Texas - Mr_Christopher - I hear you picked up a new project bike.

Before & After photos pronto! :D

Cuda, you get around man :-) It took me all but about 2 minutes to realize the seller and I knew you. He's a really nice guy and I think he's pleased it went to someone who's genuinely excited about it and not a flipper.

Anyhow, it's a '71 (per the seller) Peugoet mixte in nice condition for it's age. Hints of rust here and there, the chrome rims are passable (but not perfect) a few minor scratches on the frame but overall it's sweet and a keeper. I want to keep it mostly original (except for the derailers).

I'll be posting pics tonight in the C&V forum and add a few to this thread. I've been wanting a cool mixte for ages now, they are just so sporty looking, but the CL ones I have seen are always in horrifying condition (for the price) or they're too small. As goldilocks said, this one is just right.

Red frame, all decals are crisp, nice chrome tipped forks, chrome fenders, head and tail light (powered by generator), really elegant looking bike. With this purchase I feel like I have finally come of age in the C&V world. it's cleaning up nicely and I am slowly polishing all the shiny bits. Mother's Aluminun polish is the scoop of the month for me. Gotta love the C&V forum. I'll need your advice once I get going. Maybe you have some parts I can buy :-) My plan so far includes:

clean and polish
replace chain
replace both derailers (I want steel not plastic, considering the Simplex SX100 sold at Velo Orange)
replace all cables
clean and polish
replace tires, tubes and rim liners
and clean and polish some more
add a Brooks saddle.

I am agonizing over which saddle to buy. I have B17s on my 3 other bikes and I'm leaning towards getting a B68 or an Imperial on this one. Thing is I'd like the B68 but this is not an upright bike, this one has those real narrow bars, almost moustache like so I'm wondering how well that one would work out. It has a sporty and forward sitting position.

This is going to be my show bike for sure. Then I am done and I'll be showing this one off at the upcoming vintage swap meet in Oct.

More soon!

Chris

Details and couple dozen photos can be seen here (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=9726220&posted=1#post9726220)

This the "before" picture...

http://www.stampola.com/bikes/dsc06877.jpg

And in progress:

http://www.stampola.com/bikes/dsc06903.jpg

Sweet Mixte Mr. C! Depending on what direction you want to go with FD and RD I imagine we have some stuff locally that will work really well.

Looking forward to the polished final results!

I'd go SunTour for the derailleurs if you're going to replace them. SunTour V-Luxe or something similar can be had for the same price as those SX100 Simplex pieces on eBay. Shifting will be better.

I'd go SunTour for the derailleurs if you're going to replace them. SunTour V-Luxe or something similar can be had for the same price as those SX100 Simplex pieces on eBay. Shifting will be better.

Thanks and I'll have to look into those. I've also been reading about the Suntour Cyclone MK II in the C&V forum and they seem promising. Man my budget is already shot to heck and I haven't even begun!

Chris

Yeah, the Cyclone MkII is an even better model, but you really can't go wrong with a good condition / lightly used SunTour part. Even their lower end parts were quality functioning derailleurs that could put the European examples to shame.

Nice!

Be sure to submit your photos and info to Doohickie for his Mixte Gallery. (http://themixtegallery.wordpress.com/)

not to highjack your thread, chris...but i just converted this to ss for my dad:
http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/6749/cent.png

1980 centurion lemans
nice lugged steel frame w/ hand detailed lugs and pin striping

i added:

wald bars
felt cafe grips
cheap pyramid levers
gumwalls, tubes, rimstrips
18t shimano freewheel
sram pc1 chain
brake cables

i left the 52/40 double chainrings up front and ran the chain on the 40t.
also, stem, quilted seat (badass), seatpost, bb, diacompe cantilevers, cable housing and wheels are stock.
rides like a 30yr old steel framed dream.

I love the mixte, it looks great. I'd love to get one but I just can't seem to find one for the over 6ft crowd. That may be best though because if I bring home one more bike I may be kicked to the curb, lol.

Mutt

Thanks for the info everyone. I am slowly polishing all the shiny bits and I'm amazed at what you can do with ugly, plain aluminum. I am getting a mirror finish on most everything using a combination of Easy Off (the no fume formula), Mothers Aluminum polish and a little 0000 steel wool (not in that order, and I realize people who use steel wool do not go to heaven but I'm using it on aluminum and not chrome so there!). I'm even polishing all the bolt heads and many of the parts now look brand new. I'll add some new photos soon.

Robot guy, cool build for your Dad. Mine will be riding this Peugeot when we ride together.

Chris

Surprised you're getting results with the No Fume stuff. I used the Professional grade stuff and it still had some anodizing that I had to manually remove.

To really get a deep mirror finish out of aluminum parts, after you've you've gotten it really shiny, the last step is to take the mother's aluminum polish and work it with a latex (or nitrile if you're allergic) glove. The white paste should work into a very thin black paste as you work it. It'll get thinner and thinner as you continue to work it. Once it's practically water, work it for about another 30 seconds or so. Wipe it off with a microfiber cloth, and then "clean polish" it with a 2nd clean microfiber cloth. Work in small sections, and don't have anything pressing to do for a while. This step take a long time if you really want the results. A lot of guys do this for their polished aluminum wheels on show cars.

There are also products out there like Zoop Seal (http://www.zoopseal.com) to protect the shine and keep the polished surface from dulling.

Teeleton

Surprised you're getting results with the No Fume stuff. I used the Professional grade stuff and it still had some anodizing that I had to manually remove.

Cuda, parts like the kickstand still have that anodized look, they're just shiny now :-) I'm sure I could work harder on it and make it look better but the brakes and other bits look pretty close to perfect so I'm calling it done for now. I might work on the kickstand more later though. Oh, and according to this guy I am using the wrong Easy Off and should be using what you use. ---> http://www.raydobbins.com/polishing/


Teeleton, thanks for the tip. I was already thinking about how much effort I have put into polishing and wondering if there was a way to seal it or something so I don't have to go through this multiple times each year. That stuff is spendy but i guess worth it.

Chris