alisonkru

OK, i'm a total newbie, and know next to nothing about bicycles, so forgive me.
I recently purchased a 70's peugeot. I can't really tell you much else about it, because I really have no idea. I bought it because it was cheap on craigslist, basically, and I want to start biking to work. Anyway, the rear brakes are pretty much shot. In an attempt to look online at how to possibly fix them, I ran into all of these pages and pictures of people who turned their peugeot bicycles into fixed gear bikes. Now I know I probably won't be able to do this by myself, but is this even a good idea? If I take it to a bike shop and ask them to do this for me, will they laugh? Is something like this an expensive process, or would I just be better off buying a new fixed gear? Advice and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

bikenut2011

I'm sure if you posted some pics, you could get some better advice. Some Peugeot bikes are worth quite a bit of money, maybe you lucked in to something. One thing is for sure, if you have an old bike, you are in the right place for advice and instruction. BF is awesome. I'm sure with some guidance you could do quite a bit of work all by yourself... there are TONS of online how to videos etc...



andy

cb400bill

Alison, welcome to the forum!

Before you start any projects, please take some pictures of your bike and post them in this thread. That will let us know better what bike you have and then we can better help you with your brake problems.

marley mission

welcome - good info here for sure - love to see pics - my first question would be though - why go fixie? and i am guessing those brakes might just need adjusting - dont scrap em so fast

btw - your lbs wont laugh - especially once they are holding your credit card - get some pics up and let the group assessment begin

Chombi

PX10 or UO8....THAT IS THE QUESTION!

Welcome C&V Peugeot newbie! Just shoot us the pics of your Peugeot and we'll try to help you figure out everything (maybe) you want to know about your bike and how to feed and care for it!
The statement above in bold is just to prepare you on one of the most common questions we get from people who just bough C&V 70's Peugeots.

Chombi

auchencrow

Hi alisonkru - Welcome to C&V!

We will look forward to seeing some pics of your new steed - drive side please.

No - Your local bike shop won't laugh at you no matter what you ask them - they'll just take more of your money.
- That's OK if you have no interest in getting your hands dirty, but you will find most people here strongly encourage home mechanics.

Working on bikes is not difficult or expensive,(though you do have to make an initial investment in some tools). As alluded to above, there are a lot on on-line sources of help for bike repair. eg;

"My Ten Speeds " by our own Randy Jawa ,
The Park Tool Website , and
Sheldon Browns' web site .

BTW - There are some things you need to know if you want to ride a fixie:

1 The chain wheel is "fixed" to the rear cog, so when going down hill, the pedals can spin in excess of 170 rpm. Therefore, there better not be a pant cuff or anything caught there, or you can imagine what would happen.

2 Coasting is not possible, so it is common for beginners approaching an obstacle or a curve to stop pedaling- and then the crank pedal comes back around to kick your leg, really hard, and you lose control of the bicycle.

3 If the fixie lacks one or both brakes (as many do), serious injuries or death can result.

4 Pedal strike with the pavement as you bank corners is another big risk for beginners.

That said, there are reasons why experienced riders ride them. Track racing for one - and also that they require more skill and human interaction with the bike, so it can build skill/endurance. Some say they are better on ice too.

randyjawa 

It sounds like you have a bit to learn and I caution against taking on too much too fast. That said, most repair, refurbishment and even conversion tasks are with-in reach of most people.

I have converted lots of old Ten Speeds to Single Speed configuration and even built a Fixed Gear or two. You might want to have a look at How I Build Single Speeds, etc, just to give you a bit of an idea of what to expect.


Hope this is a help.

Chombi

Ditto about taking it too fast.
Just recently we had a poster that I think, rushed a resto on an otherwise nice classic Peugeot and ended up ruining all sorts of parts and IIRC, part of the frame in the process I was cringing everytime I opened up a new post from him reporting yet another problem that he is rushing through and beating things up. He seemed to have been just too impatient with the tasks at hand and just rushed through them too much. It's an easy trap for all of us C&Vers to fall into especailly if we get caught up in the excitement of finishing a build up or resto bike project. Learn to take your time and turn away from the work to think things out carefully for your next move before going "gorilla" on on a problem. My last project would have been in the dump already if I did not deal with it carefully and patiently as I now suggest.........these bikes and parts can be delicate and precise and might not take heavy handedness too well.....

Chombi

jimmuller 

As others have said, your bike might be quite nice. Even the lower models were good riding bikes. As for the brakes being shot, that could mean most anything, all pretty much fixable. Whatever you do, don't throw anything away!

alisonkru

So far, I love ya'll. Auchen-- thank you for the warnings, I didn't know any of this! I will definitely snap some photos for you all tomorrow. I'm going to be thorough and take a bunch, as to give you all as much detail as possible. But, THANK YOU ALL already, I am so happy I found this forum!! You all have me super encouraged.