Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Finally got a bike....a few simple questions

After several weeks of looking around, I decided on what I believe to be a 1984 Peugeot PGN 10. It has been upgraded some with Shimano 105 RD, levers and brake levers, Dia-Compe brakes, Mavic MA-40 wheels laced to Shimano 105 hubs.

It needs some cleaning and TLC, but is in nice condition.

It has Look pedals, but I acutally have Shimano SPD clips I use for spin. Can I ride with with the Look pedals without too much concern of injury (I know I won't be clipped in).

I need to change the gear cables. Is it as easy as opening the shift lever, taking the old cable out of the shifter and derailleur, and putting a new cable in?

I think I'll need a new seat, but will live with what is there for now. Same with the pedals, if I can get away with it.

Thanks for any help.

What color are your look pedals? I have a set of SPD's I'd be willing to swap with you since I only ride SPD on my touring bike.

Changing cables isn't really that hard, but a bit more involved than what you have described. Chances are you will have to make some small adjustments to your derailluer stops.

Go to this site and page through until you find the tutoral on cable housings. http://bicycletutor.com/ It's a very useful site.

We will need pics of the new French Mistress, btw.

TXVintage-I have to be honest, I have no idea what I am trading in or out. Can you help me understand? Sorry, but this stuff is really new to me. I do know what Look and SPD are, but in terms of pedal differences, compatibility, etc., I have no clue.

TXVintage-I have to be honest, I have no idea what I am trading in or out. Can you help me understand? Sorry, but this stuff is really new to me. I do know what Look and SPD are, but in terms of pedal differences, compatibility, etc., I have no clue.

Well, originally I was just thinking about the actual color of the Look pedals, but you raise a vaild question in that the "era" of the Looks could be an issue. I kind of assumed they would be somewhat period correct to the bike.

Do they look like any of these? Spd pedals are just SPD pedals. Any SPD cleat will work in any SPD pedal. Looks have a couple of different cleat patterns
http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l363/awprice/looks1.jpg

So, I think the answer is yes, looks like one of those. I wasn't really shooting the pedal at the time, but got it in this photo anyway:

http://s594.photobucket.com/albums/tt28/ricochet06/?action=view&current=_MG_3660.jpg

sweet bike. I had a peugeot that I picked up when I was stationed in Germany in 79 - 81. You'll have fun with it. Might see if you can find a replacement for that old corncob cassette when you change the chain. Both probably have a bunch of miles on em.

After several weeks of looking around, I decided on what I believe to be a 1984 Peugeot PGN 10.

I need to change the gear cables. Is it as easy as opening the shift lever, taking the old cable out of the shifter and derailleur, and putting a new cable in?


Almost, it is pretty easy. One huge advantage of the older downtube shifters is that maintenance is very easy. I change out cables anymore in 15 minutes or less. Watch the video, and the Park Tool site is great too. Print out and read the front and rear derailleur maintenance guides on the park tool site. It will give you all the information you will need to change cables as well as any derailleur adjustements.

You should get yourself some good bicycle specific cable cutters.

The PGN is a sweet bike, enjoy it!

After several weeks of looking around, I decided on what I believe to be a 1984 Peugeot PGN 10. It has been upgraded some with Shimano 105 RD, levers and brake levers, Dia-Compe brakes, Mavic MA-40 wheels laced to Shimano 105 hubs.

It needs some cleaning and TLC, but is in nice condition.

<SNIP>
Thanks for any help.

You may want to see if any of the bike shops in your area run any Bike Repair clinics. This past Winter I took a Park Tools Advanced class. IT cost me $125, but for that we spent 8 hours each of us taking our bikes completely appart. After that we cleaned everything, checked the wheels (with some minor truing), lubricated everything, put on new brake and shifter cables, and for those with road bars new bar tape as well. As a take-home we also got the new Park Tools repair manual. On top of that we were given lunch and drinks. I figure the book, and cables alone were worth about $60. Add to that some assistance, and it was well worth the small cost. I am pretty handy myself, but it is nice to have some experienced bike mechanics to show you some of the tricks of the trade. It was also nice to see the differences in various bikes. We got a history lesson just look over the various parts as the class participants had anything from 1980's steel bikes, to a modern high end carbon fiber race bike. As a bonus, I had a few small parts that were rusting and the bike shop just gave me the parts for free. Those parts would have cost me about $10.

Happy riding,
André