John E

I had no issues whatsoever squeezing an ISO-threaded Normandy Luxe Competition hub with a Shimano Ultra-6 freewheel into my UO-8.

John E

Agreed. Our red 1970 UO-8 is looking pretty rough now, but those graphics were indeed classic, and it was nice that the same look continued all the way up the line from the lowly AO-8s to the PX-10s. You could always spot a Peugeot!


My UO-8 with barcon cables routed between the rack and the cylindrical Bellwether front bag.


The graphics on my 1980 PKN-10 were pretty nice, as well, but craftsmanship of that era left a bit to be desired. Very versatile and great-riding bike, though!


My PKN-10, after I gave it to my elder son for kiddie-hauling. When pulling the trailer uphill, he was thankful for my triple chainring conversion.

juvela

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wrt stern round thing -

the combination of French hub and Japanese rim suggests rear wheel may have been a U.S. machine-built one purchased as a replacement by a previous owner

its presence lends support to the idea that fork may be a replacement as well...

perhaps the machine could have experienced an "event" necessitating the replacement of both items...


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juvela

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round things -

since we now know present rear wheel a replacement likely produced in U.S. it is highly likely that present gear block a replacement as well since original hub and gear block would have been metric threaded

a metric threaded gear block cannot start on a BSC/ISO/Italian thread hub as its pitch diameter is too small

so when you go to look at wheels you mention it would be wise to check gear block threading of rear hub if you wish to reuse your present gear block...


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IdahoBrett 

Hope these work well. A SunTour 5 speed freewheel is coming with the wheels from the same seller.

juvela

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this generation of Normandy Luxe Competition hub launched in 1973

so you found something which is both period and national origin appropriate

one minor snag with these is that replacement cones have been unavailable for many years so that when they are required owners need to become resourceful/creative...

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tip -



enlarged this image and was able to see that the groove indicating BSC thread is absent here. this means hub is metric thread. "most" Suntour gear blocks are BSC thread. there are some which are metric and are marked with a small letter "M" on the body. if block BSC thread you do not want to be mounting it on a metric thread hub as this is asking for difficulty.

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markk900

Those look like a substantial upgrade to the wheels on the bike at present. Well done!

IdahoBrett 

Did not catch the BSC/metric thread. I was and still am ignorant on the topic. But I did read a bunch on the cone issue prior to buying. Figured it was worth the gamble on them being ok. If not I'll have to get "resourceful". Ain't fun tinkerin' if it ain't a challenge!

p.s. the Mrs. wants to try out Turkey levers.....

non-fixie 

If that's what it takes to get her to try - and hopefully enjoy - that bike then by all means get her a pair.

juvela

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gear block thread -

there are three:

metric

BSC

Italian

metric has a pitch diameter of 34.7mm

BSC & Italian have a pitch diameter of 34.85mm

...so, a metric threaded gear block cannot thread onto a BSC or Italian threaded hub, it is too small

while a BSC or Italian threaded gear block can thread onto a metric threaded hub
this is an unsatisfactory arrangement as thread engagement is not complete and risks stripping the threads on the hub

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turkey levers -

you have time for Mrs. Idaho to give them a test and if she does not like them you can roast them up as part of your Thanksgiving celebrations


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Trakhak

My first racing bike, given to me by my parents in 1963, was a Helyett track bike, with all French components. It came with a 51-tooth chainring and a 15-tooth sprocket, which made much too tall a gear for climbing the hills north of New Haven.

Switched it for a 19-tooth English-threaded sprocket, which quickly stripped the hub. The mechanic at the local bike shop fixed it by wrapping the hub in aluminum foil, which held surprisingly well, but I wouldn't recommend trying it with a freewheel.

IdahoBrett 

Thanks to juvela I’ve done some reading and learning about French threaded hubs and their differences.

My biggest takeaway is “Caveat Emptor”.

The ebay seller of the wheels I just bought alludes to another Normandy hub in his store to “possibly” being French threaded by displaying a picture of a caliper measurement of the threads of 34.59mm. The number I’ve found here of 34.6mm corresponds to that. I have asked him in a message about whether the wheels are French or BSC threaded. He responded with “I’m not 100% sure about the groove. There were a lot of different makers and they weren’t always consistent.” He’s either being intentionally obtuse or he doesn’t know about the identifying groove. I also I asked prior to buying, what freewheels will fit the wheels. He stated “Suntour or Shimano.” So I went ahead and also purchased a Suntour 5 speed freewheel from the same seller, because he offered to combine shipping.

I shall see what I’ve got when the wheels arrive and will find a solution if there is an issue.

John E

For what it's worth, the (obviously non-stock) Normandy Luxe rear hub on my UO-8 is definitely (and fortunately) ISO-threaded.

non-fixie 

Don't worry too much about the bike. As long as it is safe enough for her to ride you're good.

Worry instead about how you can get mrs IdahoBrett to really like the bike. I have gone through a similar process, and what I've learned quickly is that I needed to stop explaining to her why originality and period-correctness are important, how derailleurs work or why one shouldn't have butterfly bars or EZ-fire shifters on a vintage racing bike.

juvela

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they can fully appreciate just how vitally important it is that the tip of an eyebrow pencil be precisely the right shape but the nuts 'n bolts stuff on a bike...nah


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IdahoBrett 

It started in early summer. Bike buying that is. I at first bought my Mrs. a $40 Huffy to pedal around the campground with our kids this past summer. After the Nth bike for myself she would just shrug her shoulders when I would show her what I could put her on. Her reply went something like "I'm fine with the first bike. I don't need anything special." I've tried my darndest to counter these past months to no avail. Until...the Peugeot. Neat thing is she is capable of turning a wrench. I am blessed. I know.

IdahoBrett 

Update: wheels arrived. Pics of thread gauges. Both SAE and metric. Had another mechanic at work give an opinion. Looks like the hub has had freewheels installed in the intervening years that have distorted the French threads to the point there isn’t much of a difference.

The Suntor 5 speed that I also bought does thread on. I didn’t tighten it down. Just a gentle thread on. I haven’t broke down the rear wheel that came with the Peugeot yet, to see what type freewheel is there.

The dirty grey gauge is the 24 tpi. Goldish gauge is the 1mm.

juvela

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should the Luxe Competitions require any bits for their interiors forum member verktyg hath posted two or three messages regarding them giving much detail with images

he writes that there are differing cones depending upon generation

please make sure any gear block you fit to them is metric threaded


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IdahoBrett 

Thanks juvela !!!

IdahoBrett 

I paused another bike project to get the Peugeot in the stand today. I discovered that the freewheel that came with the bike is a Shimano. I see no markings to indicate it is metric. So I will source a metric freewheel.

The new to me rear wheel is a good fit. The skewer is a bit long.

The new to me front wheel on the other hand presents an obstacle I have no experience with; it has a 100mm hub. The forks are 95mm. It would seem to me spreading the forks to fit the new to me wheel is not a good idea. What do those with more knowledge think?

juvela

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cold-setting the fork blades to achieve a 100mm opening is perfectly fine

you need to make sure the fork is in good alignment by checking with a fork alignment gauge
all framebuilders and serious cycle shops have this instrument

if you were to just begin pulling without any way of checking you might pull one blade 5mm for example and the other not at all

if you have access to a bicycle co-op in your area they may have the required tool


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markk900

Just be super careful with the fork spreading: though 5mm is very little, my experience of Peugeot forks is they are *very* easy to spread, and spread unevenly.

I went to do mine thinking they’d need a bit of muscle and Whoa Nelly! First try and they were way too far apart, and getting them back evenly was a right pain. I do have some dropout alignment tools and they helped but as juvela notes you can pull one leg 5mm and the other not at all - wheel no longer sits nicely in the middle!

markk900

A thought about the freewheel: Looking at your photos very carefully I would be very tempted to say the 24tpi is a better fit, and I believe most Shimano freewheels are 24tpi. You might be all right, though I am very hesitant to counter juvela on the advice of sourcing a metric freewheel.

tgot 

They made a 22" mixte? I should buy one now in preparation for the day I can't swing a leg over the bike anymore.

My father just gave up his bike, saying he can't balance well enough anymore to ride. But I think the fact that his inflexibility led to always cowboy-mounting made things a lot more challenging!

juvela

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should you ever have any question regarding frame or fork alignment there is an excellent tutorial with good illustrations over at Sheldon Brown

​​​​​​https://www.sheldonbrown.com/steel-frame-repair.html

​​​​​​https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

BTW -

if you check the over locknut width of your Atom front hub would expect you to find it to be 96mm rather than 95mm - not to put too fine a point on it


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