Eric630

So I have this old Peugeot UO-8 that I was thinking about upgrading for a long touring trip. First thing is obviously a new drivetrain, because 10 speeds just is not going to do it for me haha. I know that a triple crank will fit on the front, Probably a Specialties TA Carmina crank or the Specialties TA Pro 5 Vis (the Cyclotouriste) Crank.
But I was wondering if a 9 speed gear cluster will fit on the back, because the gap between the chain stays on the Peugeot is only about 5 inches - 130 mm? (not sure about exact measurements in mm) where as the gap on my newer 2009 touring bike is about 6 inches - 150mm? If not a 9 speed... would a 7 speed fit?
Don't want to go spending money on something that isn't going to work heh. Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

brockd15 

Yeah, you can get it to work. You'll have to respace the frame, but its not all that hard. It's most likely spaced at 120 and you'll need it to be 130 or 135, depending on what your touring bike is (if you're using that wheel). Depending on what parts you have to replace, it could be easy or it could be a pain. I wanted to do it almost the same thing a while back, so I picked up an old frame, a Ted Williams Free Spirit (very low end), and put on 105 9 speed that I was taking off another bike. You'll have to have wheels that will work, which probably means 700c instead of the original 27". That means you might need new brakes to be sure they'll reach. I had to have a rear derailleur hanger claw, cable guides to on my downtube (by the bottom bracket), a clamp on cable stop on the down tube, and clamps to hold the rear brake cable in place on the top tube. You'll also need a new rear derailleur, shifters, and chain. It ends up being just about a complete rebuild (mine was a complete rebuild). In the end, mine works great and is super smooth...one of the smoothest bikes I've got, which include steel, aluminum, titanium, and carbon. Here are a couple pictures.

Before


After

Eric630

Thanks for the info

How did you respace it??

brockd15 

I used Sheldon's way with a ruler, a ladder, a 2x4, and a string.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

Sixty Fiver

A 2 by 4 is a very handy shop tool.



A modern 8,9, or 10 speed road hub is 130mm so this is the required dropout spacing... you will want to move each stay outward by half the difference of 130mm and what your current frame spacing is.

Have been thinking of gearing up my old UO8 (currently a fixed gear) but would use a 6 speed and some vintage Huret parts and rock an old school half step with a granny to keep things vintage.

meb

If this is a 10 speed from that era they Peugeot spacing was 120mm, if it was a 12 speed the spacing was about 124mm-and the compact Atom freewheel-when moved to another bike-would not index to Shimano SIS systems no matter how I tried with the adjustments.
I put a 48 spoke tandem wheel with 140mm spacing in there on my 12 speed and it fit. This was to be my heavy but reliable commuter and I was adding 15lbs of robustness over the original bike.
I spoke with Sheldon Brown about it at the 2005 Bent Ride during lunch one day (he was the featured speaker that night) and he pointed out those Peugeot's had long chainstays and would have no problem flexing to 140.
I did not go through the spacing procedure and I found the stays sprung exclusively to the right so it did give me chainline issues- I was going to go to a wider spindle to move the rings right, but that bike was stolen before I made the bottom bracket correction.

Sixty Fiver

Was working on my '74 UO8 this am and should have measured the dropout although with such an old bike, who knows what re-spacing may have been done.

Fitted a 6 speed wheel with 126mm spacing and had to spring the dropouts just the tiniest bit so would guess it was 124 - 125 mm back there.

The long stays on a UO8 do lend themselves to widening quite well and the frame tubes are not as stiff as some other bikes.

tatfiend 

A LBS mechanic locally took a early 70s PX10 frame to 130mm and converted it to 10 speed SIS brifters recently. Before classicists wince the frame had been modified to canti brakes by a prior owner and NOTHING on it was original. Amazing the clearances available on Peugeot frames of that era, even the PX10 "racing" frame as no problems fitting 32mm tires on it.

dscheidt

That's because it's a French bike, and French think you should be able to ride in the rain, which means fenders.

The one thing I'd worry about is that some of the 70s UO8 had cottered cranks, which makes upgrading a pain and expensive.

Road Fan

Wellll, I found the same thing on a mid-60s Italian bike I had. It allowed an amateur cyclist to put mudguards on for the wet season and take them off for group or training rides. Not strictly a French thing.

Sixty Fiver

My Ron Cooper was built for 27 inch tyres and even with 32's there is room for fenders and just enough clearance between the chainstays for a fairly wide road tyre.

As a racing bike there are no braze ons for fenders and I know one could use p clips but I am not going there.

HillRider

It may also have French bottom bracket and fork steerer threading which will limit what you can get to upgrade or replace the OEM parts.

Grand Bois

A seventies Peugeot absolutely will have French threads. You can get the parts you need to upgrade it, but they can be expensive.

I have three French road bikes with French threads. I built two of them from bare frames, so I have some experience with tracking down French parts. I bought the third one new in 1974 and I've been upgrading it ever since.

Eric630

Are the parts hard to find??

dscheidt

velo-orange will sell you a bottom bracket and headset.