Old Peugeot advice needed

MiGiD

Hey,

First of all I know very little about bikes but I'm a quick learner so please excuse my stupid questions unless they're so stupid they're inexcusable. My friend who now lives in Germany gives me bike advice (he also gave me a boards.ie cycling jacket )

I got an old Peugeot last summer from a guy on freetradeireland.ie as he was moving house and needed to clear out the garage in a hurry and didn't have time to sell it, lucky for me. I've been having trouble pinning down the model though. It was in full working order when I got it and with a change of brake cables and pads it was quickly road worthy. I only really use it for cycling to and from work in Dublin but I want to be able to go further on it this summer. Unfortunately I got t-boned while cycling with it last November and it's front fender it now a bit damaged (and I only managed to start back cycling to work with it this week)

It's a ten speed (front derailleur missing so currently five speed), carbolite 103 metallic blue mixte frame, front and rear fenders with light fittings (rear light missing, front light a round plastic one with a yellow bulb but the wires cut and dynamos missing), gear shifters on the down tube and carrier rack on the back and dropdown handlebars with what seems to be the original rubber grips.

Having trawled through the old peugeot catalogues and brochures the closest model I can come up with is the UE 18 but it's not a perfect match. I'll post photos later.

Some questions to start with:

Anyone know what model/year it could be?

Has anyone restored one before?

Is it worth restoring to it original specifications or should I just replace what needs replacing with nice shiny modern pieces?

The paint job is wrecked on it, plenty of scratches and surface rust - should I get it resprayed to the original colour or should I just pick whatever I want?

Will it be difficult to get new wheels for it?

Should I put dynamo lights back on it?

Harrybelafonte

Any pics?

I'd say no to the dynamo. It's like fighting an invisible force trying to cycle with them on.

TinyExplosions

Without a pic, it'll be hard to give accurate advise, but I'd suspect is from the 70's, and tbh a proper restoration with vintage parts would cost you a fortune!

MiGiD

Unfortunately the internet in work won't let me upload any pics so I'll stick them up when I get home this evening.

Yeah I don't fancy an expensive restoration job as I don't really have the know how to do all the work myself (or the tools). Should I bring it to Rothar and see what they can do?

Dynamo advice accepted

Piercemeear

I have a late '70s Peugeot for the last few years. They're notoriously difficult to date as the serial number doesn't indicate the year of manufacture, and a lot of different series shared paint jobs over the years.

Mine was pretty much unused, pristine original parts. It's lovely but it's a bit stressful. Every time I have to replace brake cable housing or something equally trivial it hurts.

If I was looking to do up an old frame like that without sticking on overly modern stuff on it I'll look towards places like velo orange where you can buy retro aesthetic parts with modern build quality. That way you don't have to deal with cottered cranks but they don't have to have space age curves and ugly logos. Best of both worlds.

p.s. They do magnet dynamos now. My physical-contact one creates awful drag. Modernise where it makes sense? Unless you're really trying to rebuild a classic, which is a decision I would absolutely respect.

funkyjebus

Great site with old brochures

http://retropeugeot.com

I've a UE-8 myself, but I've yet to do it up, it'll be a single speed/Fixie (but single mainly)

MiGiD

et voila

anything else you would like?

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kumate_champ07

first thing I would do is upgrade the wheels, but keep the same low profile style. those steel rims are robust but no good in the rain.

you can look through old catalogues online and find the year from the decals used. make sure you look at European and not American catalogues. I wouldnt spend alot of money on it personally. its a nice bike but its not worth alot, if you want the experience of restoring a bike it might be a nice thing to do. the cost usually ends up alot higher than expected as you discover more parts need replacing.

_DMac_

px18 looks like a fairly similar match.

http://mysite.verizon.net/imagelib/sitebuilder/misc/show_image.html?linkedwidth=actual&linkpath=http://mysite.verizon.net/vzerndgo/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Peugeot_1980_UK_Catalog_UO9_PX8_PX18_Page_4_Retropeugeot.jpg&target=tlx_picmoo&title=UO9,%20PX8%20&%20PX18

MiGiD

ph18 sc is the closest I can find myself in terms of the lights but the shifters are in the wrong place

thebouldwhacker

Nice bike, one like that will last you till your first wheel chair, timeless.
To be honest though if your using it as a commuter spending a fortune fixing it up to classic spec will mean that
1) It'll be too precious to use as a commuter
2) It'll be so nice it'll end up getting nicked

Imho fix it up with a re spray, buy replacement decals off the Internet. Bring it to a local bike shop, not a cheap bike place but one were the sales man has oil on his hands (cos they will know bikes rather than just how to assemble a flat pack bike) ask them to have a good look at it and fix the front derailleur, I reckon you'll pay well below €100 for this and the bike will work like a dream. You didn't mention any trouble cycling it so a good clean should keep it working as it is. Replace bit as needed from then on, small decisions mean small budget. One lbs I used use had bits of 70's and 80's bikes about the place so bit by bit can be a good approach.

The best bit of owning a bike like that is picking up bits for it, building it up as you go. It will make you appreciate it more and is more affordable, brooks bar tape here, nice designer pedals there. Before you know it you'll cycle home some day and say 'I got checked out so many times cycling home...' only to be crushed when someone points out it was the bike people were checking out:pac:

gman2k

Ok, I'll throw my spoke in!
There is nothing special about your bike, unless it has sentimental value it is not worth restoring or spending major bucks on.
Having said that, if you like the old girl, and you plan on keeping it going, just good old fashioned maintenance will do.
Unless any of the parts are totally knackered, just keep going with what's on it.
The rims don't look particularly healthy, but there is probably nothing inherently wrong with them.
The bike will stand to you better by keeping it original as opposed to getting it resprayed (which it doesn't need) and spending more money than it's worth on new wheels, gears and brakes!
So, (maybe) get a new chain, brake blocks, cassette, cables and bar tape. (Even at that you are probably looking at €100 easy,and the bike is only worth a fraction of that!
BTW, I have wasted money on restoring an old Peugeot, but purely for sentimental reasons!

thebouldwhacker

Ahh gman, cheer up. You sound very uncyclist this evening, your being far too practical. Other threads have people spending thousands on bikes that will never hit more than 30kmph on the flat, sure the poor migid is only trying to get her bike a bit 'o bling.
I say clean her up and love cycling it everywhere you go, cost is relative, bike love is absolute....;)

JMJR

MiGiD wrote: »

Unfortunately the internet in work won't let me upload any pics so I'll stick them up when I get home this evening.

Yeah I don't fancy an expensive restoration job as I don't really have the know how to do all the work myself (or the tools). Should I bring it to Rothar and see what they can do?

Dynamo advice accepted

Also this site: http://cyclespeugeot.com/index.html
and yes call into rothar and have a root in the 2nd hand parts boxes. If anne is about you should also play the francophile/peugeot card.

streacy

I had a go at this last year with a similar Peugeot. I checked all the sites linked here but could never decide exactly which one it was. The Sachs-Huret derailleur on mine (if original!) suggests early '80s...
I replaced all the ball bearings (hubs, bottom bracket, pedals and headset), tyres & tubes, all cables and housings, bar-tape, brake pads and chain. The total cost wasn't much over 50euro, basically bought whatever was cheap on CRC. I'd agree with gman2k about not spending too much money on it.
It was a fun job for a weekend and surprising how well most of the old parts had held up, though one of the pedals is still a bit dodgy and the brake lever hoods had cracked and needed reinforcing (these seem to be expensive to replace with originals). Anyway here it is and good luck with yours!



pug by stephen treacy, on Flickr

P.S... that monstrosity of a saddle has nothing to do with me!

Harrybelafonte

gman2k wrote: »

Ok, I'll throw my spoke in!
There is nothing special about your bike, unless it has sentimental value it is not worth restoring or spending major bucks on.
Having said that, if you like the old girl, and you plan on keeping it going, just good old fashioned maintenance will do.
Unless any of the parts are totally knackered, just keep going with what's on it.
The rims don't look particularly healthy, but there is probably nothing inherently wrong with them.
The bike will stand to you better by keeping it original as opposed to getting it resprayed (which it doesn't need) and spending more money than it's worth on new wheels, gears and brakes!
So, (maybe) get a new chain, brake blocks, cassette, cables and bar tape. (Even at that you are probably looking at €100 easy,and the bike is only worth a fraction of that!
BTW, I have wasted money on restoring an old Peugeot, but purely for sentimental reasons!

+1

I recently picked up a really, really nice Peugeot and I too have gaps in my cycling mechanical knowledge so have run in to a few problems already. But as Gman2k says, mine is in such good nick I worry about using it as my commuter (spent a half hour cleaning it after a half hour spin from work in the wet).

I'd say take the whole thing apart, clean it, grease it and put it back together again and change the various parts mentioned above, you'll learn a bit and have a really nice bike at the end.

MiGiD

Thanks for all the input everyone

The bike's value to me is purely based on the fact that it popped up for free last year when I really needed a bike cos I couldn't really afford to take the bus anymore. Now that I can afford to do something with it I want to treat it well so that it will last "forever". I don't mind not doing it up to the original spec and I don't want it to get too shiny and new looking as it's possible it'll be more likely to get nicked. I think I'll call into Rothar and see if they have better wheels and a front derailleur in their used bits and pieces. I think I'll do one of their maintenance courses as well so I can start learning to do the work myself.

gman2k

I was in Tony O'Mahoney's bike shop in Dungarvan yesterday, and he had two old Peugeot 501 framed racers in for repairs.
One was in decent nick, and looked like it was still very original condition and still being used.
The other one however....................looked like it had been at the back of a shed for 15 years. but fair dues to the owner, he wanted it done up, regardless of the cost! It looked like it was still 100% original parts.