Sixty Fiver

We'll disagree on the Mafac brakes, which are favoured by many and suffered more from being mated to chromed rims with flexy hardware.

As for 40 year old Simplex derailleurs, I don't consider them to be practical or safe and have already presented some excellent replacement options... I am sure that back in the day it was pretty common to swap the plastic Simplex for a Suntour or Shimano unit as these were very well made and just keep going and going.

cookcrankcook

I have a 1980 10 speed Peugeot mixte that has the Simplex system. I care much more about the ride quality and ease of riding than I do about keeping all of the parts vintage. Is it possible to replace the drivetrain with something modern like Tiagra components?

noglider 

Definitely, but getting the system to "index" takes more money and effort than just getting it to work. Tiagra front and rear derailleurs are good quality and a good value. If you leave the existing freewheel, you'll have to use shifters that don't index. Indexing is where the shifters have click stops at discrete points rather than being continuously variable, such as on a volume knob on an old radio. Most shifters sold these days are the indexing kind, so you're best off finding old shifters or using your existing ones.

If you want a complete indexing system, you have to replace the rear wheel entirely, and while you're at it, the rear wheel is likely to be wider than the existing one, so you will face the decision of whether or not to spread the frame permanently, and that's a job by itself. At this point, the time and money spent are questionable but not out of the question.

What prompts you to think of this? Is the system working badly now? If it's working properly, you may be best off keeping it until it no longer works.

noglider 

I just noticed that no one addressed this point.

If the shifter or derailleur moves back after you "yank" that means the friction on the shifter is not high enough. Tighten the friction nut, which is the nut that holds the shifter on its pivot post.

speedy25

Surprisingly the shifting on my bike works well. I did have a problem with the FD. First it was loose. I tightened it up without breaking it. then after some use I found it was slightly bent. A little tweak and it shifts good and doesnt rub.

RD isnt any different than any other one. Set the screws and go.

-SP

cookcrankcook

The deraileur is bent and not able to shift to some of the gears. Honestly, I bought the bike for the lady, because she really wants a mixte, but she can 't do the non-indexed shifting and the centerpull brakes are **** and her rim is bent beyond truing capabilities. I am just thinking if I have to replace both wheels and the brakes anyway than I should just do the whole drive train. So I take it that there is no way to get an indexed freewheel? Also, we go on a few rides a year doing 50-75 mi. We live in Chicago so right now she's just getting a gear dialed in and then refusing to shift, and I don't think that will work for some of our more hilly rides. What's up with these suntur (or something close) Japanese parts on all the old mixtes on craigslist? My first reaction is to sell her frame and try to buy one that someone has already modernized, but selection of mixtes is low and all of the nicer ones seem to have free wheels and parts from that company. Are those parts just high quality vintage components that look nice or can handle some long rides? Oh, and thanks for your help! That answers a lot of my questions already!

cookcrankcook

The deraileur is bent and not able to shift to some of the gears. Honestly, I bought the bike for the lady, because she really wants a mixte, but she can 't do the non-indexed shifting and the centerpull brakes are **** and her rim is bent beyond truing capabilities. I am just thinking if I have to replace both wheels and the brakes anyway than I should just do the whole drive train. So I take it that there is no way to get an indexed freewheel? Also, we go on a few rides a year doing 50-75 mi. We live in Chicago so right now she's just getting a gear dialed in and then refusing to shift, and I don't think that will work for some of our more hilly rides. What's up with these suntur (or something close) Japanese parts on all the old mixtes on craigslist? My first reaction is to sell her frame and try to buy one that someone has already modernized, but selection of mixtes is low and all of the nicer ones seem to have free wheels and parts from that company. Are those parts just high quality vintage components that look nice or can handle some long rides? Oh, and thanks for your help! That answers a lot of my questions already!

noglider 

If the brakes are not working well, you are doing something wrong. They are good brakes.

You can put on a wheel that accepts a 7-speed freewheel, and that will index with a 7-speed shifter. Or you could put on a wheel that has a 7-speed freehub, aka cassette hub. That would index, also, and it would be a bit more durable than the thread-on freewheel type of wheel.

But the expense of doing so might not be justified. If you do the work yourself, it can be worth the money expense, but do you want to spend the time?

Take a look at the Kona Coco. There are other mixte bikes available new.

cookcrankcook

I am going to try to tackle it myself and hopefully gain a valuable skill in the process. If it goes bad at at least I'm not going to be the one on the bike, right?

noglider 

Heh. You'll be out some time or money or both but you'll be wiser and richer for the experience. And the same will be true if it were a bike you were aiming to ride.

SpeedofLite 

Zombie Thread Alert:
Although I normally post these vintage articles over in C &V, I thought this one fits really good in Bike Mechanics, and in this thread in particular.
I didn't compare info in this article to that provided in the thread, but hopefully it adds some value.