jtricer1973

Hey guys, I have a 1981 Peugeot frame that I am going to build up. What are my options for upgrading to a cotterless crank? I would like to upgrade the bottom bracket if possible as well. Anyone know of a straight swap crank and BB? Any tips and info will be greatly appreciated.

Or should I reuse the original bottom bracket and just get another crank?

Kommisar89

You mean like this - this is Peugeot UO8 with the original French threaded BB cups from the cottered BB, a Stronglight 118mm spindle and Stonglight 49D crank. I had to use a 2mm spacer to get the chainline right so a 121mm spindle probably would have been better:

jtricer1973

Wow, that looks nice. Thats what I am talking about. Hey, what threading does an 81 have. Its a UE08 but I am getting rid of the E. LOL!

Poguemahone

a 1981 is likely Swiss thread, seriously limiting BB options. The extant cups may be thin walled as well, which also limits spindle switchovers. Most Japanese crank spindles, for example, use thicker walled BB cups You might be down to pretty much Phil Wood, perhaps just the Phil mounting rings with a Shimano un72 BB (No other Shimano BB will work in conjunction with the Phil rings, sorry).

Kommisar89

I would have thought it was French. Either way though, my thought on this topic has generally been to keep it French. I think Japanese cranks use a JIS taper and won't fit on a ISO spindle so if you go with a Japanese spindle you're stuck with a Japanese crank too. I took a gamble, figuring that if French BB cups are generally thin walled than French spindles would probably match them. The Stronglight spindle worked out perfect with the original cups except that it positioned the crank just slightly too close to the frame. It would have been perfect for a fixie with one chainring but for a double I had to space it over 2mm.

Maybe it's just me but the onslaught of Japanese compoents always struck me as the end of an era (of classic European bikes) so even though they often work better, I try to keep with the Euro theme. Stronglight spindles and cranks are fairly plentiful and cheap on eBay.

Kommisar89

While I can't be 100% certain, I suspect any of several Stronglight cranks from that period with a 121mm Stronglight spindle will slide right into your existing BB cups.

bluenote157

from what i heard, you can use a sugino spindle and keep your existing cups. This will give you square tapered..which will open up to more cranks...and thus pedals..
I had a UO8 and it was a pain getting stuff for it. Another option i think is the YST threadless bb. I dont know how good they are though.???

Poguemahone

Not on most Peugeots. Peugoets stock generally had thin walled cups on the Bottom Bracket. The aforementioned Stronglight spindles should work, but not Japanese ones, unless the Japanese ones are made for an Italian BB, which is slightly wider, thus able to fit with the thin-walled cups.

IME, which is based strictly on (a lot of) wrenching these bikes:
Prior to 1979, Peugeot used French threading in the Bottom bracket
From 1979 to about 1984, Peugeot used Swiss threading in the Bottom bracket.
After 1984 or thereabouts, Peugeot used English threading.

Likewise, most vintage Motobecanes and Astras are Swiss threaded. Oddly, some Swiss bikes are French thread.

That should now be as clear as mud.

cudak888 

Absolute junk. I had my doubts as to how bad they really were until I experienced one myself. Failed too.

-Kurt

High Fist Shin

I performed this same operation on a U08 last month. I removed the cottered crank, then went to the LBS to have a look in the "spindle box" in the basement.

Because the French cups have thinner walls, you can use an Italian length spindle (73mm) with the existing cups and it will work out just fine. Japanese spindles that are standard length are marked with a "3" designation, Italian length are marked with a "5" and custom lengths are a "7." This number is stamped right on the middle of the spindle and is usually followed by a letter or two.

Just make sure you use a Japanese crank to avoid the Japanese square taper problem that Kommisar89 mentioned.

jtricer1973

Well, these f@#!%^& cotters are giving me fits. I have tried everything to get the out without success. When I get them out, maybe then I can figure out what crank to use.

Thanks for the replies

High Fist Shin

If you can't get them out by pressing them or hammering, drill them out. It's not easy but drilling almost always gets them out. Start with a small bit and slowly work your way up to a large bit to take more of the cotter out, a little at a time.
If you're still having issues after that, time to get out the dremmel tool and use the cutting wheel on the arms. You'll be changing crank arms and spindle anyway so it doesn't matter that your cutting them up.