chrisjkretz

i found out today my wife bought me a "new" bike its looks good but has a few problems thats not to serious. so im wanting to put a few new components on it. ive searched a few threads and havent found exactly what im looking for. im not sure of the state of the BB but im wanting to replace it with a sealed BB, i havent found the size though. ive also read that it is possible to change out the 5spd cassette for a 6spd cassette. how hard would this be and what brand would be the best? sorry if this is the incorrect placement for this thread

big chainring 

I rarely find a problem with bottom brakets. A UO-8 will have a nice steel spindle. Grease and go. An ultra-6 speed freewheel will fit no problem. The UO-8 has long chainstays. Cross chaining really isnt a problem so you have 12 usable gears. Keeping things simple on these old machines retains their character.

bikemig 

Agree with big chainring that I'd keep things simple. This is a great bike. I don't think finding an ultra six freewheel is all that easy. I'd stick with the 5 and overhaul the existing bottom bracket. If it's a UO-8, it has a cottered crank so you can't change the bottom bracket without also changing the crank.

You will want to post some pics of the bike so posters can get some idea of the condition and give you better ideas of what you might want to change.

The one thing I would change are the wheels. It comes with steel rims. Alloy is better. This will require spreading the frame to 126 mm; that will allow you to run a 6 or a 7 speed freewheel.

modelmartin

Look on Ebay for a French threaded bottom bracket. They have a metric thread. They aren't as common as English or ISO so you may have to pay a little more for one. I love them. The bike isn't so valuable you need to keep it original.

eschlwc

keep the bb stock is my suggestion as well.

email me if you want a suntour ultra-6, otherwise i would stick with a five-speed freewheel (not cassette) from sunrace. you can get them cheap on ebay ($17ish in a shiny silver color).

i'm glad people in el paso are riding bikes. damn it's hot down there.

chrisjkretz

yeah the heat is crappy but the whole no humidity thing is awesome lol. im wanting to ditch the cottered cranks so thats my main reason for wanting to change the bottom bracket. as far as the wheels i am going to change still debating on sticking with the 27's or switching to 700c, which would be better and why? on the downtube there also looks to be another attachment points for shifts so they are in a higher position. is that what they are or am i crazy? im beyond excited to start this project

John E

Your mileage may vary (YMMV), but here is what I did with my UO-8, which started out as a brand new bare frame, which I bought when I worked at a Peugeot shop.

1. aluminum crankset, 45-42 half-step gearing
2. aluminum rims
3. KoolStop brake pads
4. Japanese deralleurs
5. SunTour ratchet barcons
6. ultra-spaced 13-26 6-speed freewheel
7. relatively short rake fork, which provides quicker steering, but which has toe-tire overlap with 27"

Pictured with 27" Araya rims on Normandy Luxe Competition high-flange hubset. I am currently running a 700C up front with no issues.

eschlwc

makes sense wanting to change the bb to use a cotterless crankset.

concerning rim size ... i like 700c, 'cause i ride 23mm tires. tires are offered only as narrow as 25mm (1") in 27" size, and they're more difficult to find and more expensive in that 1" size compared to 700x23c. but if you're ok with either 1 1/8" or 1 1/4" tire widths, 27" rims will work fine.

markk900

I have posted this before, so sorry if I am repeating, but back in the day (mid 70s) I did the full upgrade to my AO-8 (same frame as UO-8) including upgrade to Sugino Mighty Comp cranks and BB. Cranks went on another build, so years later, I still have the BB cups etc in my toolbox and I just used the stock cups with an appropriate BB axle. Has worked fine for just about 40 years.

As to the wheels - back in the day I upgraded to tubulars so lost the steel wheels a long time ago. Wheels moved with one of my bikes, so put 38x700C on the bike for a while. Those wheels also moved to another bike, so I took a set of 27x1 1/8 wheels/tires and mounted them - all have worked well. Bike is not a high end machine so you might not want to go high end on the tires - I can find both 27" and 700C tires of equivalent quality for about the same price locally. Paselas are available, as are Conti sports, in both sizes. But the alloy rims are a must.

eschlwc

mark, what square taper spindle did you use with the stock cups that came with the cottered crank?

has anyone else done this?

likebike23

My understanding on the stock cups is that they are "thin" cups. This means you need to use a 5 series spindle for Italian 70mm shells. The Peugeot shell is 68mm, but if you use a regular 3 series spindle, you will bury the adjustable cup with no threads for the lock ring. Action makes a bottom bracket cup set that is "thick" and will allow for a normal 3 series spindle. You can get cartridge bottom brackets from velo orange and IRD, you could also use a threadless bottom bracket as well.

markk900

@eschlwc: its been over two decades since I did this so I don't have the information handy, but I will say I just went down and checked two cottered and one 3 series square taper spindle in the basement: I believe @likebike23 is correct since the 3 series spindle is definitely narrower between the races than the cottered spindles. At the time I did this there was no interweb and no one to ask so I just tried spindles from the bike shop until I got one that fit. His suggestion to look for a 5 series spindle sounds correct.

When I was rebuilding the bike I do recall trying one of the spindles and burying the adjustable cup just like he said, but I just went back to the box and found another one that was longer.....advantage of being an old pack rat.....

Also, the Sugino cups I still have are marked 35xP1 which I thought were Italian threading.....[edit] - I stand corrected - did a search and it seems 35xP1 is indeed French threading.

Anyway, I don't think this should be a major hurdle for anyone.

John E

35xP1 = French
36x24 (36mm x 24 threads per inch -- truth is stranger than fiction) = Italian

markk900

Thanks John - did the checking myself and realized my error! BTW - lots of these available on various sites. Complete 68mm set on ebay NIB, Amazon has cups for $10, etc....

SkyDog75

The bottom bracket, as mentioned above, is likely French threaded. 35 mm x 1, both sides right-hand threaded. The other "size" you'll need to worry about is the spindle length, which would be dictated by the crankset you use.

You have a 5-cog freewheel, not a cassette. You can read about the difference on Sheldon's page HERE.

Without replacing your wheels, you can replace your freewheel with a 6-speed unit, but it would have to be an "ultra 6" freewheel that's meant to fit in the same spacing as a 5-cog freewheel. They haven't been made in years, but you could take eschlwc up on his offer or possibly find another old one somewhere.

If you replace the rear wheel with one that has a 126 mm hub, you can use a standard-spaced 6-speed freewheel. SunRace freewheels are readily available online and inexpensive. I'm running one on my UO-8 and have been happy with it. 7-speed freewheels are also intended for use on 126 mm hubs, but I couldn't run a 7-speed freewheel on my UO-8. I tried, but when the chain was on the small cog, it grazed the end of the frame's seat stay.

Functionally, either size would work as well as the other. The Mafac Racer brakes found on most UO-8's can be adjusted to work with either. The biggest difference is in the availability of tires. There are a whole lot more tire options for 700c tires than 27". That being said, I'm running 27" wheels and so long as Panaracer keeps making their Pasela tires in a 27" size, I'll keep using them.

I can't make out detail on the pics you posted since the pictures are so small, but if your UO-8 was originally equipped with downtube shifters, you should have a single shifter boss brazed onto the frame. (The boss on the opposite side was part of the clamp band, not fixed to the frame.) I wouldn't be shocked if someone replaced the stock shifters with another set that were clamped on. A number of UO-8's came equipped with stem shifters, and these had no downtube shifter boss at all -- just cable stops.

My personal experience with my own UO-8 matches your understanding exactly.

chrisjkretz

so far the build-up is going good im slowly finding the parts i need/want. im having a hard time figuring out what type of DT shifters i need since its a single boss. help please lol the rear brake is really rusted out so i want to replace it with a modern side pull brake but the attachment point is drilled top to bottom so what can i do there?

gbalke

Velo Orange sells sealed BB's in French threading for $50:

Grand Cru Bottom Bracket, French Thread - Bottom Brackets - Components

bertinjim 

hi, chrisjkretz-

The shift levers on UO 8s often had a braze on mount on the right and a band that fitted over that to mount a left hand lever. This was because Peugeot used the same frame for strictly 5 speed models and adapted to ten speed shifters on its AO 8s and UO 8s. Just buy a set of the alloy levers like here and they will just bolt on to your current shifter bosses and greatly improve shift quality after the flexy plastic ones.

The rear brake mount is distinctively French. Save yourself a great deal of annoyance and simply buy a replacement Mafac Racer and change out the rusty on. At the same time, buy some Kool Stop Mafac shoes and replace the brake blocks, they are well past safe. Mafacs are at least equal to many modern brakes so skip the frustration of trying to find brakes with a large enough reach and keep the current setup.

markk900

Apparently there was a run on these but still one left.....

Simplex Prestige Clamp ON Single Sided Shifter FOR Rear Bike Derailleur NOS | eBay

You can use this with any of the basic simplex levers on your frame I believe.

These are the bands you need by themselves though this auction is for the whole lot.....expensive!

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/NOS-1970s-set...item3a996f1dbe