70's Peugeot! Maybe a U-08...
 

I found an old Peugeot sitting on the side of the road the other day. It's tires were dry rotted, and the plastic holding the front derailleur to the downtube is cracked and seperated. It looks like a U-08, because it has quick release skewers and the half chrome fork, but it has full front and back fenders, a rear mouse trap rack, and lights on the front and the back. Do you know if this is a worth while find? Also, I'm looking for a commuter/bar crawler/ winter ride. Does anyone have any experience with touring on an old bike like this, or commuting?
Thanks!
Charlie

It's sounds like a UE8, which is basically a UO8 with fenders, rack and a lighting system. Provided it fits and is in no need of major repairs, it will make a nice commuter. Repairing Peugeots can sometimes be a challenge due the odd sizes and threading of some parts. Parts are available but can be a bit harder to find and sometimes more expensive than comparable Japanese parts. Having said that, many people find the ride characteristics of vintage French bicycles to be preferable to other offerings of the era. They tend to provide a more resilient ride, primarily due to the slightly smaller diameter tubing.

I am new but have in enlightened by some good Peugeot knowledge within this site. You might want to see if you can load pics. They would help greatly. I think if you have a tire pump on the down tube along with the chrome lower forks you would be looking toward a UO8. UE8's normally have the pumps mounted on the underside of the top tube.

Balindamood posted a nice pic of a Euro 8 model. Look on the second of Classi & Vintage for a thread titled "looks like a Peugeot week". Balindmood put a nice illistration of a Euro P8 bike. Again send some pics for everyone.

Goodluck
Dwaine :)

second page of Classic & Vintage. typo

The pump peg location is year dependent. There were lots of UE8 with pegs on the down tubes.

Still, there is always the possibility that somebody put rack and fenders on a UO8. A UE8 frame differs from a UO8 by having brackets near the top of the seat stays for rack mounting, a bracket on the left seat stay for a generator and tabs under the down tube for the wiring harness. But posting pics is still the best method for identification as there are some similar models, even though the UE8 was by far the most common model with these features.

Mostly I believe the pump peg location was dependent on the intended destination market. Bike destined for the U.S. mostly had down tube pegs. My late 70's UE-8 has downtube pegs.

It's a UE-8.

Still absorbing good info

Dwaine

I toured on a U-08 around europe in the late 70's it worked fine. I was car-free in those days. So it did everything from commuting to heavy hauling, I even carried a door once. Sadly, the SNCF lost it when I took the train. I think they were angry because I had put a Shimano groupo on it. :eek: