Riding around an old Peugeot...

[Baron Blubba]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

A little gallery of the shots I took of this one along the time I had it.

https://pbase.com/jhuddle/peugeot_u08

Thanks. It doesn’t get any better than the pic called Ride 1.
I’m curious what you sold it for?
Man, I’m just a sucker for a purple bike.

[El Chaba]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

Man, I’m just a sucker for a purple bike.

Gitane had a similar color. It looks fabulous with silver parts, chrome, and a few odd bits of Delrin….

[buddybikes]

The U08 cost 89.00 in 1969, my sister bought one and subsequently had it stolen while in univ library.

Careful working on it everything is French threads

[classtimesailer]

Looks like the brake pads have been replaced already — too bad.
I can’t remember if the rims are hooked but if they are, splurge on the folding Pasela protites.
Don’t change a thing and don’t let anybody talk you out of that saddle. It’s likely only a model 80 but hard to find in that condition. Maybe get some Christophe toe clips and straps. Dig the OG cockpit with the drops pointing at the rear dropouts.

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by dddd

LOTS of tire choices in 27" these days, skip the cheapies since they aren't even cheap any more.
Basic tires of choice are either the Conti Ultrasport, Vittoria Zaffiro, or Conti
Gatorskin, in order of increasing puncture resistance. All are good choices and Paselas are also available in belted and non-belted versions with more supple tan sidewalls.
...
The crankarms should be re-tapped for modern pedals in lieu of forcing them in with brute torque. I've seen pedal eyes split open after someone rode too many miles on a crankarm having forced-in 9/16" pedals in their 14mm-threaded crankarm eyes.

I wasnt sure what the spindle size was on the pedal, but I saw the brand is "Lyotard" and from what I see on ebay, it looks like they were mostly 9/16", so im hoping that ill be able to find something relatively easy.

Re: tires, im just gonna go for the $30/set Kendas... not gonna be riding this thing a ton. Just need something that isnt dry-rotted.

Originally Posted by Peter P.

Regarding the seatpost, from my Sutherland's Manual:

"Tubing inside diameters vary so much from maker to maker that no size listed can be considered correct until actually tried in a bicycle."

French Seatpost Sizes (note: Older French bikes had 28.0mm seat tubes which is smaller than the more common 28.6. Therefore it stands to reason the seatposts would be smaller.

French

(Common Tubing) 25.0, 25.5, 25.8, 26.0
(Quality Tubing, Plain Guage) 26.2
(Butted) 26.4, 26.6

Specs from my Sutherland's Manual as well.

Definitely don't spend any effort trying to hunt down replacement parts unless you're into a true restoration. As has been pointed out, French specs are not your common, interchangeable specs. That includes stem and bar diameter, and threading.

Don't replace the chain or gears; I see tons of bikes that vintage rolling fine, because the parts wore together.

As has been mentioned, the best way to improve braking is to replace the steel rims with aluminum. Many of those older bikes had textured rim walls to attempt to improve steel rim braking. Works well enough in the dry, not in the wet.

Mafac brake pads wear real quick. FYI.

I wouldn't change a thing on that bike except fix that slipping post.

Thanks for digging that info up! I appreciate it. Ill need to bring some calipers to my moms next time i go down and measure it up..

Youre absolutely right about the rims. They have a textured design. I wont be riding around in the rain at all, and my mom lives in the burbs, so im sure ill be fine with the steelies for a while. Too much hassle to get replacement aluminum wheels, unless i can find a cheap set for free and feel like tinkering.

Originally Posted by classtimesailer

Looks like the brake pads have been replaced already — too bad.
I can’t remember if the rims are hooked but if they are, splurge on the folding Pasela protites.
Don’t change a thing and don’t let anybody talk you out of that saddle. It’s likely only a model 80 but hard to find in that condition. Maybe get some Christophe toe clips and straps. Dig the OG cockpit with the drops pointing at the rear dropouts.

Sry what do you mean about the brake pads? Regarding the pedals/clips, I am not usually kitted up when i ride this thing, so I am riding in Vans and these road pedals dont feel great as theyre such a small platorm. Was hoping to replace them with a bigger, yet classy platform.

For the tires, I saw the Paselas, and they'll be $60 for a set vs Kendas which would be $30 for a set. For a bike ill be JRA a dozen times a year, Ill probably just do the Kenda. Especially since I dont have any other bikes with 27" that I can eventually swap them over to if I wanted to.

[classtimesailer]

The Mafac Racer brakes came with pad holders with replaceable pads. These days, many of us put KoolStop pads in the Mafac holders.

You’ll probably pay dearly for classy platforms with French threads. Put that money towards tires that are more than twice as nice as the Kendas.

Enjoy the Peugeot. It is in fantastic shape. I wish it was at my mom’s house. All I have there to ride is my Dad’s Breezer citibike or my brother’s old Rockhopper.
I should take my PA-10E to my mom’s next week when I visit.

[Hilltopperny]

Get some Paselas. The Kenda tires aren't much less and are not as nice imho!

Sent from my SM-S127DL using Tapatalk

[Spaghetti Legs]

Off the top of my head, 26.6 post was used a lot in French bikes in the 60’s and 70’s, although there is some 26.4 around. If there is a coop near your moms I’d ride over there and see what they have in the seat post bin.

https://www.hilarystone.com/seatposts266264.html

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs

Off the top of my head, 26.6 post was used a lot in French bikes in the 60’s and 70’s, although there is some 26.4 around. If there is a coop near your moms I’d ride over there and see what they have in the seat post bin.

https://www.hilarystone.com/seatposts266264.html

Oh id probably need to ride it over to brooklyn since she lives on long island.. may be a good excuse to go to brooklyn though

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by classtimesailer

You’ll probably pay dearly for classy platforms with French threads. Put that money towards tires that are more than twice as nice as the Kendas.

Wow i completely didnt even think that the pedals/crank might have some kind of french threading to them... damn the french!

[jvp]

To quote Chas from bikeforums: "is it wrong, or is it french?"

[picstloup]

check out this ad on leboncoin here in france...

https://www.leboncoin.fr/velos/2317830983.htm

this video is totally worth a look as well...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NnRylX5S-0

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by fmradio516

Wow i completely didnt even think that the pedals/crank might have some kind of french threading to them... damn the french!

Yep, thats the "beauty" of bikes like this. French standards on a lot of it are different so you really have to do your research. After my U-08 I said no more French bikes. Then I got a Stella for a winter project that was fun, but a pain in the butt. Once again I vowed, "No more French Bikes"! Then last year I picked up a newer Peugeot that was supposed to be more standard in terms of parts sizes, threading, etc. Went to upgrade the DT shifters and found non-standard DT shifter bosses brazed on the bike. NO MORE FRENCH BIKES!!!

[fmradio516]

Im stuck between getting a set of 27 x 1-1/4 tires or.... 1-1/8

Anyone have any opinions??

[Peter P.]

27 x 1 1/4" were standard then. My neighbor Frankie had a UO-8 at the same time I owned a slightly lower tiered Libertas. Both bikes had 1 1/4" tires. I believe the Peugeots came with Hutchinsons. 70 psi. was the common max inflation pressure of the day (mid-70s).