Responses

The way people respond to something always interests me. This little endeavor is a case in point. I am blessed with a very tolerant partner, who raised an eyebrow, expressed her doubts that I would finish the project then went back to reading Salt by Mark Kurlansky.

Friends who are in to bikes have responded in a number of ways. The one who is always ripping bits of this bike or that bike, was all "can I play too!" the other one who believes it has to be made in a Taiwanese Factory with stickers applied by an Italian, was quite encouraging as well.

The response I found most interesting was from the guy with the shed full of bikes, who seems to equate the Beast with the desire to recreate outdoor plumbing and the long drop toilet. Lots of "Do you know how horrible those seats are?" and "Why would you want something that old? I'm trying to get rid of my old bikes"

In truth, I'm not sure who is right; him or me. I suspect in our unique ways we both are. I for one, wouldn't be tackling a Sportive or anything on it, and I sure as hell won't be tackling any big climbs on the Beast. I have an image in my head of this as more of a cruiser, a social bike. Put on the replica jersey, or don the Tweed and join a social ride, that kind of thing. The Beast is also a "Boy Project" its a practical, intellectual and creative outlet, and I am getting a great deal of pleasure from it as such. Whilst I have been riding for many years, I've tended to put maintenance into the "Let's pay us a bike mechanic to look after it" category. I find the notion of taking to my Carbon Avanti with a Hammer, which I've had to do with the Beast somewhat intimidating. Maybe I'm wrong, but my modern bikes also feel as if they are more complicated than the Peugeot.

Making contact with other enthusiasts, playing about in old LBS' hunting for sources and information is all part of the thrill.

To use something of a Buzz Phrase, I'm looking at this project 'Holistically

Part of what appeals to me about the Peugeot, even though I keep referring to it as the Beast at the moment, is its beauty as an object. I've always wanted a Peugeot, (Yes I am that weird) and originally planned to take the frame from this, and update it heavily. Then once I got in close and looked at the way the components are styled, rather than designed from a functional/rational stance, I came around to the idea of keeping it and restoring it. Had the paintwork been in better condition, I would probably already be riding it, but yeah. I've spent several pleasant hours pouring over old catalogs, and raiding archive image collections, partly because of research, but also because of the romance of racing in the 70's. Anyone who has ever ridden, ever tackled a hill, ever felt the thing moving about underneath them at high speed cannot help respect these athletes.

Spend an afternoon with Stars and Water Carriers or A Sunday in Hell, trying to understand Merckx' drive, or marvelling at the old school machinery and woolen jerseys, and I think you'll get where I'm coming from.

The next phase

So there I was, and there was the beast. It was crouched in the driveway as I circled it with care. We eyed each other, I tried to hide the spanners, the rag and the bottle of sugar soap. The beast effected not to care.

This went on for some time, then I made my move.

First step, let's get rid of the bits that don't work or won't be staying.

Off came the Sanyo Dynamo Lamp and its wires and stuff. At some point in its career the lens housing had disappeared, so as exciting as riding along to the high pitched whirr might have been, it had to go.

Then the mysterious zippy tie hanging from the top tube brake cable.

The bits of old garden house that substituted for bar grips put up more of a fight, but they went next.

Then came the greatest challenge. The beast has lovely old drilled DiaCompe levers, but I now know what happens if you don't change your hood rubbers from time to time.

A 20 minute wrestling match between the beast, and me armed with a razor blade and industrial quantities of acetone, I was victorious.

Then it was time for the sugar soap. I was somewhat worried that the project might be over, more or less before it began due to steel cancer - rust. Ten minutes with the sugar soap went some way to dispel this, it shifted a power of dirt, revealing that, hopefully, the corrosion present was surface only.

I switched to a bottle of CLR that we had kicking about, CLR, rag and sand paper and the beast was already looking better. Chrome was starting to reawaken, corrosion was starting to retreat.

Time for a closer inspection, hmmm, lots of WD40 is indicated, the bolts look like they are pretty gummed up, the wheels, yeah, pretty knackered. The beast has what looks like the original quick release Normandy wheels, with crazy steel rims. The rims have had had it, rusty and buckled. A quick count revealed three or four broken spokes.

The "What the hell have I bought" post

So, I came to Peugeot ownership in the following manner. I'm sitting beside a field hockey pitch one afternoon chatting to an acquaintance. We were discussing why I wasn't playing (itb strain if you want the gory details!) and we got chatting about bikes and cycling.

"I used to ride a lot when I was younger"

"Oh yeah, what sort of riding?"

"Road, mostly, still got my old bike in my Parent's shed"

"Yeah?"

"its a what you call it, Peugeot!"

With out thinking too hard, my next line was.

"How much?"

"Oh, its probably rusty as, but if you want it, I reckon you could just have it"

"In fact, take it because you'll give it a good home. My Son will just want to turn it into one of those fixies or something"

And thus, it came to pass that a small sum of money changed hands and I became the proud owner of a bike, in, erm, original condition.

It was definitely a Peugeot, ten speed, in French Blue. Beyond that, mmm, not so sure. The frame stickers said R10. How does one find out anything these days?

Google.

Google has many stirling qualities, but an ability to call up data on obscure Peugeots is not really one of them.

It kept trying to tell me I now own a small French Sedan made by Renault. Eventually, after much swearing, I found a glancing reference on a cycling board to the fact that in this market, the U08 was called an R10. Why, because Peugeot are French.

Where to next?

I posted a couple of pics on a forum in oz called Adelaide Cyclists. Thought to myself, there is no such thing as a stupid question and asked about paint, wheels and decals. At this point, I was still working out what to do with the beast. I knew for certain that it would never do to ruin it by converting it to a fixed, but beyond that? Pseudo modernist with lots of shiny new bits? Fully Old School? Somewhere in between?

The gang on the boards were very helpful, in particular one guy who owns an LBS and used to sell them back in the day. First big score! He found a pair of Wolber Superchampion rims in his storeroom. - Decision made, let's go mostly old school and update for safety and reliability.

I dived back in to the whacky world of opinion, advice and making stuff up on the spot that is bicycles and the interweb, and found this site.

http://retropeugeot.com/

Photogalleries, detailed description, catalogues, even old accessory catalogues to lust after! Heaven!

So, using the various advice of the AC guys and information I gleaned from reading the Retropeugeot crew, what I have is a mostly (front rim is a Shimano) original (rear mech is Shimano Tournay) 1973-4 Peugeot U08.

Now to break out the spanners and industrial quantities of WD40 and strip the beast for a rebuild.

Hello

Hello World!

I've recently achieved something of an ambition, by becoming the owner of a Peugeot Roadie. In this case, a 1974 (I think) R10, or U08 depending upon where it was bought.

It's a French build, with all of the puzzles and conundrums that this poses.

My plain is to strip it down, and restore it. The beast is largely original, I suspect for instance that the cranks have never been off it until now.

A lot of nice old steel framed bikes end their days underneath a hipster, this one won't. I'm aiming to go as original as possible, with just a few mods aimed at reliability and safety.

As and when I get the inclination, I'll update, swear, cry and lament.