Renaussens

Hi all!

I was thinking about equipping my recently purchased Peugeot PX-10 with steel fenders and racks to make it my commuter bike, but after some homework, I found out I easily had to shell out upwards of $100 US (take the funny price tag on those Mafac front racks for an example) to do a half-decent job, so when I bumped into this UE-8, I said to myself why not keep the PX-10 unchanged for fun rides and get the UE-8 to commute by. I'd heard some good things about the way UO-8's (& UE-8's) ride (and honestly I've always been fascinated by bottle dynamos, so the braze-on, dynamo and the lights were a plus). I bought the bike only today, so I can't really comment as to whether it's a comfortable ride, but I'll report later on. Now, I paid 180 CAD (which Google says is about 140 USD).

Oh, as you can notice, the original Soubitez rearlight has been replaced by another (non-Soubitez) light. Strangely enough when I was testing the dynamo and lights in front the lady I bought the bike from, the rearlight would still flicker, but on the way home it suddenly stopped working (as reported by a friend). So much for a discount!

I should also note that I was told that both tires had been recently replaced.

Renaussens

Some more pictures I took on the way home:

SkyDog75

Good plan. The PX-10's a race bike, and yours is too nice to relegate to commuter duty. The UE-8 makes a much better pack mule to slog things to and from work. The biggest problem with a stock UE-8 is the steel rims. They've got a reputation for poor braking in wet weather ...not that it ever rains in the Pacific Northwest. ;-) If you choose to swap the wheels out, it probably wouldn't be hard to find a used set of 27" wheels with alloy rims. Or you could even pick up some new ones from Velomine for a little over $100.

In general, you'll run into the same French size & threading on both your Peugeots. The most significant difference is that the UE-8 has a cottered crankset. On the bright side, you won't need a special crank puller like you do for the PX-10. The down side is that cotters need to be pressed in and out, and good luck finding a cotter press. You can probably improvise using a socket and a vise. (Some people use a big ol' hammer, but that's not my preferred method.)

The UE-8 is a very different bike from your PX-10, but I think you'll appreciate 'em both for different reasons. I have a UO-8 that's about the same age as yours and while it's not racy, it's a very stable and comfy ride.

A couple other points of interest you may come across while reading about your new bike: Some stems used on UO-8's and similar Peugeot bikes have a reputation for failure. I don't personally how overblown that reputation is, but at the very least, you'll probably want to inspect your stem to make sure it's not cracked. When you take the headset apart to inspect and grease it, you can take the opportunity to look at the stem since you'll have it out anyway. Also, the delrin (plastic) Simplex derailleurs have a reputation for cracking and failure. You're not at any major risk of injury if it happens, so you can ride 'em until they break (if they ever do), but it's something you may want to keep an eye on. Or you can swap them out as preventive maintenance to prevent breakdowns on the road. Old SunTour derailleurs like a V-GT rear and Spirt front are cheap, rock solid, period correct replacements, although you'd admittedly lose a little Frenchiness.

3alarmer 

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...for the record, all French bikes of this period have both bars and stems that will eventually fail given enough hard use. There are a number of old threads explaining what is going on, and you usually get some warning (bars will start to sag a little over time, cracking in the stem at the wedge slot inside the steerer tube.

It's not a big deal to replace them with more modern used parts of 80's Japanese manufacture...you have to sand down a forged stem from 22.2 to 22 at the insertion, and fit it with a bar with a steel central reinforcement sleeve. Yours looks OK from the photos...not real saggy. Depends a lot on use and mileage.

oddjob2

I would suggest that 3alarmer is overstating the oft repeated, but seldom occuring, stem experience of a certain Sheldon Brown.

Great photos of your new bike, camera phone or not!

Enjoy your new Peugeot.

SkyDog75

I'm aware of that vintage French aluminum handlebars have a reputation for sagging and failure, but I hadn't personally come across reports of similar problems with steel bars like the one on Renaussen's UE-8. Any problem with those that you're aware of?

I can't draw on experience in this case from my own UO-8 since I swapped its original handlebar for a newer, wider one.

3alarmer 

...no problem with the steel ones other than the extra weight. The stems really are kinda low end junk, mostly. But yeah, if you want to ride them any distance these days, alloy wheel rims and bars are probably a relatively cheap but very functional upgrade.

3alarmer 

...it makes more of an impression if you personally experience it.