As a teenager in the mid-70's, I was so jealous of my non-French threaded brethren. They had so many affordable pedal choices, and my TA cranks were French. Then one day someone told me "You can just drive in new pedals, the pedals will cut new threads." Damn if he wasn't right. I drove in some new $13 Alloy caged Olimpics way back when and have had no problem since. I've even switched that bike to clipless since then and again no problems. Using a tap is obviously the right way to go, but if a ham-fisted teenager such as myself can accomplish the task with nothing but a department store pedal wrench and a cheap pedal, I think it's a pretty safe task for just about anyone to undertake.