Bicycle Mechanics - '84-88 Peugeot: Worthwhile?

A local is selling a Peugeot road bike and asking $35. I'm curious about whether it is potentially worth taking home, fixing-up, and turning into a fixed-gear. I'm figuring this bike was made between 84 and 88 by comparing its paint job with the catalog pages shown here: http://home.wanadoo.nl/peugeotshow/

Sheldon Brown's site and other threads here indicate that Peugeot bikes went from French standard components to ISO some time in the 80s. For all the writing I see about Peugeot's '70s bikes there seems to be hardly anything about their '80s lines, so I'd like to know if anybody can tell from this sketchy information whether this bike is worth adopting and whether it will be easy to update.

I'm waiting for the seller's response to my query so I don't know anything about size, condition, or model yet. Even if it's a really fine bike, I won't buy if it's too small for me. So you now know as much as I do. Speculate away...

(Edit: The fundamental questions are: Is the frame potentially a keeper? Is it probable I'll be able to slap onto it run-of-the-mill Japanese components?)

I've got an 86 Avoriaz that I bought new way back then. It sat largely unused for many years but It has been my fair-weather (no snow) commuter going on three years now. It's a French-built model with an HLE frame, and so far has been very reliable. Nothing but normal wear & tear maintenance. Tires, a broken spoke, some cables. I'm not exactly easy on it, either. 200 pound rider with commuter "gear."

I've heard the French bikes can be hard to find parts for. Something about threading or weird sizes. Someone with more knowledge will pipe up soon I'm sure.

I have never owned a Peugeot, but from reading here, the only issues with french bikes is the bottom bracket and headset/stem are not common sizes.

If the BB and headset/stem are OK on that bike, everything else should be able to work OK regardless of country of origin.

I threw the above in, my real reason for posting is:

What type of tubes does the bike have? If it is quality tubing, then it is definitely worth more than $35... In my opinion it is probably worth more than $35 as long as it is in riding condition. (This assumes that it is the right size for you).

Which Peugeot is it? A friend recently asked me to modify his 80's Peugeot to add a granny gear. It had standard BB but the crank BCD was weird (not 130, not 110) and the rear hub was one of those heliomatic jobs. Bottom line: not easy to swap in new cluster or cranks, and didn't want to rebuild the whole drive assembly. So I told him to just get in better shape.

I have a 70's Peugeot (UO-8) that does have French threaded BB. I converted it to SS and it is currently my favorite ride for local trips (flat around here).

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2004/d/dobber4.jpg

They make nice singlespeeds.

I've heard the French bikes can be hard to find parts for. Something about threading or weird sizes. Someone with more knowledge will pipe up soon I'm sure.

By the mid 80's the French had wised up and were using mostly standard sizings.

Dude, for $35 it's hard to go wrong.

As long as the stem fits you ok, then the weird frenchy diameter won't be a problem. You should still be able to put newer bars on it if you wanted to.

There's a chance the rear hub is helicomatic, but the odds say that you'll want to put a fixie specific wheelset on it anyway. You could probably recover the wheelset on it an re-dish the rear, but putting together a new wheelset will guarantee you can get even tension and the right dish, etc.

Hopefully, as stated above, they changed to IS instead of their weird bb diameter, but sometimes you can find replacement stuff for that.

Like I said, for $35, it's perfect fixie material. Bring it home and start pulling stuff off of it.

Buy

Enjoy

I'm trying to attach a water bottle cage to my 1985 Avoriaz. Anyone know what size screws this calls for?

I have a mid 70's peugeot that was originally equipped with fenders and flat mustache handlebars. I've converted it into a FINE specimen of a fixed gear. If the bottom bracket is an old frenchie, you can always have your LBS tap it with British Standard threads and use an Italian bb (as the width will be 70 mm). Also, Harris Cyclery sells cheap Sugino cup and cone systems for french bb's. If the frame is a good fit, don't worry so much about finding the parts. You can do it, especially if there is a bike co-op in your town :)

My '84 P6 has an ISO bb, but the stem and seatpost are the goofy French sizes

I have a PKN-10 (1980 I think) frame built up as a single speed. It is a real joy. The only little oddity I had to deal with was that I had to spend a few minutes filing down a 1" quill to fit in the headset. I think it took about a mm of sanding to get it right.

Go for it, especially if it is one of the nicer frames.

Help me: what is a "helicomatic" hub?

I have an 88 single speed and it's great. Tons of tire clearance. Paid $5 for the frame and mafac brakes.