free Peugeot! Now what?
 

Well, I was given a free Peugeot that is JUST my size. Now, I have to wonder what to do with the thing. It's one of the cheaper road bikes with fenders, a rack, and a dynamo. Do I make the whole thing into a nice single speed and sell or throw out those simples derailleurs? Do I give the bike a tune up and keep it as is? Do I make it single speed and strip off the fenders and other crap? Do I sell the bike after overhauling the bottom bracket, headset, and hubs?

I'd repack the bearings and ride it like it is. When you have the room, a extra bike is not bad.

DO NOT strip off the fenders, rack, dynamo, etc. What you've got is a Peugeot UE-8 Caravan; leave it in one piece -- Simplex derailleurs and all. If you want a stripped down SS, please, go find another candidate and sell the Caravan to someone who wants it in its original form. I had a Caravan a few months ago and sold it for $150; if you only get $100 for yours it's plenty to go find a bike that's a more suitable starting point for what you want to build.

That's the answer I was looking for! I already checked Sheldon Brown's site on these, and it is indeed a UE-8. I just wasn't sure how valuable the bike is. It's in pretty good condition - no rust that I can see, no dents, paint looks decent.

Also, the person who first bought the bike, didn't like drops and had the cruiser style flat bars put on. The first thing I'm doing is sticking on some steel bars from a motobecane. Also, I have no non-aero brake levers.

Ride that baby!

If you change any single item, change the wheels to alloys. I have 700c x 23's on my '68 U08. Makes an immediately noticable difference. Lose weight, stop better and have less rolling resistance. No such thing as a free lunch, though. You will get quicker (twitchier) steering.

Tyson

Nothing I'm not used to. I do have a Felt road bike and a Ciocc commuter. I would like to change the wheels as I absolutely hate steel wheels.

I got a UE-8 a while back too. I turned it into a single speed and it rides fantastic! It's now a weird mix of French and Japanese parts - original fork and headset with Japanese stem and bars, original BB cups with Japanese spindle (actually worked!!!!). The dynamo is kinda buggered though, so I'm trying to get that to work properly before I put the mudguards back on.

What's wrong with the dyno?

Don't know what's wrong with the dynamo. At first I thought it was just the wiring, but then held the globe on the dynamo itself and still nothing. It's really weird - I got some sporadic flashes of light when I was first playing around with it, but now I can't get a damn thing. The globes look okay too. Any suggestions???

Keep as is. Mine still is, but with new shiny chrome fenders, rack, bell, lighting and front derailluer. Check the ground too, bike one side of circuit. UE-8 just looks wrong stripped.

Tried a 700cc on the front, issues with reach. Pads were in sidewalls. Nah. 27 x 1.25 rims out there, alloy. Tires too. Also my speciallized seqouia has the 700 x 23 cc rims and tires. Lousy on gravel/dirt roads. Much prefer the 27".

Simplex rear deraillluer still works fine on mine. "If it ain't broke....don't fix it.", my dad alway's said...... He never was much for maintenance too, but that's beside the point.

Not keen on SS, especially fixed. That severed fingertip on Sheldon's website I did not need to see.

The dynamo actually works on the bike I got. I'm really surprised. All I know is the bike was actually bought in Germany.

So was mine...by me in 1984.

The carivan is my rain day commuter and it rocks. I swapped out the peddles for clipless, put on alloy wheels, 27 1 1/4 and overwrapped the bar tape with better tape to get a thicker non vinal grip. I use the dyno at night. I will return it to stock to sell it after I build up another rain commuter.

here it is stock

Just had to show mine. Needs rear wheel rebuild. Spokes finally gave up. Still run it around the block now and then just for nostagia.

So would it be total blasphemy to put on some motobecane steel bars and aero levers? At some time this bike's drop bars were swapped for some riser flatbars.

hmmm your bikes don't seem to have the low end cottered steel cranks either.

I don't think Rustedbird's is a bona fide UE-8, but it's in the right spirit. And no, it wouldn't be blasphemy; the Moto bars are pretty close to what it came with. The original levers would have been Mafac, with white lever covers and half-hoods. The aeros will serve the purpose until you find some.

Why steel? Other than that, I don't see an issue with putting drop bars from a moto on it. I'm even thinking of putting aero levers on my Moto-- and I'm still trying to decide if *that* would be blasphemy.

Mostly a UE8M, what of it that survived the passage of time.

It was original for a year, then I upgraded it. That's the third rear wheel it has had. The original steel rims were swapped out in 85, and it has a Nervar crank that I bought in Frankfurt. The handlebars are some very narrow German sport touring bars, alloy. I used to be nervous about the creaking but they ain't broke yet. A lot of us sorta "hot-rodded" our rides. Most of the parts came from a shop on Miguel-Allee. The suicide levers were dremelled off a long time ago. No white hoods, what you see is what it came with.

The second rear wheel was destroyed by a Turkish girl on an old utility bike'. She rode right into the wheel and bent it. Ugh. It spent some time in Virginia Beach as a stripped down beach bike, and when I put it back to what it was supposed to "be", that what was available. Hey, at least they are French parts!