greg3rd48 

Hi all,

I just picked up a '71 U08 and I am in the beginning stages of my first rebuild. So this is where I defer to more experienced rebuilders. It is now stripped down and awaiting the rebuild process. Since this is my first rebuild and first post please be patient. The Simplex derailleurs are trashed and I would like to replace them with more modern components. However I am not sure what would be most compatible. The Mafac brakes are all in great shape so those do not need to be replaced. Also what would be the steps I would have to take if I wished to replace the Mafac brakes and downtube shifters to put in brifters? I have learned a lot so far but that seems a bit daunting. Is that recommended or should I just stick with the downtube shifters? Thanks for your time and I look forward to learning more and more.

tjkoko

Can you please name the saddle that came with the U08.

John E

Forget brifters, but do consider barcons, which are a cheap and easy upgrade. Here is my 1970 UO-8, with SunTour barcons and rear derailleur, aluminum Sugino crankset, and Shimano front derailleur. Also, replace those Mafac brake pads with KoolStops, particularly if they are original.

eschlwc

i would use period correct derailleurs that will look appropriate on the bike. you can find them here on bf (iso thread?), ebay, local co-op, or craigs. two options are non-plastic simplex stuff or suntour vx series.

redneckwes

'70's Suntour works great and has the benefit of being affordable and easy to find. '70's Huret gear isn't quite as reliable or easy to find, but preforms just fine with a little patience.

All metal Simplex gear works as beautifully as it looks.

likebike23

I'm not sure that this bike is the best platform to put brifters on. There are going to be so many issues to overcome that your head might explode. Seriously, check out Mytenspeeds.com, Retropeugeot.com, and Sheldon Brown's articles for information on working on French bikes before you do anything. I will say you will run into issues with rear dropout spacing, front derailleur cable routing, wheel OLD and freewheel threading, frame tube diameters for any clamp on bits, etc. Don't get me wrong they are fun bikes to "hotrod" but due to the French idiosyncrasies in addition to the 70's standards/technology it'll take a lot of research or experience to get it right.

As for replacing the brakes, you will need nutted brakes. Google "measuring bicycle brake reach" to figure out how much reach you want. Before you decide on brakes, decide if you are keeping the original steel wheels (poor braking). If you are changing to aluminum wheels, what size are you going with, 27" or 700C? It matters because it will affect brake reach.

John E's bike is a sensible upgrade to a U08 that can be done fairly simply. I went with 700c wheels, 6 speed HG freewheel, 6 speed SIS clamp on downtube shifters, shimano derailleurs, and SR cotterless cranks. My bike is on page 17 of this thread if you want to check it out:https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...thread-17.html. Good luck.

greg3rd48 

Firstly thank you for the incredibly quick and informative responses. The bike does not have a saddle so I was thinking of a used Brooks B17 or something similar to it. The seatpost is there and in good shape though. John, your bike looks great. I think I will be referencing your bike during the process. I was leaning toward either Suntour or metal Simplex derailleurs since I haven't read many positive reviews on the Hurets I believe that I will avoid them.

John, does the Sugino crankset work with the original BB? The original crankset is in good condition but it is so darn heavy and I would like to lighten things up as you did. I am going to look into how to install the barcons too since that seems like a better option than brifters.

I want to keep this restore as cost efficient as possible but at the same time I want it to turn out great. I will post some pictures of the current state of the bike very soon for further reference and I will look into all your suggestions a tad bit later with a little more time

bikemig 

Replacing the crankset is a bit of a pin because you have a cottered crank and the bottom bracket is french threaded. You can get BBs for the bike but they're not cheap. Velo Orange sells one at $50 but then you will have a nice modern sealed bottom bracket that you will not need to service for a long time. Harris cyclery has inexpensive french threaded BB cups: Action Bottom Bracket Cup Set (French Thread) - Harris Cyclery bicycle shop - West Newton, Massachusetts. They can set you up with a crank and spindle as well. This is worth doing but it will take some work (and some specialized tools).

Swapping out the original wheels for 700c alloy wheels is also worth doing.

jimmuller 

Excellent period-correct upgrade would be Suntour VGT-Luxe RD and similar for the front. Long ago I upgraded my crankset to a Sugino Maxy. I wasn't thinking about it at the time but the fact that it has a 110BCD turned out to be a good move.

What are you planning for wheels?

(BTW, I still have in fine-condition the Cro-Lux rims mine came with, and the Normandy hub currently strung with different rims on a different bike. I expect never to have a use for the rims, so anyone who wants them are welcome to them. But they'd be for a restoration, not for a rider you ever expect to get caught in the rain with.)

Are you trying to make it "original equipment" or a good period-correct (mostly) rider? The latter is a fine option.

auchencrow

Take @John E 's advice and scratch the brifter idea.

Note that replacing the crankset will save a little weight, but in a location where it does the least amount of good.
- It is upgrading the wheels that matters most. - And don't skimp on tires either!

JohnDThompson 

No, the original crank is a cottered crank, while the Sugino is cotterless; the spindles are entirely incompatible. You can keep the original cups and install a cotterless spindle to make it work, but as auchencrow notes this might not be the most effective way to reduce the weight of the bike. As long as the original crank and bottom bracket are in usable condition, leave them alone and put your money into replacing the wheels. The weight savings there will be much more noticable, and you'll likely also appreciate the improved braking performance of aluminum rims over the stock steel rims.

likebike23

If you are going to reuse the cranks, be careful removing the cotters. Cotters come in differing diameters and tapers. I not 100% sure, but the cotters might be a pain to replace if you ruin the ones on there now. Best to use a cotter press and not a hammer that way you have a better chance of reusing them. If I'm wrong someone will chime in with some knowledge.

non-fixie 

May I be an advocate for keeping it French and cottered? I've just finished two, one with Simplex, the other with Huret. And I'm liking them very, very much. Neither are really high-end bikes but both are on aluminum rims. The steel cranks are heavy, but the smooth action more than makes up for that.

Early seventies Gitane with Simplex and Stronglight. Took it to France (Provence) for a week of touring in June and came back impressed:



Late seventies Mercier with Huret and Nervar. Rode it today, and the Huret stuff works even better than expected. I will be taking this to France next month (Medoc) for another week of touring. Can't wait.

xuwol7

A lot of great advice here, I have 2 UO-8's and even though they are heavy and entry level, I love them and they have a great ride.
I collect and restore french bikes (especially Peugeot) and the French threading etc. can be a bit overwhelming if you are new to this.
You could perhaps find a cheap craigslist bike tear it down and learn from it.
You wouldn't want to ruin a nice UO-8.
There are a lot of experts here that can answer any questions that may arise during your Peugeot Journey.
I ask questions and have learned so much here at BF.

Grand Bois

I agree with keeping it French and keeping it cottered.

SkyDog75

I don't have nearly the experience some of these guys do, but I did rebuild a UO-8 and agree with most of the advice above -- particularly the part about the bike not being a good candidate for brifters. It's possible, but there are too many hurdles to make it worthwhile in my opinion.

As for cottered cranks, though... I almost elected to keep the cottered cranks on my own UO-8 since they cleaned up so nicely. But in the end, practicality won out. I don't have a cotter press or experience filing & fitting cotters, but I do have the tools and experience necessary to service square taper cranks.

...but if your UO-8 has "thin walled" bottom bracket cups like my 1972-73 UO-8, a common square taper spindle made for a 68 mm bottom bracket may not fit. When I tried my original bottom bracket cups with a common 3S spindle, the adjustable cup screwed so far in that there weren't enough exposed threads for the lockring to grab. I found a NOS set of French threaded Tange bottom bracket cups that worked just fine with that 3S spindle. (If I wanted to use the bike's original bottom bracket cups, I could've tried to locate a 5-series spindle meant for use with 70 mm bottom brackets.)

greg3rd48 

Firstly I think that I dated this bike incorrectly For the sake of originality and also since the cottered cranks are in fine condition I think I may stick with them. The pins came out quite easily Otherwise I may go with the VeloOrange bottom bracket to explore other crankset options. I do love the idea of keeping as much of the bike in its original state. I am going to try out the original plastic Simplex that came with the bike first since it seems to be in fine condition after cleaning it thoroughly. If not the Suntours or metal Simplex is what I will look for.

I have undoubtedly ruled out brifters after reading all the advice against it. Barcons seem like the logical alternative to them if I want to replace the shifters. I did make one mistake though. The shifters on this bike are on the handlebar stem, not the downtube. The other Peugeot I have awaiting restoration has the downtube shifters. This indicates that the bike is post 1975 correct? What are the opinions regarding these shifters? Or are barcons the much better option. I have attached some photos to give you an idea of what I am working with. Thanks all!

likebike23

Those shifters look like a cludge to me. They are shimano indexed stem shifters that must be set to friction. BTW: you can remove the shifters from the mount and put any high end shimano down tube shifter on there for a "high end stem shifter". I'm not sure, but it appears that the clamp on the downtube is actually the shifter mount with the shifters removed. I can imagine the plastic shifters that were original broke and they put this all together. If you want to go with originality, find some plastic Simplex shifters on the bay and mount them to the mount that's there. Some better closeups of the mount will confirm this. Check the jockey wheels on the derailleur for missing teeth, I've yet to see one without broken teeth. Also check where the limit screws go into the derailleur as they can crack there too.

randyjawa 

I built this early seventies UO8 up for a fellow in the US. He did not want absolutely original, but hoped to keep the vintage look while increasing user friendliness componentry...

non-fixie 

That's a nice starting point you got there! Classic Peugeot color.



Before making any decisions on the build, you may want to do a bit of looking at other UO-8's on the web, if you haven't already done so. See what you like and don't like. Lots of examples. Some are really beautiful and some - how shall I put this - could be improved upon. This one, for instance, is a nice example of what can be achieved with the stuff you already have, I think.

eschlwc

few of us would rebuild a keeper with stem shifters and leave them in place. replacement dt shifters are just too cool and inexpensive.

if you have two peugeot project bikes, you may want to make one a keeper with the best bits from both.

jimmuller 

About those stem shifters, it looks like those originally had DT shifters and someone jerry-rigged the cable stops where the original shifters were.

My own UO-8 came with stem shifters from the factory and after a year or so I replaced them with DT shifters using the upper pump peg to anchor the clamp. The problem with stem shifters, and I would think also with bar-ends, is that you have one more section of housing and two housing ends to create friction. I found the Simplex RD, which wasn't all that precise to begin with, worked much better with the more direct cable from DT shifters. I also didn't like the hand movement required to shift, but maybe that was just me. Many people here in C&V like stem shifters. I'm just not one of them.

SkyDog75

If my UO-8's cotters were in good shape after removal, I might've kept my cottered crankset, too. It may be heavy, but it looks right and you don't have to fuss with the possibility of component incompatibility if you're reusing the original parts.

If your original derailleurs are in functional shape, go right ahead and use them, but don't ride far from home and be prepared for those derailleurs to break at some point. Keep an eye out for good, inexpensive replacement derailleurs so you have parts ready when they fail.

Your stem shifters don't necessarily help date this bike, for two reasons...

1) I don't think your bike's shifters are original. They don't look like the plastic Simplex levers with plastic friction wingnut I'm used to seeing. Also, UO-8's that came with stem shifters wouldn't normally have a shifter boss and band on the downtube.

2) Not all stem-shifter-equipped UO-8's were post-1975. The date code on my UO-8's rear derailleur indicates 1972, leading me to believe it's probably a '72 or '73 model, and my bike was originally equipped with stem shifters.

Speaking of date codes... The decal scheme gets you in the ballpark for aging (roughly '70-'76), but component date codes might be your best resource to date your bike. Sometimes you'll find a date code stamped into the rims or hubs. Your Simplex rear derailleur probably has a small date code stamped into its metal cage between the pulleys.

I've got Suntour barcons on my own UO-8 and love 'em. But our bikes are very slightly different. My bike doesn't have a downtube shifter boss since it was originally equipped with stem shifters. If I did have a downtube boss, I'd probably go with downtube levers just so I didn't have an unused shifter boss sitting there and aggravating my OCD-ness.

greg3rd48 

Downshifters or barcons it is. I am definitely not going to use those stem shifters. I picked up a Suntour VGT-Luxe RD to use instead of the plastic Simplex as jimmuller suggested but I will save the Simplex for posterity. I like to take long rides so I do not want to be stranded with a snapped derailleur 20 miles from home as Skydog75 mentioned.

Bikemig or anyone else, do you have any suggestions on what 700c wheelset would be appropriate for this bike? I do have 27in aluminum wheelests but I would like to switch so that I have more options in tires etc. Also did I read incorrectly or is it possible to use the 27 aluminum wheel with a new 700c rim? I haven't the slightest idea what that entails nor if that is even feasible. Something about lacing the wheelset... I don't know.
I do like the white Peugeot color also. It is nice and clean and classic. What are the thoughts on touching up the chipped spots?

bikemig 

I'd get a 126mm 700c wheelset. The drop outs are probably 120mm as I think it was a 5 speed set up. It's no big deal spreading the rear triangle to 126mm. This will allow you to run 5, 6, or a 7 speed freewheel in the rear. 700c wheels are a little smaller in diameter so you'll have to adjust the brake shoes down a bit. I've done this conversion before on a UO-8 and I was able to do this without any problem. But YMMV; worst case scenario is (a) you need to buy a longer reach brake or (b) you have to file the inside of the brake caliper arm a bit so your brake shoe makes good contact with the rim. Insofar as the wheels are concerned, I'd get a stout rim since this bike makes a great cruiser. Velomine has pretty aggressive prices on machine built wheel and the Sun CR18 is a pretty good rim: Sun CR18 Road Bike Sealed Bearing 700c Wheelset 126mm Rear [072774744381] - $120.00 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike

Also the UO-8 has plenty of clearance for fat tires; you should be able to run a 700 x 38c. This will give you a nice cushy ride.