workablekitchen

After getting a Virtue 6 to ride around town, I got bitten by the cycling bug, and just got a Peugeot UO-8 to work on. Although I'd really love to use it as an alternate ride, I also bought it to practice basics of repair and maintenance, and start getting my head around how everything works. I'm also thinking of replacing some of the components with parts in better condition, if I can find them. In that respect, I have a couple of questions:

I've found a few Simplex shifters on ebay that look pretty close to the one on the bike. The only difference is that the clamp on the one I have--which is very, very rusted--has a cutout on the right side, where the shift cable boss protrudes from the down tube. So far as I can tell from all of the photographs, the cleaner shifters don't seem to have that same shape; the clamp seems more uniform, just like a straight band. Does that matter? Will they fit on the frame anyway? They're advertised as being for Peugeots from this era, but I never believe everything I read on ebay.

The rear derailleur is a SunTour V-GT Luxe, which appears to have been the replacement derailleur of choice for the originals, which apparently didn't work very well. It appears to need a mighty good clean, but otherwise looks like it's in good working order. The front derailleur is a Shimano, and looks to be pretty much of the same era as the SunTour. What I read is that the front derailleurs were originally made by Simplex too. I found a few of those on ebay--are they worth it, or should I leave the Shimano on?

Another reason I bought the bike were the brake levers. They're MAFACs, and they've seen better days. I'd love to polish them up at least, and wonder whether there's a way to restore or otherwise rig replacement hoods for them. Full replacements seem very scarce, unless I'm not looking in the right places. Although contemporary leavers with integrated shifters are all well and good, I do like the old-school feel of this bike and want to keep it intact as long as I can.

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but I'll leave it here for now. This site has been very helpful so far; I'll apologize if I'm asking things that have already been answered elsewhere but that I haven't found.

Here are a couple of photos of the bike:

zazenzach

as for the derailures, id stick with the shimano/suntour combo you have, if they work properly. the original simplex were low quality so those should be upgrades.

dunno specifically about the shifters, i'm not familiar with french components, but I do know that there were different clamp on styles the japanese sometimes manufactured (ie shimano had a proprietary boss at some point which you couldn't throw a campy or suntour component on). sounds like you might be in a similar situation and need to find shifters with a similar clamp on style as the original. not sure though. are you sure you cant just polish up and rehab the originals?

good luck.

markk900

Welcome to the addictive hobby of vintage bikes.....since you are new and wanting to learn, have a look at Randy's site; https://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds_1/

Also google Sheldon Brown and spend some time (probably a lot) browsing through there....between the two sites you will learn a lot and be able to apply it to your new Peugeot.

Nothing wrong with the Suntour/Shimano combination and they will clean up. There is a lot of banter about the quality of simplex - without giving you my opinion the general concensus is Simplex works fine when new, but because they are plastic they can age and become brittle, especially the front.

The shifters - hard to tell without better pictures but Peugeots have a unique mounting band - there is a brazed tab on the right side (so you can have a 5 speed without a band at all), and for the 10+ speed bikes there was a band with a cutout that wrapped around the brazed tab. Post a picture of what you have and what you want and it will be easier to tell if they will work together.

Mafac hoods are rare, expensive and in my opinion not that good even when new. The brakes themselves will clean up very nicely with a little elbow grease.

Read through those sites above and have some fun with your bike.

Mark

Grand Bois

Look for something like this:

Tuc

I just picked up the same bike, am converting to a single speed and if you were in my neighborhood I would give you the parts but fortunately there are plenty of Peugeots around to get parts off from. My bike is 32 pounds with kickstand and rack, hoping to get it down to 22lbs with some parts at the fall bike swap meet. I priced out about $400 worth of stuff to fit all the weird sizes, and it seemed like too much money to me. The original RD Simplex must have broke, (like they do), and took out a spoke, this is a Shimano Megarange the PO put on.

Grand Bois

You can reduce the weight with lighter components, but 22 lbs is not a realistic goal. That's PX10 weight. That frame is too heavy. My PA10 with the same frame tubing, PX10 components and tubulars weighs over 24.

Your seat post clamp is backwards.

workablekitchen

Thanks Mark--I have indeed been spending way too long on Sheldon Brown's site! I hadn't seen Randy's yet--it's exactly the kind of thing I've been looking for, especially the photographs.

I had seen the debate about Simplex derailleurs here and there, but wanted to actually get some live feedback; I appreciate the advice. At least for now that'll save me some money to invest in a few more tools. The mounting band is indeed one of the unique shapes--the photo Grand Bois posted is exactly it, and it is in fact different from the ones I've seen.

I will work on the brake levers and see if I can get them a bit more respectable.

Thanks so much for the help.

Dawn

jimmuller 

Live feedback? Is that any different from dead feedback, only livelier?

Got with Suntour derailleurs. It's what someone (like me f'instance) would have upgraded to back then. Big improvement, especially after the Simplex get worn and sloppy.

Nice bike!

markk900

If you are worried mostly about the hoods, the only "real" mafac hoods I saw on ebay lately were over $80!!!! Definitely not worth it. However, I believe there are some threads right here on BF about cleaning up white hood to make them look better. Although I have to say that even in the early 70s when I had my Peugeot (still have it) the hoods were never what you'd call respectable....

As far as the shifters go, the band Grand Bois shows should be available readily. There's a box full of them at my local bike shop, all with the crappy plastic levers and not the nice alloy ones GB took a picture of! If you can find ones like in his picture you'll be pleased as believe it or not they will improve shifting feel noticeably.

Good luck, and take (and post) lots of pictures as you go through your adventure.

BTW: not sure what tools you have, but beyond basic hand tools I'd strongly recommend a spoke wrench, a cotter press, and some cone wrenches for adjusting the hubs as good investments. After that a freewheel tool (for removing the back gears) might be all you need for a while!

wrk101

I have had a couple of dozen bikes with the plastic Simplex derailleurs. On about 90% of them, the band on the front derailleur was cracked. It was an experiment (plastic derailleur) that has not stood the test of time.

Tuc

Well, 22lbs was the hope, it is a rather small frame,... Never rode the bike, took it all apart soon after I made the pic and those cranks were HEAVY!

workablekitchen

Thanks so much! I'm so grateful for all of this feedback. I've indeed abandoned the idea of getting the Simplex derailleur. I did find one of the Simplex clamps on ebay, without new levers. The one on the bike is SO rusted, I'm skeptical about being able to clean it without simply snapping it in half. Maybe taking the whole thing apart and reassembling with a new clamp will be enough?

I'm not sure what to do about the hoods. They definitely are expensive to replace, and I don't have the funds for that. They're starting to crack considerably, and feel pretty well worn-out. Call me crazy but I do really like the feel of them from a structural standpoint, the combination levers just feel good when I'm riding (maybe it's some deep memory of the old Schwinns my parents rode when I was a kid?). Maybe there's a way to fabricate new hoods out of something else . . .

I'll try to remember to take photos as I go--not sure whether I'll be courageous enough to post the goofs, but thanks for the invitation!

Thanks too for the list of tools. I've been working from Zinn & The Art of Road Bike Maintenance, as well as The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance and Repair for Road and Mountain Bikes, which seem to have good lists of tools to get. Also a friend recommended Patrick Brady's The No-Drop Zone, which has also been quite an education.

oddjob2

If you want to lighten the load, find some donor bike where you can scab an aluminum wheelset. You'll lose the high flange look of the Normandy hubs, but its quite a weight savings. I know in CA and AZ it never rains so you don't need to really worry about wet brake stopping power.

markk900

If the clamp itself is rusty it will probably clean up, but if not you can certainly replace just that.

As to the hoods, you can get cheap ($5-$10) generic hoods which won't fit all that well but will certainly look and feel fine. You won't find anyone else using that unique Mafac half hood deal though. Perhaps pick up a set of the Cane Creek hoods, and trim them extensively to fit the way you want...if it doesn't work out it was cheap!

Another alternative is replace the mafac levers with something else that comes with nice hoods - I got a set of Diacompe levers off ebay for next to nothing and they had the hoods on them.....sure having the mafacs for "originality" is nice but I've been happy with the ones I got.

Sixty Fiver

22 pounds is not going to happen unless you went ss or fixed and even then, you would need some pretty lightweight bits on a smaller frame.

Swapping the stock wheels for alloy and replacing the cottered crank with a square taper alloy crank will bring the bike down to a respectable middle weight range.

Tuc

I am building a single speed around the existing frame with it's excellent original paint and those wheels which are in perfect condition. Surprised me when I compared their weight (without cogs) to a set of Mavic OpenPros - not really that much heavier and they are so shiny! Every other part except the brakes on the bike comes off, and I think 22lbs might be possible on this small frame. I am looking at Nitto for the stem and bars, Ird Defiant Track with a VO Grand Cru BB, other bits just as light. Yes, 24lbs would be ok too, with a Brooks seat.

OP - workablekitchen - my brake hoods are intact if you want some close up pictures, the suggestion of cutting down a similar hood set makes sense $wise.

workablekitchen

Thanks, Tuc. I've got plenty of sources to work from, and I think I may just give up and get the Diacompes instead anyhow. There are a couple of pairs on ebay that look like real possibilities. And thanks again to you too mark.

jimmuller 

Just a few suggestions here for both work-kitchen and tuc from someone who upgraded his UO8 and has ridden it for years. The original steel wheels may not be over-heavy and they may brake well when dry, but they will not brake well when wet. Do yourself a favor and get some decent alloy rims. Yeah, I know, the Crolux is so shiny. I haven't had the heart to take mine apart. Instead they hang on the wall in the grage, useful to no one.

You can lighten the bike nicely by replacing rims, crank, handlebar, and seatpost. Big weight savings come from many small ones, and you might as wells start with the big items. It will never be a 22lb bike but it can be made lighter and will ride nicely anyway. Whether it is worth the expense is a different matter. Depending on how good you are with a wrench and how patient you are looking for parts, you may end up with a nice bike for not too much money. But some people find it easier just to buy a different bike. I upgraded mine because I bought it new in 1972 so I'm familiar with it.

About Mafac brake hoods, you might just want to try riding without hoods. I find that if I'm wearing gloves then the hoods on brake levers are a null factor. My UO8 has the original, now ratty, hoods. Our Peugeot tandem has Mafac levers sans hoods, and it feels fine. My Masi has Campy Gran Sport brakes without hoods (what's the Italian word for "without"?) and they feel fine too. The point is, I ride on the hoods some of the time but not all the time, and the feel is perfectly acceptable. So is the feel of nice hoods on my other bikes.

noglider 

I think the word is senza.

workablekitchen

Thanks again, Jim. Since I'm in Los Angeles, I'm not too worried about braking in wet conditions, at least not yet, so replacing the rims would be way down the line for me. I do like the style of the Chrolux, although they are looking a bit tatty, truth be told.

I have seen a lot of the these brakes on ebay without the hoods; maybe just taking them off and seeing what I've got underneath would be a way to go. I do always wear gloves, so they may be enough to keep me comfy. I hadn't thought of it quite that way--appreciate the perspective.

hagen2456

They're heavy but beautiful. I could use those chainrings and fastening thingies for my old -56 racer!

Edit: In fact, those frames are not terribly heavy. With all components being the same as on a PX 10, I think you'd have bike weighing c. 11-11.5 kg.

workablekitchen

Here are some more detailed photographs of the Peugeot

Tuc

Took a couple of pics before taking mine apart, just wiped off with a rag. I don't have concerns with rain either, so I hope to reuse the original wheels. Hope I can get the bare frame to the bike shop today to weigh it. No rust, no wear, never ridden.

markk900

Tuc: yours is a real beauty! I wish mine was that shiny!! (But be careful - one pad on the front brake is backward and the pad could be forced out in hard braking).

workablekitchen: yours is also in really decent shape, though I now see why you want to get rid of that shifter band. Its pretty far gone. The rest of the rust will easily clean up though. I think your chain is too short because the derailleur (its in decent shape BTW so keep it!) is already pretty stretched out and you haven't even gone to the largest sprocket on the back. Also, no one mentioned it but unless you like those pedals you should probably find some rat-traps like tuc's.

jimmuller 

Nice bikes, both. Tuc, what happened to your right side shifter? It looks like the plastic end broke off. Maybe you mentioned it already.