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Jerry's Peugeot club bike

    A friend of over 55 years called me on the phone and said, "Hey, if you want an old Peugeot, come on over. My son had one stored for a long time and either you pick it up or we're going to take it to the dumps." I said I'd be there that weekend.

    The bike had been stored in a shed for over ten years. All the pieces were there and except for the cables being sluggish, the tires flat, and the frame having lots of nicks and scratches, it was in good condition. The bike was surprisingly light, I guessed somewhere in the area of 25 pounds. I loaded it up on the bike rack on the back of my truck and took it home for a better look. 

    I decided that the frame was just too scratched up to use as it was. It needed a paint job. I also discovered that one of the seat stays had a bend in it. I stripped the bike and then suspended the seat stay between two blocks of wood, took a long 1" wooden dowel and placed it on the apex of the bend and gave a few taps with a hammer. The seat stay was now straight as an arrow with not even a dimple in the area where the bend had been.

    I ordered the parts I'd need from Nashbar to bring the bike back to top riding condition and then started the process of cleaning and sanding the frame for painting. A package of sandpaper, and three cans of Krylon paint, one primer, one red acrylic and one clear acrylic later, the frame was ready for reassembly.

   I scrubbed all the chrome and aluminum parts and started fastening them back on the bike. I had a pair of Shimano stem shifters, lighter and prettier than the Sachs that came with the bike so swapped them. I also had a nice very light aluminum touring handlebar that I swapped for the thin wall steel bars. I also changed the rear derailleur to a Sram long cage in case I wanted to increase the size of the rear freewheel. 

   When the Nashbar order came I fastened on all the rest of the items and then took the bike for a ride. Wow, a few tiny adjustments and riding this bike was like flying. I took it out on some routes I regularly ride and easily set new personal best times and speed averages. I was impressed. When Peugeot was made in France, it was one hell of a bike. I'm proud to have this bike in my stable and will use it on my club rides.

   I have a few more things to do, change the seat post to something lighter and more attractive than the tube and clamp common to 1980's bikes, find a lower small ring for the crank and add some cable releases. The changes will probably drop the bike's weight to 23.5 pounds. Other than that, the bike's finished and a winner!

Update 10/2004

    Between four bikes, I rotate but really ride my Specialized more than any other. I decided to take the Peugeot on my daily commute one day and had a catastrophic flat on the way home. A giant shard of metal sliced through the rear tire, destroying it and the tube. While on the net ordering a new tire I noticed that Nashbar was having a sale on Shimano Bar end Shifters and Shimano Aero brake levers. I couldn't resist. I ordered the parts and installed them. The bar ends were for an eight speed system but I just set the shift limit screw on the Sram rear derailleur so that the bike would not overshift into the last click. The indexing worked perfectly. The bike's even more fun than before. 

8/7/2003 - Old brake pads changed to Cool Stop
9/5/2003 - Rear freewheel changed to 7 speed, 14-34 Shimano Megarange 
10/2/2004 720 miles. Changed the rear tire to a Panaracer Pasela Tourguard after and swapped the stock levers and shifters for Shimano Barends and Shimano Aero Brake Levers.
11/26/2005 980 miles. Milliard wheels originally on bike replaced with Velocity wheels after rear wheel collapsed.

Parts I'm looking for:

Seat Post  - I presently cannot find a quality seat post with an O/D small enough to replace the stock one. It appears O/D of the post is 24.8. If you have a spiffy looking seat post the right size and no use for it, write me.

Chain Ring - The 42 tooth inner chain ring has a 122mm BCD. I'd like to swap it for a 38 tooth chain ring, the smallest that will fit with that bolt pattern. If you have one you'd like to sell at a reasonable price, write me.

Brake cable release - The Shimano Aero brake levers have no means of slacking the cable to pull a wheel. Neither do the Weinmann center pull brakes. I'm looking for the cute little cable releases that hang on the stem and seat bolt that have the small lever built in to slack the cable enough to drop a wheel. I have pictures of one on the page featuring my Suteki. NEW: I'm only looking for the rear cable release now. Roy of Lititz, PA mailed me a beautiful new Shimano front cable release complete with a roller for the center pull cable. It's a jewel!