Well, as long as we're talking uo 8's and ue 8's here, does anyone have a spare UE 8 rear brake lying around? the one for the brake bridge with the hole drilled parallel with the seat stays?
tt
I really like my frame that I built up as a commuter, it rides good and its purple to boot! I can't wait to get some decent aluminum wheels for it and that rear brake.

I might have a bolt that might help you adapt another brake. And you could drill the brake bridge if you want. I've done it. It wasn't perfectly aligned, but it worked.

I found a small quantity of French bikes that a local had collected and I am now considering buying one. I am able to identify quality frame parts and tube fairly well but I am still vague on the components. I spotted concave rims (27"?), Mafac brakes, Normandy hubs, levers with black plastic blades, the AVA stems etc.

I am trying to arrange a visit again this week, can anyone supply some crib notes for a uninformed French bike shopper? I did notice many more brazed-on cable stops than I am used to seeing in a pile of bikes, that is exciting.

Saw a 70's Apollo this morning when I stopped for coffee... was a rather beaten up green step through with a Deelite head badge which was one of the trading names for Fred Deely Cycles in Vancouver. They were the Canadian importer for Apollo and Kuwahara bicycles and at a glance one would think they were looking at a Peugeot.

The green is almost the same, there are checkers on the ends of the seat tube transfer and even the Deelite badge is red and silver like the Peugeot badges and logo.

The Japanese knew who they were going up against and the bike was of course fitted out with lower end Shimano parts and not Simplex... Apollo's were nicely made bikes (they were made by Kuwahara) and the quality level was probably a step up from entry level Pugs although they didn't quite match the sex appeal of these exotic French machines and had yet to develop their good reputation.

It would still be a few years after this bike was made before consumers started to realize what a good bicycle the Japanese were making and this was the start of the end of Raleigh and Peugeot's dominance in the market.

When Raleigh started equipping their bikes with Suntour gear in '77 they had everything branded as Raleigh as they were not sure people would accept Japanese parts on a British made bike... in only a few years these Japanese bits became a selling feature. My '79 Raleigh Super Grand Prix had a full Shimano 600 group on it.

I got this from the dump for FREE ![IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG]

Nice find!
Those shorty fenders are like another style fail from the 70's - you know, the Speedo style skimpy swim trunks - in both cases, more would have been better - as in full coverage!

here is my '73 (?) UO-8. i have since replaced the 27" rear with a 700c. added a rear rack, and gotten rid of the death stem and original steel bars and levers. i also had to replace the plastic simplex RD when the housing around the limit srew cracked and sent the chain into the spokes. it now is running a shimano skylark RD. i love this bike and i dont think i'll ever get rid of it. It is my first real road bike. I use it for everything... commuting, recreational riding, racing (alleycats and such), and group rides. As heavy as it is, i can still keep up with these aluminum/carbon machines. I plan to win my first race with it on sunday (6mi sprint). wish me luck!!

Good Luck! Mine was my first race bike too, back in the 70's.....of course, being in shape turned out to be a little more important than having a race bike....

[QUOTE

Between the straddle length and the unique brake shoe post position, you can get close to having the straddle contact the arm at 90 degrees. That's one of the criteria for maxing out leverage.

Good morning !

With no jobs in the queue this morning I got to working on my old Pug over my morning coffee... woke up thinking that I wanted to play with some old Huret bits I salvaged last week and still need to pull a Peugeot branded double off another bike and fit it but for now the old lady is running as a 1 by 6.

Had these beautiful French wheels kicking around... these are Maillard hubs are laced to double walled and eyeletted Rigida blue label rims (27 inch) I pulled off an 80's Peugeot racing bike some years ago when it got a 700c conversion.



Used a Huret dt shifter and a Huret Svelto derailleur which, despite it's low end origins is the coolest bit of kit and it works wonderfully as it is pretty much NOS and has not seen any miles. It's a pretty light derailleur and has smooth jockey wheels with adjustable bearings which was quite a touch for an entry level part.





Had to move my bell which is a BBC #5 that was made in Japan.... it is every bit as nice as a Crane in it's tone and believe BBC makes the smaller Crane bells.

It polished up very nicely...



Am also restoring an Ideale Pofessional saddle for the bike... it has been carefully reshaped to get rid of the center ridge it had developed (ass hatchet) and now it needs oiling and waterproofing before I can break it in.

Went with continuous cable runs as at some point this bike will get fenders and I won't mind taking her out in the rain so her sister can stay warm and dry... click this link to see her sister as she's a "P" and does not belong here... even though she was an entry level bike in her day and was really the 1957 equivalent of the more modern UE8.

I want to see more of that P. I don't care what thread, here or another.

And that UO-8 is really nice. Excellent wheels. I built many wheels with those rims. They were some of the best in their day. Same with the hubs.

Yes, I killed a kitten...

I got this 73ish UO-8 as an all-original bike, but it was rather beat on. Took a decent set of steel wheels, centered the rear rim, screwed on a 17 tooth cog, replaced the bb with square taper and a 48 tooth single chainring from a Schwinn World Tourist, dropped on a brand new Brooks B17 and some amber shellacked cork tape. It rides really nice, but I'm still fighting with the rear cog - it hasn't seated properly yet.



DOn't worry though, with the exception of the BB spindle, nothing was cut off the bike.

ETA - no, the fork isn't bent. Weird photo angle though...

It's a fixed gear with no lockring?

Tom

Ok, I gotta get you guys a picture of my green UO-8.

Suicide hub. It's got a bb lockring on it, but it still likes to slip on occasion. I just threw some loc tite on it, so hopefully, that'll help matters. And it does have a brake - I'm not too concerned. If both fail, I'll just stick my foot on the back tire.

She got her own thread a while back... PLX8 Redux

Took the U out for errands today and it was windy and hot... the gearing was just fine and that Svelto is a really smooth running derailleur and shifts beautifully.

Might not need a double if I stick to the flats and rolling hills we have around here... the gearing might be steep for climbing out of the valley but there is only one way to know that.

I can't believe your climate. I've been watching your weather for a few days. It's warmer there than here! Plus I'm so envious of your summer daylight hours!

Tom... I think we are getting a good 15 plus hours of daylight right now and temps have been pushing 80... our summers are as beautiful as our winters are cold and you will have to come and visit.

I am hoping we see some rain as it has been an exceedingly dry spring which is great for riding and playing but not so good when it comes to agriculture and managing forest fires.

I am ready for the rain... found some UE8 fenders and a matching rack (that I need to install).



Can't tell you how much I like the way this bike rides... you will just have to come by and take her for a spin.

"Only" 15 miles today. Running errands. On the UO-8. What a nice feeling bike. Only problem was one of the cotter pins loosened up a few miles from home. Yeesh. Fortunately I found a rock, then fixed it right when I got home.

I have no great affection for the cottered cranks on the boomers unless they are Raleigh... replacing them is now a pretty easy job since Velo Orange offers a cartridge bb for French bottom brackets.

It knocks a good pound off the bike and frees one up to use whatever crank / chain ring combination suits them best.

Rode my UO8 all day and laid down about 20 miles in some scorching heat... got my rear rack installed tonight and now that that I can carry my panniers will use the bike to go and see my mom on the weekend... it's a 50 mile ride if I take the short route and 60 if I take the scenic route.

Funny... I have lost track of how many U's I have worked on and retrofitted over the years and really loved my UG... but am having quite the love affair with the new girl.

Like most of my bikes they turn into test platforms for future builds and get tested pretty hard.

Can't see why anyone would tear the fenders of a UE as they are so well integrated into the design of the bike and improve it in so many ways... and most bikes without fenders look naked.

With the rack mounted the rear fender has 6 points of attachment which means you could ride through a minefield and it would never rattle, the Peugeot mount at the dropout is solid but also has an added feature in that if the clamp was to come loose the stay would not interfere the wheel or spokes. Most modern fenders and many older ones have their adjustment point up top and if a stay comes loose it can can get sucked into the spokes and cause grievous damage.

The Peugeot rear rack also has a hangar for the fender (which is drilled for this) and once installed the stiffness of the rear triangle increased noticeably... it is a well made rack and having used them know they can handle a good deal of weight.

Saw a beautiful front rack on a Gitane touring bike yesterday and will be looking at brazing one up to fit the Pug to serve more as a mounting point for low mounted lights and to hang the front fender.

When I was riding around yesterday I saw many cyclists and nothing passed me and at one point I was pacing cars on a stretch where the speeds tend to be in the low 40's (kmh)... besides being fast the UO8 will blow through the roughest roads and still offer a really nice ride in doing so.

Have some nice Specialized Tri Sports to install here and think they will improve the bike even more with a little faster roll out and better puncture protection while looking more period correct.

Been making notes in my head as I will start building frames later this summer and will apply many of the things I like about these old Pugs into my own designs and would like to be able to replicate the ride quality of the UO8 fork.

They will be new bikes with a vintage flavour...

After cracking my plastic d/t shifter this past week, I had the good fortune of receiving a set of shimano barcons for free! So my project today will be installing those, swapping out the AVA stem for a "non death stem" and replacing (not throwing out) my plastic Simplex rear D/R w/ a Suntour Superbe Sport. Also in the plans are a set of double walled Araya rims w/ high flange Normany hubs (off my Ross Gran Tour). Once everything is done I'll post some pics. Eventually I plan on replacing the front D/R w/ something a bit more "modern", but for now it works. If anyone has a square taper french BB let me know.... it's on my wish list

Rob - Order a French cartridge bb from Velo Orange in the width you need.