laman012

Hi,
This is my first post. I got a hold of a peugeot UO8, looks like a early 1970's (its a cadre allege peugeot, not a special cadre allege peugeot... although personally I do not know the difference). I am a college student and I am just using it for transportation around the campus and environs. I just changed the nasty rigida steel rims for some better mavic rims and I have a shimano rear derailleur (is it better than the simplex original?) Now I am looking to replace the clottered crankset and I don't know where to begin looking and for what to look. Are there also other parts that I should replace? I need some advice.
Thank you in advance,
Ladulé

Here are some photos

dbg

I have an early 70's UO8 that is one of my favorite rides. I haven't done too many cottered crank removals (2 done, 2 waiting) but my UO8 was not easy to get apart. The bottom bracket is probably french threaded which is harder to find. I replaced the BB with a Stronglight French BB from Harris Cyclery. I don't think they have any more but you could call them. In fact you may want to start at Sheldon Brown's web pages on French bikes (https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/french.html) I converted mine to a simple single speed and love it.

dbg

By the way, it looks like you have it in the big-big gear combo in the picture. The rear der is stretched nearly to its limit. That's a mild no-no (if you stretch the compatibility limits of equipment that you may subsequently install, you might find that shifting into the big-big combo has disasterous results (really bad).

dck

The U08 makes a great commuter/bad-weather bike with a few modern upgrades. I've put an old Ultegra crank on my '72 U08 using the original BB cups with a Series 5 square taper spindle. That plus 700c alloy wheels, Tektro dual pivot brakes, a new stem and flat bar make it a very comfortable ride.

joe v

Just wondering ... what's with all the blood on the floor? And where did you hide the body?

laman012

How would I go about doing this? Or to place a single speed crankset on it?
Thanks.

laman012

Haha, I do not know. I was just storing this bike in the my dorm's basement and I guess the floor was dirty.

dck

I found a Series 5 square taper spindle which allowed me to use the original BB cups, however these are almost impossible to find anymore. A better choice is to get a set of Sugino cups from Harris and a regular Series 3 spindle. Alternatively you could try a threadless cartridge BB.

John E

Your decals suggest mid-1970s.

Here's my upgraded/updated 1970 UO-8 commuter/cyclocross/transporter/beater, originally purchased as a bare frame in 1972, when I worked at a Peugeot delearship.

https://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...0&d=1161131253

stem: Salsa 22.2mm, sanded down to 22.0
bottom bracket: Sugino cup-and-spindle
crankset: Sugino Aero, 165mm, 45-42T
freewheel: SunTour Ultra 6-speed, 13-15-17-20-23-26
front derailleur: Shimano Titlist
rear derailleur: SunTour Cyclone
shifters: SunTour ratchet barcons
saddle: Brooks Competition
hubset: Normandy Luxe Competition 36-hold high-flange
rims: Rigida aluminum
tires: Schwinn 27 x 1-3/8" knobbies
brake levers: Weinmann
front brake caliper: Mafac racer, KoolStop salmon pads
rear brake caliper: Peugeot-branded Weinmann Vainqueur 999; Koolstop salmon
front bag: Bellwether, with aluminum over-the-handlebars support bracket
rear rack: Pletscher "mousetrap"

The good: an eminently practical and enjoyable transportation bike
The bad: French threads and diameters; a bit heavy
The ugly: "theft-resistant" condition of paint and decals

laman012

So all I would have to do is buy those sugino cups then I could buy any shimano crankset and put it on the bike?

John E

I believe so. There are two kinds of cups, thin-walled and thick-walled, and the corresponding spindles have correspondingly wider-spaced or narrower-spaced bearing races. Some enterprising folks use spindles designed for 70mm Italian BBs and thick cups with 68mm English, French, or Swiss BBs and thin cups.

dck

You'll also need a new square taper spindle to replace the original cottered crank spindle that came on the U08.

Look at this as another option. You get the whole shebang for $17.

https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg...=YS-BB99368110

laman012

So what I need to buy is:
Sugino cups
shimano ultegra crankset

and I am good to go?

Also, does anyone know what size pump will fit the frame?

localtalent

Keep in mind you need to get the BB chamfered to use those YST threadless things, at least according to Harris' site.

Those cotter pins are a huge pain to get out, I attacked mine with a power drill, a hammer, and a tap for 4 hours and got nowhere.

I ended up with a set of Sugino cups and a junk-drawer square taper spindle, but there's a tiny bit of play (.5 to 1mm) in the bb, which is a pain. Try and salvage the old cups if you can, French thread is getting hard to find. There really isn't anything wrong with cottered BBs per se, if your pins are in good shape and you can get them out to overhaul the BB without replacing it, you could do that too. Your other, pricier option, is Phil Wood mounting rings and a UN72, which I might do on mine - mine has sentimental value, I wouldn't recommend this option otherwise.

The Simplex derailleurs that came on these were mostly plastic and prone to cracking. The Suntour is much better, and a common replacement when they give up the ghost.

Might want to consider some new brake pads too, you can put them on for not much and the bike stops much better. I got some Pyramid ones on the cheap, but the KoolStops are nicer.

Grand Bois

Aren't you forgetting the spindle? You need something to bolt that crankset to. Changing from a cottered crankset to cotterless is pretty advanced wrenching. Are you sure you're ready for it? My impression is that you are not. I don't mean to insult you. I think even a lot of professional bike mechanics would be stupified if asked to complete such a project. I know the nose pickers at my LBS would be.

According to the Harris Cyclery website, those YST bottom brackets require that the bottom bracket shell be chamfered using a tool that most shops don't have. Maybe people are using them without having the shell chamfered and getting away with it, I don't know. They haven't been on the market for long.

mastershake916

I have just about the same bike, same paint, same seat, except still all simplex.
This thread should help me out.

dck

You'll need the spindle also. Looks like Harris sells those for about $15. Another $30 for the Sugino cups. Depending on the condition of the bearing balls, you may want to get new ones also.

laman012

I just got some of those sugino french threaded BB cups. Now, what size spindle should I get to fit in a shimano double crankset? and is any shimano double crankset compatible with my 5 speed rear cassette? thank you in advance.

John E

Absolutely. Use an SRAM PC-58 or other "8-speed" chain with both. By the way, the rear cogset is technically a freewheel, rather than a freehub/cassette.

Grand Bois

You'll need to use a crank that uses a square taper spindle. Harris Cyclery has some, including some old Ultegras. I suggest that you buy the crankset from them and get them to sell you a spindle of the correct length to go with it. Spindle length is determined by the type of crank you're using. I think you need about 110mm for an Ultegra double, but check that with them.

unworthy1

According to the Harris Cyclery website, those YST bottom brackets require that the bottom bracket shell be chamfered using a tool that most shops don't have. Maybe people are using them without having the shell chamfered and getting away with it, I don't know. They haven't been on the market for long.
Back before Harris was selling them, I recommended one to a friend with an old Raleigh that has the 26tpi BB threading. Since he (and I) didn't know any better, he just stuck it in and has been riding it on his SingleSpeed commuter ever since... with NO shell chamfering. Maybe just dumb luck. I'd only resort to this style BB if the threading was damaged beyond help. Not that hard to find other means for undamaged FR and Swiss BB shells, at least so far...

dck

I agree with Dirtdrop. Give Harris a call and buy a spindle and crank that will give you a halfway decent chainline. I have a 5N spindle on my U08 because that was all I could find. With the old derailleurs, 5 speed freewheels and friction shifters, chainline is not all that important so long as it's not way off. Also, make sure that the right side is long enough so the small chainring doesn't hit the chainstay. I think either the 3K, 3N or 3S would work, but check with Harris.

Grand Bois

Harris quit selling the YST bottom brackets due to quality issues.

mastershake916

Very nice UO8.

laman012

Will this spindle work with an ultegra crankset?
Harris says that a shimano double needs 113-115cm and this is 114cm so I am assuming that it will work.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...0422&rd=1&rd=1