Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Peugeot UO8 Single Speed Conversion Help

Hey, I bought this bike off a kid for $20 about 2yrs ago and I wanna clean it up and convert it to single speed for school. I really love the bike but I don't know where to start and I'm a little confused by the sizing that this thing has. I wouldn't mind perhaps a different bend handlebar and new wheels but I'd like to keep the wingnuts on the hubs. Here are some pictures, any sites to visit would help too. Thanks!

http://www.photodump.com/direct/joshvr6/Bike.jpg

http://www.photodump.com/direct/joshvr6/Crank.jpg

http://www.photodump.com/direct/joshvr6/FrontBrake.jpg

http://www.photodump.com/direct/joshvr6/FrontHub.jpg

http://www.photodump.com/direct/joshvr6/RearHub.jpg

http://www.photodump.com/direct/joshvr6/Stem.jpg

Man, I´d really like to have a green bike!

I belive you could just strip the all the gearing parts and get a Surly singelator (http://www.surlybikes.com/parts/singleator_pop.html) or similar. But a new wheels with real single-speed hubs would of course be much nicer!

my friend has pretty much the same bike and he rides it as a fixed gear (with new 3 piece cranks/bb) and it seems to be a pretty solid bike. The green color looks really nice in person too.

also you shouldn't need a surly singleator on it as it has horizontal drops. you just have to occassionally adjust the chain tension. if the freewheel on the back is a standard one you might be able to get it off and put a single speed one on and just use the inner chainring.

check out sheldon brown for single speed/fixed gear stuff. he's pretty much the most referenced guy in that area and has a good section on it.

that is a lovely bicycle.

I believe that the stem you have will only take old-size french handlebars. thus if you want different bars, you will need a different stem, which will need to be altered (sanded down) to fit into your steerer. I am in fact in the market for some Peugeot handlebars/stem in decent shape, so let me know if you decide to get rid of them. I have some cruiser-style bars that should fit if you want them.

Depending on the age of the bike, you may or may not be able to get a modern singlespeed freewheel on the existing wheel. In any case you'll need to redish the wheel to do this, not hard, just check on SHeldon's site and find the "fixed gear on the cheap" article; I know you're not going for fixed, but the dishing information is the same.

If you need to get a new wheel, you might be able to transfer the wingnuts and/or axle over to the new one. I'm not sure about this but it'd be worth a try.

you should read this recent thread:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=118830&highlight=peugeot+crank

also if you go to sheldon brown's site there is a lot of information on french bikes and parts.

good luck!

Why does he need A Surly Singleator "sp". He has the right dropouts...Horizontal that thing is not need. Correct? I really wish I had one like this...The Front Chainring looks like you can just unbolt the first ring and add washers to fit on the second one. New Sidepulls are a must! Nice Seat keep! Straight bars or Bullhorns?

i hope i don't get in trouble for this but, if i were you, i would leave that bike alone.

two reasons:
1. french bikes, particularly older ones, are tough to convert. i'm not saying you can't do it but it can get hairy if you want to add new parts (esp. cranks, stems and bars).

2. that bike is hot as is. some folks will say, "if ain't fixed its broken," but i say to them, "get over it and ride your bike."

my advice is to hang on to the Peugeot and find an older nishiki, univega, fuji, panasonic or any of the japanese schwinns from the 80 (which should be more plentiful than Peugeots) for the same price and convert that. ultimately, i'd bet this will be cheaper and easier.

The bike is a Peugeot AO8. The UO8 has half chromed forks. I'd put the bike around 1973. It's a cool old ride, looks to be in very nice condition. You will have some parts sizing issues if you convert it to fixie. My advice is, no matter what else you do, make sure the rims are not steel-- steel rims are heavy and very poor for braking. However, your wheels are likely not original-- the hubs are not original equipment, nor is the rear mech, the front mech, and the pedals. Possible the stem and bars are not original either. Would have to really look at it to know.

Some oddities:
Front forks prolly spaced at 96mm
French threading in the headset and bottom bracket
odd seat post size likely 25.4, but not sure

I like old Frenchies, so I wouldn't call the idea of a conversion impossible, but it will require patience and not be as simple as the Japanese ride slartib. suggests. Should you choose to convert, you'll come out the other end with a better understanding of bike mechanics.

I should have looked closer on the drop-outs *doh*

The bike is a Peugeot AO8. The UO8 has half chromed forks. I'd put the bike around 1973. It's a cool old ride, looks to be in very nice condition. You will have some parts sizing issues if you convert it to fixie. My advice is, no matter what else you do, make sure the rims are not steel-- steel rims are heavy and very poor for braking. However, your wheels are likely not original-- the hubs are not original equipment, nor is the rear mech, the front mech, and the pedals. Possible the stem and bars are not original either. Would have to really look at it to know.

Some oddities:
Front forks prolly spaced at 96mm
French threading in the headset and bottom bracket
odd seat post size likely 25.4, but not sure

I like old Frenchies, so I wouldn't call the idea of a conversion impossible, but it will require patience and not be as simple as the Japanese ride slartib. suggests. Should you choose to convert, you'll come out the other end with a better understanding of bike mechanics.
The best thing to do with that bike is to convert it to single speed or fixed. The only thing you need to do is throw away the freewheel (actually you could use one cog on the original freewheel for the ghetto look) and add a single speed freewheel or track cog with a bottom bracket lockring. Most French bikes in the US had standard threaded hubs, even if they had French threads everywhere else. OTOH those old deraillers will never shift well by modern standards, and upgrading to a modern drive train will be almost as costly as buying a new bike.
Old Puegeots get outrageous prices on Ebay. Describe it as a "classic," ask for $75 shipping and see what happens. You might get enough to buy a new bike.

Eddy

Old Puegeots get outrageous prices on Ebay. Describe it as a "classic," ask for $75 shipping and see what happens. You might get enough to buy a new bike.

This is what I was thinking. I'm going to ride a Scott Sub 20 61cm tomorrow (I want a Sub 10), to see if I like it. $450 seemed like a fair price for one. I love the Peugeot but I'm moving farther away from school and a new bike would be just a nicer everyday ride. Is shipping a bike a big PITA? I kinda think the Peugeot needs to go to someone who would better appreciate it.

An AO8 is not likely to get even 50$ on ebay, if that. Low end of the Peugeot line, below the venerable and reliable UO8, which prolly won't get much either. Bike is tall, too, which limits sales value. Decent rider, good city beater, not particularly valuable, 70s vintage too late to make a difference, about a billion of them on these shores due to the 70s bike boom. Maybe 150 for a whole PK/PR and 7000-250 for a complete PX10, depending on vintage/condition. (7000 is not a mistype; an early 60s PX actually sold for that a few years back). Eddy m is correct about rear hub threading; but your does not appear to have the stock wheelset anyhoo, so it's likely english/BSC thread.

The old derailleurs appear to be suntours (at least the front, the rear looks like a shimano); once their patent expired, everyone copied suntour; the design is still the basis for most modern mechs. If suntours, they prolly shift real well. Arguably the best mechs ever made-- light, durable, efficent and reliable. Cheap, too. Not valuable, tho, they lack the cachet of Campy. Prolly not a discussion for the fixie board, tho. :).

I'd convert it to fixie, beater status. It'll serve you well.