BRLVR.v2 wrote:french version of the repco Traveller.
Actually not...
I had the pleasure of talking to Mick Wilkinson about Peugeots today and got some of the story. He knows such a lot of history on the Australian bicycle industry and in particular Qld. Where to start?
A chap at Renault cars approached French Peugeot to sell Peugeot cycles in Australia. That was in the early 1970’s beginning out of Melbourne. The sales grew and the business was called Cycles Australia which, down the track, Mick ended up managing as the sales and manufacturing in Qld had grown by that time, other factors shifting the focus from Melbourne. Cycles Australia also made the Madison bikes and Goanna mtb’s very early in mtb history (mid ‘70s!) If you bought a 504 car you would find a Peugeot fold up in the back so they sold a lot of the fold ups too.
Something I didn’t know was that all the ‘early’ French made Peugeots were completely assembled in Australia from all the French parts. Importing complete bikes attracted an even more hefty tariff. I bought my UO-8 new from Annand&Thompson ,a car dealer in Brisbane, in 1975 for $196. This was a lot more than a Repco or Malvern Star ….which were about $120 from memory…but Euro prestige has always been worth something I ‘spose. Plus the mudguards still aren’t rusty.
About 1976?? Cycles Australia wanted to start using Japanese components and Australian made frames. French Peugeot required them to send a sample of the three models they would make to France first for approval. That was okayed so they built Australian Peugeots with Suntour components from then and put the Peugeot stickers on ‘em. Voila! ..DR10
Eventually Taiwan made everything cheap and the bike industry everywhere changed forever.
Mick Wilkinson was in Balmoral Amateur Wheelers when I first met him but has since been a long serving and now Life Member of Hamilton Cycling Club.
Cheers all, Owen