Originally Posted by
Bosmer30
I don't know much about bicycles other then i love my vintage peugeot,but recently the rear axle in the rear wheel snapped in two.I am wondering where i could possibly order a replacement wheel? I got a newer carbon frame bicycle,but for some reason i'm not liking it as much as the older steel peugeot. I don't know why this is,the peugeot just seemed easier to ride.The newer bicycle being a specialized allez road bike .Well if any of you could kindly post a link to where i could order a replacement wheel it'd be much appreciated.
First of all, are you certain that the actual axel busted? Or could it just be the skewer (the rod that inserts though the axel, and secures the hubs to the frame)? Pardon me if I’ve offended. I’m just asking since you stated you don’t know much about bikes.
If your ‘72 U0-8 is original it would have a Regida (manufacturing brand) steel 27” rim laced to a 5 speed freewheel hub. The hub is probably a Normandy (manufacturing brand), with English threading for the freewheel, though it could be French threading. It could be helpful to those who’d help you if you could confirm these items.
If the parts are original, and you’d like to keep it that way, then sourcing a replacement hub from a bicycle co-op or from eBay in order to have a local bike shop rebuild your wheel would be one option. Though you’d want to determine if your freewheel is in fact English threaded or not before sourcing a new vintage Normandy hub.
If you’d like to take advantage of the mishap and create an opportunity to upgrade, then consider switching to an aluminum rim. The bike would be lighter, and brake better for it. Of course to reap full benefits, changing the front wheel would also be in order. Improved handling mught be another gain from moving to 700c.
If you go with Aluminum you can find 27” rims quite easily online, and at some better equipped local bike shops including co-ops. However, going this route, you might also consider moving down a hair in rim/tire size to 700c. You’d benefit from a wider selection, and better overall availability of rims and tires for this. However, I’m not sure if your brakes would support a 700c conversation if they are original (Mafac or possibly Wienmann). Easy enough to address and remedy though.
If any any of that catches your interest, then I’m sure you’d find all the help to get things underway right here in this forum. Otherwise to simply replace the wheel with something that works, I’d say we still need more information as mentioned earlier. Photos can be hugely helpful for problem solving as well.
Best of luck!