Is it me, or does anyone else really like the steel-bodied plastic Simplex derailers? I'm a fan.

+1

It's just you.

Not that I disagree that overall the Pug beats out the Grand Prix, but by the later part of the 70's, Raleigh was hanging some pretty nice Suntour stuff on their GP.

If my mum gives me a frame that she found on the street, I'd put it in a museum for sentimental reasons. As long as I wasn't still mad at her for not buying me one in the first place.

Couldn't agree more, which I'll do here. I was too afraid to enter the Velo Touchy thread.

At the time I didn't even know anyone who had a derailleur bike. I was 23 years old. What did I know? This bike carried me many miles. When the pump broke I cut off the pump lugs to allow fitting of a Zephal hp (a much better pump anyway). In the late 70's I upgraded to alloy crank, pedals, wheels, SunTour derailleurs. For most of its life it wore lights and a bottle generator. Eventually I moved those alloy parts to a nearly bare Gran Sport frame I had acquired. This past year I re-assembled the UO-8, minus the long-gone Simplex. Now it is getting ridden again.

I have a dilemma though. I'm tempted to upgrade it again. One idea is to build alloy rims onto those Normandy hubs. But I can't bring myself to disassemble those beautiful original steel wheels! Sure, they're heavy but they are straight and true and shiny.

And that 14-26 freewheel... I've got another Atom from a Motobecane that goes 14-28. That would give me a low gear of 35. Sure, climbing would be easier, but I would know that it isn't original.

Now, if I had some original derailleurs..naw, don't go there!

perhaps save the original wheels and build some alloy 27" wheels to fit for everyday riding?

My biggest complaint with the standard wheels was the fact that you could literally watch the brake pads being eaten by the rigidas...

and IMO, the Simplexes are probably the sweetest shifting derailers that I've used on a lower end bike - excluding the Suntour SR I put on the girlfriend's LeTour. That thing is like buddah!

I like these. They shift as well as any vintage derailer I've tried, including Super LJ and Suntour V. https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...E:B:SS:US:1123

I bought my first UO-8 in 1972 and sold it a couple years ago. In the 35 or so years I owned it, it got a lot of use. After selling it I decided I wanted another so I bought this 1962 beauty.



A few hours of spit and polish and and voila!

You've got some powerful spit .

Amazing how you were able to polish that mattress saddle into a B72...or is it an Ideale 80?

B72? I'm not seeing the spiral springs on it...

If any brooks, it'd be a B17


BTW, it's probably not, but from those two pictures, it looks like the fork is bent.

Here's a picture of my early 70 UE(?)8. I removed the generator and headlight (safely tucked away) b/c it made to much noise while riding. I've been having issues w/ the d/r s so I'm thinking about making her into a s/s (no hacking, just removal of d/rs).

Good call.

My bad. That's obviously what I meant.

Hi Maddox - that is one of the more remarkable b4 and after photos I've seen. Good job!

The early 70's GP was fitted with the same Simplex derailleurs, had a straight gauge carbon frame, SA steel wheels, Atom pedals, and was fitted with a better quality Wright's saddle... Peugeot fitted the horrible AGDA leather saddle. Some of the GP's had a Carlton made fork which really improved the ride quality of the bike.

You should bottle that spit and sell it.

Nice bit of work there.

Really nice.

The saddle was one of the few parts that needed to be replaced. I don't think it was original anyway, plus I was worried I'd ruin my britches if I sat on it. I replaced it with an AGDA.

I believe the bike originally came with either an AGDA or an Ideale #43.

There was also a cheaper steel wheel in common usage on the lower priced bikes. Don't recall its name but the rippling pattern was different, coarser. I believe the AO-8 had this wheel, as well as the comparable Motobecane Nomad. I've seen pics of UO-8's with these other wheels. Maybe Peugeot downgraded them at one time in a cost saving move. Or a previous owner did a swap.

The biggest thing I've noticed is that they brake okay when slightly wet but take a spin or two of the wheel to clear the water off. It makes you plan ahead, so to speak. One more thing, that rippling make them sing when you brake. It's good for getting people's attention when you come up behind them on a MUP. Or you can think of it as embarrassing, your choice.

Mine says "NOREX" and some other stuff that is illegible.

One thing to watch is how the seat clamp sits on the seat post. The seat post is straight so the clamp can slide down if it isn't tight. This ends up with the post pushing a bump upwards in the middle of the saddle, not good for prostate and other key elements of one's anatomy. A good upgrade is a real seat post, which means taking out that metal collar that fits into the ST and finding or making a French-size post.

The stock clamp on an AGDA saddle is very poor quality and was one of the issues with that saddle besides the poor leather quality... Sheldon Brown said that AGDA saddles were the reason people stopped using leather and began to regard all leather saddles as being torture devices.

My saddle is a Brooks B5N which has been pretty comfortable from the get go but I am not completely happy with the clamp it came with as it does not offer a precise enough adjustment... will switch to a Brooks or Ideale clamp which will solve that issue as these clamps are very well made.

Norex saddles were, as far as I know, a sub brand of Ideale much like Wrights was a sub brand of Brooks and the quality is much better than an AGDA which translates into English as "ass hatchet" for most although I have met a few folks with buns of steel that can ride them in comfort.

One would only find an Ideale or Brooks on higher end bikes... Ideale saddles are every bit as good as Brooks and were their chief rival until they ceased doing business. Old Ideal saddles can fetch some serious money as they are rarer and have not been in continuous production as Brooks saddles have. I have a model 92 Diagonal touring saddle which was considered to be one of the finest touring saddles ever made... NOS ones sell for many hundreds of dollars and there was a time when shops here were clearing them out for 25.00 !

I have an Ideal Professional that needs some serious rehab and may end up using this on the Pug... seems a French bike needs a French saddle.

And I still have that model 92...

Here's my UO-8 or 9? Today it's a beater, perhaps someday a restoration project.


No, the fork's not bent, it's just the picture

That's a UO-9, with an aluminum crank.

Andrew - That is a really nice looking bike... it seems that these bikes and their paint seem to hold up quite well and my UO8 has to be the shabbiest of the lot.

Was sourcing out touch up paint today as the stays and dropouts really need touch ups more than anything.

Why is there such a bad rap for vintage Delrin Simplex components on this C/V site? How could the AVA "death stem" be more tolerated on these French classics?
Is it Peugeot envy?

Uh, because it didn't shift well?
The FD had no vertical movement so it didn't track well from a 36 to a 52.
The RD was flexible. The design required small cable movements per shift, so any stretch or friction in the cable was amplified. The stem shifters common in the 70's (at least) added another section of housing and friction from its stops. Inotherwords, it didn't shift well.

Until I started reading BF I had never heard it called that. Mine has not broken in 38 years. (With luck it won't tomorrow.) People told me the fork would bend. It hasn't. (With luck it won't tomorrow.)

OK so the plastic/metal combo (Delrin) was not the problem, and which bikes did you hone you opinion on?