‘71 uo-8
 

Oh Man, I love the color! The stem looks like it may be over extended, though. Probably should check that before riding. And I'd lose that flimsy rack, unless you just need a place to put your windbreaker when you get too warm from riding.

Nice. I like the color, a not-too-common color it seems. The rear derailleur is a more modern replacement. If the frame pump is a Ventolux, they're quite valuable, working models fetching near $100. They can easily be restored, the most-often cause is a deteriorated plunger cup, which is made of leather. You can buy replacement cups. I made a new cup for mine out of scrap leather, and it works fine now. If you replace the stem, you can easily find someone here in the forum that would trade you for something you need.

The bike looks great. I don't remember ever seeing this color myself. It seems to be in great shape. You have the right idea. Ride it, enjoy it adn update cable, stem and rim as money and time become available. Oh, and handlebar tape.

Nice find.

That doesn't look like the original saddle. It looks like a Brooks, better than the original. Also, the rack is not original, though it might have been installed at purchase time. Really nice find, terrific color, and it looks to be in excellent shape. The rear derailleur is slightly newer than the bike but still old.

The original would have been a Simplex Prestige, like this:https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...229675e7d1.jpg
As for the stem, folks are always looking for these. Not saying they're overly valuable, just were used commonly enough that lots of bikes getting restored need one. I've used every brand of Peugeot-supplied stem from the 70's and only had one that was cracked or broken, and it was only because the corrosion in the steerer had welded the stem to the tube, and a previous owner broke it in half and left it in.

About the pump. It takes some finesse to make a replacement cup work, but you can look around and see what's done in videos. It took me a number of tries to get it right.

Various brands of inexpensive leather saddles were available in the '70s. Someone here may recognize that one.

About the pump---if the leather gasket in the plunger is still in place, try kneading it with mineral oil. Sometimes that all that's needed.

You'd be surprised how much interest a ratty old leather saddle generates, I was when I sold a couple on the Forum when I was in similar "hard finances" straights in the spring so don't bin it.

Since they made literally millions of UO-8s I don't want to use the word rare but that Purple is probably the least "common" color I have run across for UO-8s. Before you overhaul it be sure to read up on Sheldon Brown and Mytenspeeds about the unique opportunities of working on French steel 10/12 speeds, they are great riders. Have fun.

Arguably, the purple ones were the fastest... I know, I've done a lot of arguing.

I don't think the saddle is a Brooks. The tension bolt looks flattened, whereas Brooks used a round bolt after 1950; and the two keyhole cutouts on the top are not a Brooks feature. They do look familiar, though.

My guess is this is a Soffatti Professional saddle, made in Spain, but I'll have to dig through my reference photos to be sure.

I see faint traces of a skirt stamp. Better photos of the side of the saddle might help.

Close to my 1972 Purple one. Mine's a darker shade of purple.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5f98101c7a.jpg

The RD:


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...17cc4bfe0f.jpg


The saddle that came with mine, don't know if this was stock.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b6c7f637a3.jpg

I switched over some alloy wheels off my old Fuji S12-2 and really improved the braking over the original steel wheels. But surprisingly the steel wheels were lighter.

Someone around the forum also was 3D printing the plastic wingnuts.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7c4492db49.jpg

^^^ this^^^

You and others have already mentioned the stem I had a UO-8 with an Ava stem, and it snapped completely through on me. Thankfully I was in the driveway and not heading downhill. You really, really need to swap out that stem. One additional point to consider - it is very likely the clamp on a replacement stem is not compatible with your existing handlebars, and you would need to replace the bars and stem at the same time.

Trading out the wheels for a set with alloy rims will make a very noticeable improvement in riding pleasure, especially the improvement in braking. You could go with wheels from that era, or a totally new set - both options have positives and negatives.

If you want to scrounge up a set, many mid-70's Schwinns come with Normandy made "Schwinn Approved" high flange hubs laced to 27" alloy rims. Many Japanese bikes had wheels that were very derivative of these, with high flange Sanshin or Sunshine hubs laced to Araya or Ukai alloy 27" rims. There's millions of these sets around. Pluses - cheaper and will look 'correct' on the bike. Minuses - you might need to search for a while to find wheels where the hub, axle, spokes, and rim aren't basket cases.

If you want a new set, the Sun CR-18 rim is a great value and looks correct on 70's bikes. However, most wheelsets available built with this rim use modern low-flange hubs. Velomine has a set for $110. If you want something new that looks period-correct, Velo Orange has an absolutely gorgeous wheelset with high-flange hubs laced to really nice rims. They're more expensive at $380 for the set. Pluses - very little work to get up and running compared to hunting down old parts. Most likely they'll give you more miles before service is needed/spokes break/sidewalls wear through Also, new rims have a sidewall profile that does a better job of holding on the the tire bead than some older rims. Minuses - $$$, possibly looks out of place if low flange hubs are used.

Another option is to unlace your hubs from the steel rims and lace them up to alloy rims.

'You can keep using the headset and bottom bracket as long as they aren't damaged.

You mentioned you are getting new cables, you probably should also replace the brake pads and tires/tubes.

Looks great so far ad I love the purple color - never seen that shade before on a UO-8.

I've got a spare one if you need it. They come from LoveCityCycles on ebay.

What fun! I'd only add that the new rear derailleur with its longer cage probably means the chain has to be lengthened. This may or may not have been done. You'd see the need most dramatically on the big chainwheel to big rear cog combination. That might put quite a strain on things if the chain is too short.

Of course that is not a good combo to use, but shifting into it unintentionally should be made a survivable event.

Them's fightin' words. :)

I have a Pletscher mousetrap rack on my UO-8, as well, and there is nothing flimsy about it, if properly installed. I usually hang my Rudy Project panniers on it and can easily carry 20-30 lbs of groceries.

The Pletscher rack wobbles under load, but it doesn't break, in my experience. But having said that, I prefer racks with more reinforcement, because I don't want it to wobble.