boze

I come to you with a heavy heart: after several summers of helping friends and family buy used road bikes I made a mistake and led a friend into purchasing an old Peugeot that needs a new bottom bracket.

If the attached pic isn't enough to identify it, I can try to take some others that might show a serial number or something.

My question is a two-parter: what year/model frame is this, and how can I get a proper bb replacement for him so he can use it as a commuter like he intended to do? I've looked at that site with old brochures for vintage Peugeots, but I can't be sure which is the right one and even then I'm not sure how to translate that to a replacement bb.

Thanks for any advice,
boze

huerro

Have you opened the bottom bracket up yet? You might be able to clean it up and repack it with fresh grease and new bearings instead of trying to find a replacement.

Don't know the model. Sorry.

mastershake916

That chain really does have a lot of slack.

Kommisar89

I'd say 70-74-ish UO8 with French thread BB. If you truely need a new BB then eBay is your best bet. What makes you think a new BB is required?

el twe

Yeah, could use a little attention.

Sixty Fiver

If the bb cups are good then new bearings and grease are all you need...if you want upgrade those cottered cranks with a tapered spindle and a modern (lighter crank) a long series #5 axle will do that and all you have to do is swap out the cottered axle.

When I found my 62 Peugeot I converted the crank over to a modern Sakae and dropped a pound off the bike with this method and since I work in a shop that recycles old bikes have stashed away a lifetimes supply of good French threaded bb cups and headsets.

Kommisar89

So Sixty Fiver, maybe you tell tell me if this will work or not - I have a Stronglight 49D crank and I picked up a 118mm Stronglight BB. I'm going to try to fit that into the BB of my UO8 with the original cups. I have it sitting in there now but I don't have any bearings handy to actually set it up. Do you think that will work?

Sixty Fiver

I have not put something like that together but am thinking things should be okay... check to see that the new spindle matches the old cottered spindle as far as internal measurements go.

Loose bearing are also better than caged... they run a little smoother and last longer.

boze

Hey guys,
Thanks for the advice - I didn't realize I still had an old email address in my prefs or I'd have back sooner to follow up.

So to clarify, I had my friend take the bike into my favorite LBS and they said it needed a new bottom bracket because it was "slipping" and that they didn't take on vintage repairs like that. Moreover they talked him out of putting a grown-man sized bar and a longer stem on the bike and made the argument that he'd bought a lemon.

But there was no talk of it being ovalized or anything, so my thinking was that since I'd let him astray like this I could help find a replacement BB as a way to get my friend on the road.

Maybe my questioning was on the wrong track..

Do you guys think I should try to find a local mechanic who'd want to take the old bb apart and see what's up with it?

We're going to need shop help at some point. My friend liked the style and fit of the old Peugeot but he runs he's a busy startup type and wasn't trying to take on a DIY project. Kind of makes me a bad fit for this forum though since you guys are actually restoring bikes yourselves and that's not what I'm trying to do for my friend.

I thought I'd find a replacement part that fit and then he could take the same approach as before but instead of asking about a wider bar / longer stem he could provide the bb.

Maybe I should post a DC craigslist ad and see if I can get somebody to repack the existing bb instead? I'm not knowledgeable enough about whether the "slipping" described means the existing bb really crapped the bed or not.

Thanks and sorry if my reasoning wasn't sound,
Boze

Sixty Fiver

Most of the local shops here won't take on jobs like this and deem bikes like this as non worthy... a lot of that stems from a lack of parts and the fact the labour rate can often exceed the value of the bike.

Our co-op really does a good job of keeping these odd bikes rolling... we horde things like French and Raleigh threaded parts.

If everything in the bottom bracket is good there's no problem with running the stock cranks... I did this for quite a few km on my Peugeot before I sourced out a new crank and a number of my bikes still have cottered cranks as I don't want to change their original parts.

Is there a c o-op in your area that might be able to help... the conversion is a simple job that really doesn't take too long as long.

boze

hey 65er,
thanks for all the attention.

are you saying that the crank swap makes the bb an easier fix or is that just a modernization/weight_savings thing?

like i said, i wanted to provide the bb just as a way to get our ducks in a row for a bike mechanic. the bike co-op went out of business, so i'm not sure what action i'm to take to further things along.

so would you say the first step on my part should be to look around for somebody who'd be willing to work on it before buying any new parts?

also, if you could pass along a link of an example french bb on ebay that'd be great - or do you think the idea that it's toast is just not proven yet?

thanks again,
b

dbakl

I can't think of any reason a bottom bracket would "slip". Its just an axle rotating in bearings... either it does it smoothly, roughly or loosely...

I hate bike stores! My friend (a woman) just bought a new bike because the bike store told her that her old one couldn't be repaired when it probably just needs adjustment. But happily, she has more money than sense, so she doesn't care. More junk for the landfill!!!

Sixty Fiver

The swap is a weight saving modernization that will also improve the bike's performance as you will be reducing a lot of rotating mass.

Bu swapping all the steel bits off my Peugeot, using nicer alloy bits, and doing a fixed gear conversion it has come down into the 22 pounds range with a rack and leather saddle.

A #5 spindle replaced the cottered axle and a modern alloy crank replaced the low end steel crank the bike came with.

huerro

I can't imagine what anyone would mean by a bb slipping, especially one with cottered cranks. Might be time to look for another shop.

I've found both Proteus and College Park bikes (both in College park) to be more than willing to help me out with more obscure or "not worth it" projects. I would try Proteus first. give them a call and see what they have to say about servicing the bracket or maybe replacing the spindle and cranks. College Park bikes will not be cheap, but I'll be they have a bottom bracket for you and they definitely will have used cranks if you end up changing as Sixty Fiver suggested..

cyclotoine

My guess is that by slipping they mean one of the cotters is loose in which case you need to replace the cotters, the BB might as well be repacked with new bearings and grease while your at it.

boze, yes perhaps posting an add for help on CL would be an idea or try the shops suggested by huerro. Also, I don't think anyone has pointed this out. If you have to replace the BB you might as well replace the cranks because finding the old cottered BB to match will be difficult to say the least and if you are spending the money you might as well upgrade to a square taper with alloy crank. The problem is that your bottom bracket is french threaded which is completely obsolete so you are pigeon holed into using cup and loose ball style bottom brackets. The only other option is to have the BB retapped to italian (I am pretty sure this can be done on french bikes, correct me if I am wrong) and then you have endless easy options for cartridge BBs... However, finding someone to do that might be even harder than locating cups and throwing a new spindle in there. The first step is getting the BB apart and finding out whether you need to replace anything or not, the next step is to get on ebay and search for french cups... I think that first flight bikes has a set of cups...

https://www.firstflightbikes.com/frames/VintPart.htm

scroll down to the bottom of the BB section, third item up is some NOS french cups... That's half the battle should you need new ones.

evwxxx

Not sure what side of DC the OP is on, there is a bike shop right at the jct of I-66 and Sprout Run on the Arlington side of things that looks like it has a hand in vintage stuff, judging by the used bikes they are selling...might give them a hollar. Name is Big Wheel Bikes.

boze

thanks so much for the great detailed recommendations - I feel much better informed now. i think following up with proteus or college park bikes sounds like a great idea unless i can job it out on craigslist somehow. even then it sounds like those two LBSs would be key for parts. and i even have that link to firstflightbikes if we need to go hunting for parts before the work gets done. i'll have it checked out first though.

my della santa single speed is modded similarly to 65ers Peugeot (only with less classy looking cranks and ring) and i can imagine how the crank upgrade would be well worth it. thanks for taking the time to explain the process and the benefit.

how much do we imagine this will cost if one of those shops has the parts? the Peugeot still needs the bar and stem replaced to fit my friend and i'm feeling like more and more of an ass as the project sprawls.

worthy cause though.

here, i just took a few pix of the della santa for no reason.

thanks again everybody,
b

huerro

If the cups are good and you just need a new spindle and cranks, I think I have some beat up but functional alloy cranks you can have for free. I might have the matching spindle, but I'm not sure (can't go look as I'm away right now). PM me if you are interested.

A WTB ad on Craig's List will probably turn up a perfectly good spindle and crank for very little.

As for the della santa...yum!