagnolo Nuovo Record groupsets. Available in the U.S. between 1975 and 1988 and continuing sales into early 1990s Europe, this model influenced more economical versions like PR-10 (featuring three Reynolds tubes) and PA-10 (made from hi-tensile tubing).

In 1974, Peugeot introduced Atelier Prestige, a bespoke frame-building workshop producing PY-10 models—customizable Reynolds steel frames resembling PX-10 designs.

The UO-10 model launched in 1977 featured aluminum cranksets and rims; its heavier counterpart UO-9 followed in 1978 with steel rims. By 1980, the PH-8 replaced the UO-8 as the entry-level road bicycle.

Later on, Peugeot’s racing team transitioned to carbon fiber PY10FC frames while continuing production of custom steel PZ10 frames. Both PZ and PY series were imported into North America until Cycles Peugeot withdrew from that market in 1990.

Factory and production developments (1974-2000)

In 1974, Cycles Peugeot took ownership of the Romilly-sur-Seine facility, transforming it into a dedicated bicycle manufacturing plant. By 1978, Canadian company Procycle Group had obtained the rights to produce and distribute Peugeot bicycles within Canada, while models manufactured in France continued to be available in the United States.

The surge in bicycle sales between 1972 and 1975 was driven largely by Peugeot’s strong racing pedigree, which boosted demand for affordable and mid-range sport and touring "ten-speed" bikes, particularly in the American market where demand often surpassed supply. However, the factory’s outdated infrastructure struggled to keep pace with production volumes and maintain quality standards. Reliance on French component suppliers limited Peugeot’s ability to compete effectively as Japanese manufacturers introduced superior and more technologically advanced parts such as derailleurs. By the mid-1980s, Peugeot began fitting some entry-level models with Japanese derailleurs to address this gap.

By 1983, ProCycle was exporting Peugeots made in Canada to the US market. In 1987, Cycles Peugeot merged with AOP to create ECIA, centralizing all bicycle manufacturing operations at Romilly. That same year, ProCycle secured distribution rights for French-made Peugeots, and in 1990, Cycles Peugeot transferred North American marketing rights to ProCycle.

The Peugeot bicycle brand was discontinued by ProCycle in 2001. Meanwhile, Cycleurope held a license to produce Peugeot-branded bicycles in Europe until 2004; export production continued briefly beyond that point.

21st century

By 2011, Peugeot bicycles were available across various countries including Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Switzerland, Poland, Canada, and Turkey.

Following Cycleurope’s initial licensing period from 1992 to 2004, a new worldwide manufacturing and distribution license was granted in 2010. This led to a brand refresh and relaunch occurring in 2011.

Road bikes

  • R01
  • R02
  • R11
  • R12
  • R13
  • R14
  • R14C
  • R15
  • R16
  • R17

Mountain bikes

  • VTT - Filou
  • VTT - Filou FS
  • VTT - RC
  • VTT - RC FS
  • VTT - Hoggar
  • M11–M19 series
  • JM241–JM249 series

Hybrid bikes

  • VTC - Black & Silver (Men's/Mixed)
  • VTC - Roland Garros
  • VTC - 1007
  • URBANITE 2.0 & 6.0

City Shopper bikes

  • Ville - Venice (Men's/Mixed)
  • Ville - Dutch Lion (Men's/Mixed)
  • C02
  • C13
  • C14

Folding bikes

  • F13

Children's bikes

  • Hoggar Junior
  • Black & Silver Junior
  • Harmonie Junior
  • Color Line Junior
  • J16 & J20 series
  • JM20

Discontinued models

Mountain bikes

  • Fun - Ladies MTB (VT1 FW)
  • US Express
  • Canyon Express (VTT 2GW)
  • Alpine Express (VTT 4BW) / (VTT 4L)
  • Europe Express (VTT 6BW)
  • Mont Blanc (VTT 2)
  • Orient Express
  • Montreal Express
  • South Pacific 21
  • Ranger (VTT24)

Touring bikes

  • Carbolite (103)
  • Cassis (PE 15TW)
  • Chambord (Ladies)(PH 46W)
  • Dordogne (PX531)
  • Provence (P6GP) and Provencelle (Ladies version)
  • Randonneur (PX 50)
  • Savoie (PX531S)

Road bikes

  • Aubisque (PE 10DW)
  • Aspin (PE10 LS)
  • Avoriaz (PE 10SW)
  • Bordeaux (P 10DW)
  • Carbon Pro and Carbon Team Line
  • Cologne
  • Comete (A400)
  • Corbier (P4)
  • Cosmic (A300)
  • Course (PB12)
  • Fibre de Carbone (PY10FC)
  • Galaxie (A500)
  • Galibier (PGN10)
  • Gentelmen (PR 60)
  • Iseran (P6), Isoard (PX10), Izoard PE400
  • Offensiv T500
  • Lautaret (PE10 B)
  • Leader 24 (C47CX) Junior racer and Leader 20 (C38CX)
  • LX 10
  • Mont Blanc (PHE 20), Mont Cenis (PSN10)
  • Perthus (PZ SIS)
  • Premiere (P10N)
  • Sports 10 and Sports 5
  • Touraine
  • Tourmalet (PH10)
  • Triathlon (PSN10T), Tristar (PH501T)
  • Ventoux models
  • Versailles (PE10 W)
  • Various series: P8, P0, PA 10, PC 10, PL 50, PSV 10, PX 10, PY 10, PZ 10, UE 8, UO 8, UO 9, X80 Series

Small-wheel bicycles

  • “BH” "Iberia" [model designation needed]
  • D and R Week-End series: D22, D40, R22, R40
  • Nouveau Style series: NS, NSA, NSB, NSL, NSM, PNS, PNSA, PNSL, PNSM across multiple sizes including junior and specialized versions
  • P20/Round-A-Bout and P500
  • Week-End DA series with export variants; DA detachable frames marketed under the “Helium” brand for foldable or removable frame options
  • Week-End PA and RA series offered in various sizes
  • Week-End Juniors available in several configurations
  • HTR Home Training Stand converts detachable frames into stationary exercise cycles

See also

External links

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