IdahoBrett

So there I was, looking on craigslist for N+1. Hoping to find something my wife may like (she does NOT share my bike “enthusiasm”). And I found a Peugeot her size! It supposedly is a 1977 model. Double cool: made in France (she watches old Chateau restos on YT), and her birth year. In a very nice color.

I brought it home for $30. Pics;

juvela

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appears closer to an A08



1977 U.S. market catalogue page

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IdahoBrett

A08 doesn’t have chromed fork ends U08 does. I thought that was the easiest at a glance way to tell?


edit: Ahh, I see the differences in the chain ring…

juvela

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sometimes small mid-year changes are made due to parts availability

there can in such cases be differences between "early" & "late" within a model year

also, given your location you might wish to consider the possibility that the cycle could be a Canadian model


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79pmooney

I started my journey into 10-speeds buying new a UO-8 10 years older than your wife's. Blue, not green. Not much changed over that decade. Yours has a real step more durable rear derailleur, perhaps slightly less powerful brake calipers (but same levers as mine), the shifters went to the stem and no quick releases on the wheels. Basically tit-for-tat on performance and quality.

One very serious consideration - those rims. (And the brake calipers and very likely your wife's hands.) If you wife ever needs to stop going downhill, the road is wet and her hands are not large and strong, well, she simply won't. Those are rims are chrome steel. When wet, famously slipperyl The old Mafac RACERs that came on my bike but not your wife's were the most powerful non-dual-pivot caliper brake ever made. With large enough and strong enough hands, you could stop going downhill in the wet (gradually). Those Wenmann calipers on your wife's are stiffer, better feeling, easier to set up and work on but do not have the power of the Mafacs! The levers are the Mafac levers and are excellent, but - they are made for large hands. I loved 'em. Just reaching those levers is near impossible for a lot of smaller people without comprising lever location and fit.

So - a swap of the wheels to any aluminum rimmed 5-speed (120mm OLD) wheel and replacing the levers with $30 Tektros will make a huge difference and might well save a life or marriage. OLD, overall locknut distance, ie the width of the bike's rear dropouts. 120mm was the near universal standard in the '60s and early '70s. Late '70s 6-speeds using 126mm OLD became more common. (I, with my large hands and being an adventurous young man, made it 6 years with your rims and the more powerful brakes until I replaced the wheels with ones with aluminum rims. And all of a sudden, I had a bike that stopped! Really well. Your wife's will too. On aluminum rims and brake levers that work for her hands, her brakes will be just fine.)

On the OLD. 120mm OLD wheels in aluminum may be hard to chase down. If all you can find is 126mm (or the 126 you find is a better wheel; very likely) come back here and many of us can coach you through either spreading the bike to 126 or modifying the hub to 120. Both very doable. UO-8s spread easily and without any risk of harm. If after the changes your wife still wants more braking power, again, come back here. (I put 22,000 miles on my UO-8 in all weather and conditions. There was nothing it didn't see. I got to know that bike really, really well. And I still use both my UO-8's brakes and your wife's, well newer versions of both; they were both made for a very long time.)

Trakhak

Good luck converting your wife to C&V appreciation. Could happen.

But there's a reason that drop-bar entry-level bikes all but disappeared from U.S. bike shops after mountain bikes and, later, hybrids arrived. Upright riding position, vastly superior braking, easy shifting without having to move your hands away from the brake levers---better all around for casual riders. Hybrids in particular can be seen as the updated equivalent to the European city bikes most women rode in Paris and elsewhere.

This is experience speaking: I tried and failed to persuade a girlfriend to give a similar bike a chance. And I saw it happen a number of times with hopeful guys who dragged a girlfriend or wife in the bike shop.

IdahoBrett

Rear hub is Normandy laced to an Araya rim. Front is a Rigida wheel with what looks like an “Atom” hub.

John E

Interesting -- half-chrome fork like a UO-8, but nutted hubs like an AO-8. Either way, I hope she likes it. I built the red 21-inch UO-8 from a bare frame in 1972 when I worked at Bikecology, specifically the way my college sweetheart (now wife of 50 years) wanted it, with UO-18 handlebars, 14-32 freewheel, SunTour VGT, and Schwinn stem shifters. Our bicycles were our means of transportation for the first three years of our marriage. After my wife decided she had enough of cycling in traffic, I let her ride my mountain bike on trails, and I repurposed the UO-8 as an errand-runner.

I concur with the enhancements suggested by 79pmooney, above: aluminum rims, better brakes, etc. I spread the rear triangle to 123mm and use Normandy Luxe Competition hubs with Araya aluminum rims and a 13-26 SunTour freewheel with "Ultra-6" spacing between cogs.

IdahoBrett

Thanks all!

When I initially brought it home, I thought of just a spit, polish, lube and adjustment. And chain replacement.

But after some oiling and cleaning. I would have to concur. Those front spokes/rim will never clean up pretty enough for my Mrs. And brakes. Yup, not safe enough.

And the FD? What in tarnation?

I just can't leave well enough alone. Can I? No I can't. It's in my nature to "make it better"....

IdahoBrett

After spit and polish in the sun. And with a seat swap under now cloudy skies.

markk900

Hope she loves it: after many years I found my wife a purple AO-8 just like she had as a teen…. Which she indeed does love.

re: front derailleur: the bike I got her was almost 100% original but according to my wife “the front changer is as bad as I remember”. She used to leave the front alone as it could not handle the 36-52 change. Put in a spare Shimano 600 Arabesque and it shifts nicely now….




Also swapped in some high flange hubs with alloy rims for better braking.

(Neither of those changes in the picture)

markk900

Also, FWIW, the AO-8 usually came with Atom small flange hubs and wingnuts, laced to a Rigida rim. That front wheel might be off an AO-8. Back wheel is almost certainly a replacement.

But really the difference between an AO and UO is irrelevant in riding…..

IdahoBrett

Looking at options for a wheel swap. I’ve come across a Araya 27x1 1/4 aluminum set with a Suntour Pro Compe freewheel for a decent price. I like the idea of not having to cold set the frame. Tires for that size seem plentiful and cheap enough.

I don’t have extensive knowledge on parts swapping. Or bikes in general. It is why I come here, mostly to search and read.

Am I on the right track? Thanks.

RB1-luvr

your spit does a great job polishing. Looks great. You're off to a very good start.

markk900

Yup.

Both our pugs now have alloy rims and braking is better and quieter; ride is better.

juvela

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suspect it conceivable that the Normandy Sport on the stern may be OEM

in looking at the models illustrated in the 1977 U.S. market brochure at bikeboompeugeot there appear to be others with this combination of Atom front and Normandy Sport rear

one thing simple for Brett to check would be the groove in hub shell indicating BSC gear block thread. if hub on cycle exhibits this it is definitely not OEM. if groove absent it is at least possible it could be OEM.



a second easy check for Brett would be the spoke head logos. look first at what is on the front then see how this compares with what is on the rear.

it is possible that the cycle's rear wheel rim got damaged and the owner replaced it by using the technique of taping the spokes and then undoing the spoke nipples; this would explain the presence of the non-matching rim. so matching spoke head logos would tend to confirm originalness of rear hub.

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tip for Brett -

P built the machine without quick releases for its Weinmann centrepull brakes. Weinmann offered brake quick release fittings both at the lever and at the hanger. you might wish to consider adding either the levers with quick release feature or the hangers with it so that Mrs. Idaho will have them.





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polymorphself 

If you need some inspo, a few years back a friend wanted a bike built out of a white, 70s Peugeot mixte (regardless of model) frame and it was to be her first foray into C&V. I found a complete U08 and did away with almost all of the steel components and swapped them with nicer aluminum bits (period appropriate and French where possible). She wanted single speed which isn't my thing but I think when getting people into something new it is best to go with their wishes as long as they are safe and reasonable. She also wanted upright bars. The build ended up being:

Frame: 1971 Peugeot UO-18 MIxte
Handlebars: Vintage Belleri Porteur Bars w/ Rustines Grips
Brakes: Mafac Racer w/ Velo Orange City Levers and Kool Stop pads. VO housing and cables.
Stem: Philippe
Seat post: Stock
Wheelset: H + Plus Son TB14 w/ Origin 8 track hubs
Fenders: Velo Orange Facetted 45mm
Tires: Panaracer Pasela 700x32
Crankset: Stronglight 49d
Bottom Bracket: Velo Orange Sealed Cartridge BB
Pedals: Stock
Saddle: Brooks Flyer
Saddlebag: Brooks Challenge Toolbag

The bike is quite light, brakes well and rides like a dream. Here are some more photos: https://flickr.com/photos/jordanparr...57714838123371

markk900

You may be right! I had not seen the UO-8 with a “nutted” rear wheel, but they seem to be there in the 1977 catalog.

Agree. Another possibility though is the substitution of a UO-8 fork on an AO-8. The crankset is closer to the AO-8 one in the catalog, but again most Peugeots are parts bin specials!

Last comment: levers do not have the “safety lever” feature that was supposedly on both AO and UO models of 1977; however if you look very closely I think it *is* equipped with the QR feature at the lever.

Earlier pugs with Mafac brakes made do with removing the straddle cable to effect a “quick” release!

John E

That was the grail bike for a lot of women in the early 1970s. When I told my boss at the bike shop that my girlfriend wanted a bike, he freaked out at first, saying, "All of my female customers want white UO-18s, and I can't get enough for them! She'll probably need the 22" frame, which makes the supply situation even tighter." He relaxed a lot when I reassured him that she wanted a UO-8 instead of the UO-18 mixte.

polymorphself 

Hard to blame them! As we all know well here, pugs have a really charming and classy aesthetic regardless of where they sit in the lineup. They just look good! They really nailed it with the decals especially.

IdahoBrett

Are Normandy hubs dated? I can see what looks like a date code. “02 81”

79pmooney

Removing the straddle cable is considerably easier with the Mafac Racers than with the Weinmanns. I use a mix of both calipers on my two winter/city/rain bikes. Removing and replacing the straddle on the Mafac fronts is easy. (Yeah, you only pop off one side and the brake does not open fully but that really doesn't matter. No tools, gloves, and little hand strength and coordination needed. ) The Weinmanns straddles get removed with a screwdriver. Replacing it before I ride out at the end of the driveway with bare hands? In cold weather sometimes barely possible.

Edit: DiaComp and others still make good brake hangers with barrel adjusts and quick releases. The classic seatpin and headset ones. The DiaComp's aren't quite as perfectly finished as some of the best BITD but are well thought out, well made and I'm betting will last me many years of good service. Operationally as good as any I've ever seen. Thank you, DiaComp. I put a touch of grease on the QR slides and the threads. Drop of oil on the QR pivot. End result is worthy of a classy bike and cost like an OEM replacement. Any bike shop can get them through the usual sources. I think I found them online. I bet DiaComp has a website you can find the model no. from.

IdahoBrett

Would 123mm hub spacing still require a cold set?

Yes. I found a dandy set of wheels I think I’m going to spring for. Keeping it French.

juvela

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no

the OEM rear hub would have had an over locknut dimension of 122mm


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markk900

Yea that’s a date code and probably rules out that hub as original to your bike as I don’t think that model extended to 1981, at least not with that decal set and cottered cranks.

Edit: looking at the US brochures it seems the last of the Aztec lugged frames was 1979.

As to cold setting - I have found Peugeot tubing to sometimes feel as stiff as al dente pasta: you can pretty easily make up any reasonable difference in OLD by hand without effort. However for best results cold setting and ensuring dropouts are aligned is a best practice.