My love affair with those quirky French bikes started about 5 years ago when I found my beloved Brigitte (a UG10) who carried me for well over 20,000 km with nary a problem... she was also my first fixed gear bicycle.
Since then I have worked on countless French boomers at the co-op and in my own shop and can really understand the affection people have for these often frustrating and quirky bikes, what with their proprietary sizings and non standard threading.
We have saved a lot of them from the crusher, picked more than a few from the dumpster, and had countless numbers of them donated to our little co-op. Some have been in pristine shape, most have been very nice, and a few look they had been through a war.
People now call me up when they have an old french bike that needs work...
And I am not talking about the much sought after P models but the lowly UO8 models and their variants that sold for about 100.00 new and have a theory... we probably find so many of them in good shape because their Prestige derailleurs broke on day 2 and they went into storage.
I have never owned a UO8 and preferred the more aggressive geometry of of my UG which curbed out at about 22 pounds as a fixed gear... but she got retired last fall after an altercation with a massive rut in the road.
I have missed my scruffy little French girl.
Anyways...
In comparing the UO8 to it's main rival, the Raleigh Grand Prix, I'd have to say that the Peugeot is a much more refined and better riding bicycle and a better riding bicycle than many bikes that originally cost much more.
I have ridden enough of them both but will be enjoying an extended test ride on a UO8 now... I like my girls to be simple and I hear it okay to turn UO8's into fixed gears without having to sacrifice kittens.
I think that with the removal of all the steel bits and things that shift gears the bike is down to about 25-26 pounds and even on 700:23 tyres at 110 psi has a beautiful ride and amazed me at how well she goes up as well as down.
And she reminds me of another French girl I used to hang out with.
So... who else has an unnatural affection for these lowly boom bikes ?