imol lives

Just got hold of an old Peugeot frame and fork and want to build it into a Fixie, so what do I do next?! Any suggestions appreciated. Any books I should buy? Websites to check out? I am a total newbie when it comes to working on bikes, I can change a flat and adjust brakes etc but that's about it. Have I bitten off more than I can chew?

queerpunk

www.sheldonbrown.com is a must. he gives step by step instructions on converting it, safety issues, and whatnot.

if you encounter a problem, curiousity, or nomenclature that you don't understand, searching these forums can be helpful (but sometimes the signal to noise ratio can be very very low).

bluenote157

before you bought it, did you check to see that the headset and bb were not shot. Those are the areas to look at on older french bikes. I have an older peugeot conversion as well if you need any specific questions answered drop me a pm.
Are you planning on keeping the old wheels? The originals were 27inch. I dumped those and convertered an old wheelset (suicide hub). I'm now running 700c. The old brake Diacompe centerpull that came with mine is just long enough to accomodate the difference in 27in vs. 700c.
Are you planning on keeping the old stem? if not, you are gonna have to take some sandpaper to a regular quill stem and sand it down so it'll fit in your headtube. (22mm vs. 22.2 mm). You'll probably run into a similar issue with the seatpost but i'm not entirely sure.

bluenote157

If you are going ot replace the bb so that you can put on modern crank, this is the most painful part in my opinion. You have a couple of options..
1. phil wood.. but it's expensive and probably not worth it especially if you ddint pay too much for your ride.
2. Sugino or some other japanese made bb with french threading paired with the proper spindle (you can read more about this on Sheldonbrown.com under old french bikes
3. yst?? bb ... i think it is an adjustable bb... gonna have to search the forum for this.
4. leave it alone and stick with the cottered cranks that you have...

queerpunk

ya know, just b/c it's a peugeot, doesn't mean it's definitely full of french threading.

to the original poster: some old french bikes had odd threading sizes, which makes it pretty tough to find compatible parts. however, peugeot made a range of bikes, so it's possible that your ride will be easy to work with. your best resource would be a friend with some tools, or a co-op in your city, or some other riders around who would be willing to assess the frame. fortunately, there are lots of riders in DC. maybe one of 'em will be willing to help you out...

bluenote157

true that.. i guess i heard "old" and assumed it.

imol lives

Thanks for all the replies. Obviously there is a lot more to this than meets the eye! It didnt come with wheels, I have no idea how old it is either. I guess a good place to start would be to take some measurements to get an idea of component sizes, threading etc.