1974 Peugeot UO-8 Blue (November 2011)

Make: Peugeot
Model: UO-8
Year:  1974 (best guess)
Obtained: Sept 2011
Found: Bike Works co-op
Paid: $5.00 (Frame-set plus a few parts)

Once upon a time there was a frame-set, languishing in the corner of the local bike co-op, when the amateur 10 speed refurbisher asked “How much for the tall Peugeot frame”  the wrench said           “5 bucks,  please take it I am sick of looking at it!”.   And thus another frame-set rebuild made its way into my hands.

In just one bike I violated two of my "'guidelines for a beginner old 10 speed wrench"  don't get just a frame and avoid the French bikes.  It was however a good learning experience and although a bit tall (25") the frame, paint and decals were all in good shape.  With some help from the Late Great Sheldon Brown, and Randy's vast experience with Peugeot's over at mytenspeeds.I was able to muddle through and get this bike back up and running.  Thanks again to retro Peugeot for helping me pin down the approximate year of the bike -1974 catalog shot below.

As a combination of frame only and French bike I had a few big issues I needed to tackle; 1) there was no bottom bracket with this bike and 2) while it a had a stem it was unfortunately one of the dreaded AVA "death stems" so I could not in good conscience use it.  In addition to that it was missing wheels, derailleurs, crank-set and saddle.  On the plus side it did have the original simplex shifters which was good because the down tube shifter setup on a Peugeot is unique, I don't have a picture but the band and shifters attach in way that is much different than the Japanese or Italian approach.  Anyway that was one issue I didn't have to address.  Next time I tackle a Peugeot I will try to get a shot of the down tube shifter set up for reference. UPDATE go here to find more info on the Peugeot down tube shifters.

Hey Handsome

If you are smart you get a complete French bike including bottom bracket, because the bottom bracket shell uses French threading a standard English BB will not work, mon Dieu!. If your me and you buy just a frame like a lug-head then, if money is not object, you can buy a very nice French threaded bottom bracket from Velo Orange for 50 bucks, its an excellent component but paying 10 times the price of the frame for a BB seemed a bit much for this UO-8 so I took a different tact.   Amazon offers a nice set of French threaded BB cups with bearings and lock ring from Action for 10 bucks (here).  And I recalled reading on Sheldon's site that you could use a 70 mm (Italian) spindle if you wanted to convert your old French bike from cottered crank to cotterless(here),  another 5 bucks for a spindle (plus end bolts) and I was golden on the BB issue.  The death stem resolution was pretty straight forward, I took a 22.2 diameter Pivo Stem and patiently sanded it until it fit the 22.0 French standard head-set/threaded fork.  If you are going to work on French bikes I would seriously recommend reading what both Sheldon (here) and Randy (here) have to say about the issues you might encounter, it could save you some tears.  That is not to scare anyone away old Peugeot's they are wonderful bikes with some great ride qualities but as they say forewarned is forearmed.(NOTE: after about 1980 most French bikes adopted English standard sizing and threading)

Although it thankfully doesn't look it, underneath the shiny paint and new parts this Peugeot ended up being a bit of a "frankenbike".  The frame-set, front wheel, front derailleur, shifters and handlebars are all original/period correct and everything else is cobbled together.  The rear derailleur is a Shimano 7 speed that goes with a Japanese cotterless crank, parts bin pedals and a used but modern slotted Selle Italia saddle.

I went with white cables because that is what the catalog shows the bike came with originally and I  liked how the blue paint cleaned up after a wash and wax. I think this UO-8 while not 100% vintage turned out pretty good for being a bit of a mish mash.  It got sold to a nice tall UW student.

Ride.Smile.Repeat.