Novice with an old Peugeot

aerohydro
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Novice with an old Peugeot

Postby aerohydro » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:58 pm

Hello everyone,
I picked up this bike for $20 the other day and I'm in the process of making it useful. I have the available funds and time of a regional uni student, and distance rules out most practical cycling for me unfortunately. I'd like to get a useable bike going for fun though. I'm new here and the system won't let me link to an image.

I've re-packed and adjusted the hubs and headset bearings, cleaned and lubed the chain and replaced the perished tyres. I had a go at truing the wheels, which is something I hadn't done before. The spoke nipples have a hex-head inside the rims so I used a socket to adjust them, I'll have to get a spoke key. The front rim is reasonably true, but the rear has a nasty flat spot which I'm not sure is fixable. The rims are chromed steel which I'm not really enjoying. The hubs seem ok, not sure of the make. Is it feasible to upgrade to aluminium on a 27" bike if I build the wheels myself? Could I use 700c wheels on this bike?

I ditched the steel drop bars and replaced them with an aluminium bar from my old mountain bike. On the few short rides I've had it seems very comfortable this way.

Something I'm not particularly happy with is the downtube shifters, they really don't work well for me, especially without drop bars. How difficult would it be to get myself set up with indexed rear shifting on the bars?

I'd like to service the bottom bracket but I don’t have a crank puller. Is there any way around this? Also the pedals need replacing, any suggestions?

Sorry for the long post, any ideas or recommendations would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Leon.

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europa
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Postby europa » Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:47 pm

G'day Leon,

Welcome to the nuthouse.

Crank pullers are quite cheap. Seeing you're a tinkerer, it might be worth buying one. I just bought one for my Ultegra cranks, can't remember what I paid, but discovered that the old puller I bought in the eighties still does the job. You can use an automotive puller but that's doing it the hard way and if you have to buy one, you'd might as well get the right tool. On the other hand, a shop wouldn't charge much to pull the cranks, maybe nothing if you combine it with a parts purchase.

Friction shifters are fairly bullet proof so if they aren't working nicely, something's gritty or rusty or gummy or something. However, I can appreciate you not wanting to reach down there all the time.

In going to some sort of indexed system, you'll have to match the number of cogs to the shifter. You see lots of mtb shifters going cheap on ebay, but they'll be for 7 gears or higher. I'm betting you've got a spin on gear cassette whereas the later units use a spline system. In other words, methinks you're stuck with what you've got until you get new wheels.

The good news is YES, you CAN use 700c wheels on this bike. Your old brakes should have enough reach to get to the rims. Modern brakes would be a bit more problematic though Tektro make a long reach, dual pivot brake that may fit (it's a suck it and see job). However, new cables and new pads usually improves old brakes to 'liveable' status. Moving to 700c wheels will allow you to use more modern gear sets which fits in with modern shifters.

An alternative to messing about with gears and which fits in with the 'cheap and simple' philosophy is to convert her to a fixed gear bike. If where you are is sort of flat, this is well worth considering.

Do think about whether you want to stay with flat bars or return to drops - most prefer drops though flat bars have their adherents. This will affect which shifters you buy so you need to make that decision early.

Richard

ps - putting your location in your profile avoids people asking 'where are you from?' all the time :wink:
I had a good bike ... so I fixed it

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Mulger bill
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Postby Mulger bill » Fri Oct 12, 2007 12:13 am

G'Day Leon, glad you could make it out :)

I s'pose you're talking a square taper BB? If so, remove the bolts or nuts and go for a gentle spin up and down the street, they'll quickly loosen up and fall off. :wink: Stop immediately as soon as they loosen up so you don't risk rounding the crank taper.
Of course, you could buy a crank puller too.

Otherwise, look at new rims, chromed steel is easy to ding and hard to true in my experience.

Good luck with the project.

Shaun
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011

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europa
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Postby europa » Fri Oct 12, 2007 12:39 am

I'd forgotten about that trick. It works ... apparently. Having just fitted cranks to square tapers, I can't see how (they pull on forever :shock: ), but it's an oft repeated approach to removing the things. Worth a try, even if it's just to add real experience to theory :wink:

Richard

dammit, might try that with the Europa - she's due for some new goo in the bottom bracket :D
I had a good bike ... so I fixed it

aerohydro
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Postby aerohydro » Fri Oct 12, 2007 7:53 am

Thanks for the replies.

Yep, tapered square spindle. I suppose I'll just buy a crank puller, I'm not averse to buying tools. It'd be nice if I could use the thing for other bikes though. The cranks are "MAXY" brand, any idea if they use a standard thread? I suppose French bikes are like French cars and everything is French sizes.

Ok so it looks like I'd be renewing complete wheels and shifters at the same time, or stick with what I've got for the moment. Well that is unless it's worth replacing just the rims. The friction shifters work quite well, its the downtube location that bothers me. I'll ride with them for a while before I change anything. It's good to know I can use modern wheels, that should make things easier. The brakes are Mafac Racers, which seem to work quite well and have plenty of adjustment.

The whole fixed gear idea intrigues me, but I'd like to keep this bike a bit more versatile. There are plenty of old steel bikes around where I live, so If I ever want a fixed gear bike it shouldn't be too difficult.

Generally speaking, is it better to buy parts online or through a bike shop?

Thanks again,

Leon.

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europa
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Postby europa » Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:13 am

Where to buy the bits is a case of suck it and see - I buy from both the lbs and the internet and the results vary.

You could try moving the friction shifters up onto the bars. Heavymetal uses friction shifters mounted up there due to hand problems he has, and it works for him.

Ahh, here's a thought. A lot of older and probably cheaper bikes have a shifter up on the bars. They're indexed but you can probably find them in six speed and if you've got a five speed cluster now, it's not hard to find six speed on ebay. The six will go on your old bike though you may need a small spacer to give you enough room between the forks (my son's 70's Gitane now wears 6 cogs with the addition of a washer).

A lot of bikes from the eighties used friction shifters mounted on the stem - basically just a different mount for the shifters themselves and a cable guide/supporter down where the downtube shifters used to live. I've got a set here but am going to mount them on the lad's old Gitane.

Richard
I had a good bike ... so I fixed it

531db
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Postby 531db » Fri Oct 12, 2007 4:43 pm

Aerohydro asked:

"The cranks are "MAXY" brand, any idea if they use a standard thread? I suppose French bikes are like French cars and everything is French sizes. "

These would be Japanese Sugino Maxy cranks and will use a standard 22mm crank puller.

531db, (who has a set of Maxy currently on the Falcon fixie.)

aerohydro
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Postby aerohydro » Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:25 pm

Well I've made some small progress. I went to my closest bike shop and picked up a crank extractor for $15. I cleaned and greased the bottom bracket and put everything back together. The spindle is a bit pitted where the bearings run so I should replace it I think. Is this likely to be an obtainable part? "E707" and "3T" are stamped on it.

I went for a twenty minute ride and while most things seem to work well enough, I don't feel completely comfortable. I need to ride more to be sure but I think some experimentation with bar styles is in my future.

The cranks must be Sugino, the chainrings and the caps over the spindle nuts were a dead giveaway.

I'll certainly look into getting a 6 speed freewheel, I have some cheap Shimano shifters I can probably use from my old mountain bike. I'd need to buy a tool to remove freewheels wouldn't I?

Leon.

aerohydro
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Postby aerohydro » Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:08 pm

I found a 6 speed freewheel on ebay, item number: 320167456446

Is this what I'm after?

Thanks again for all the help.

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Mulger bill
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Postby Mulger bill » Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:31 am

Yep, special tool needed for the frewheel, can't help with a bodge this time, sorry.

Shaun
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011

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europa
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Postby europa » Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:34 am

The old spin on type cassettes managed to employ a bewildering number of special tools to get them off.

Getting them on is easy - just spin them on and the action of the chain tightens them on the thread.

However, getting them off again ranges from 'bloody near impossible' to 'impossible'. However, it's usually possible to dismantle the rotten things and then to clamp the remains in a vice and turn the whole mess off the wheel hub. Sheldon Brown explains all. I actually have some of the special tools ... and have always wound up using the full destruction method.

Richard
I had a good bike ... so I fixed it

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Kid_Carbine
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Postby Kid_Carbine » Sat Oct 13, 2007 6:15 pm

As long as you have the correct freewheel tool, & some idiot has not tried to remove it before with a cold chisel & half a housebrick, & you use the correct method of removal, then the old one should come off with nothing more that a clenching of teeth & a good old grunt.

I have NEVER had difficulty removing an undamaged freewheel, but the trick is to lock the tool in place tightly with either the skewer or axle nuts [as appropriate] & secure the tool in a vice. Grab the wheel at the rim & unscrew. The tool needs to be locked in place on the freewheel TIGHTLY & you should only break the seal on the thread, then remove it all from the vice & loosen the skewer or axle nut a smidgin to allow further unthreading.

Once it is undone by about a quarter to half a turn, you 'should' be able to remove the freewheel by hand using the tool.

Do it right, do it once. Buy the correct tool.
Carbine & SJH cycles, & Quicksilver BMX
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aerohydro
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Postby aerohydro » Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:21 pm

Hmmm, I thought I posted a message yesterday but I must have stuffed it up somehow. I did about an hours ride yesterday, a short bit of tar then onto some mostly smooth gravel forestry tracks. The bike held together nicely, but I'm shamefully unfit. I managed to dig up a pair of stem mount friction shifters so I stuck them on for a try. I'll have a ride tomorrow morning and see if it's easier for me to use that way.

By the way I set up a velospace account with some pictures if anyone's interested. I can't post a link but you can just browse to "Rescued Peugeot".

A set of bullhorns is my next prioity, to try them out at least.

Leon.

aerohydro
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Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 7:53 pm
Location: North Coast NSW

Postby aerohydro » Sun Oct 28, 2007 9:17 pm

Looks like I only thought the mountain bike bars were comfortable. I put some drops back on and they feel much better overall. It's good to be able to stretch out properly and move my hands around a bit. It feels a bit less secure on loose gravel, but I suppose it is a road bike.

The brake levers I used were the Dia Compe ones originally on the bike, but I took off those stupid extension levers. This leaves a little aluminium boss poking out the side of the lever base. Is there any reason why I shouldn't file these off?

I'll post some pictures in a few more posts.

Thanks

Seele
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Postby Seele » Wed Oct 31, 2007 12:56 am

aerohydro wrote:The brake levers I used were the Dia Compe ones originally on the bike, but I took off those stupid extension levers. This leaves a little aluminium boss poking out the side of the lever base. Is there any reason why I shouldn't file these off?
I have a pair of gold-finished Weinmann brake levers with the extended spindles for lever extensions; by the way if you do not know, Weinmann and Dia Compe shared designs for their brakes.

Some earlier Weinmanns have the shaft rivetted in place making it impossible to remove, but this particular one, you only need to remove the bolt for holding the steel band for mounting it to the handlebar and the whole shaft slides out, making it easy to get the extended part cut off.

I haven't done mine yet but will talk to a friend with lathe access, which will be but a minute to get them trimmed to length. And if you use rubber brake hoods then no one would be any wiser.

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