This steel frame vintage French 70s or 80s ’10-speed’ Peugeot road bike-to-single-speed conversation turned out very well. It started as a $30USD flea market find.
Stripping the perished gears, cables, shifters, seat, rear wheel, cranks and bars took an hour.
The fixie side of the flip/flop wheel hub. Too old to fixie bike much, I’m using the noisy single-speed freewheel side.
Cleaning, greasing, reassembly and adjustment took longer. Some bearing race pitting but, importantly, rare French parts were reused.
I’ll chop these bars and add grips or wraps to finish the job. Need to install and adjust rear brake cable.
I kept the lovely Weinmann alloy ‘side-pull’ brakes.
The seat was an old spring one I reupholstered using a found leather handbag.
Rough-out side of the leather really grips the butt on turns.
The deal included an anachronistic 700c front wheel, which is pretty straight and rolls OK with some warning ball rumble.
Races and ball bearings were fine but cones were pitted and will need replacement.
Raleigh brake levers. Bars will be chopped about even with the lever ball end. Rubber crutch tips protect my head when the bike roosts like a bat in the garage rafters.
I found serviceable crank/chain-ring, pedals, bar, tall quill-stem, levers, seat, seat post and QR, fenders, kick-stand and book rack in my parts bin.
The single-cog freewheel cassette side of the hub. Noisy cassette is not long for this world.
Color coordinated seat stripe was pure serendipity, like the red chain.
I use these Swiss Pletscher alloy cargo/book racks whenever I can find them.
Vintage functionally beautiful classics that have never been equaled. Like this Peugeot.
‘Carbolite 103 By Peugeot.’ Their term for mild carbon steel, a bit heavier than ‘chro-mo’ but cheap and bulletproof.
My pal Johnny at the same big flea market sold me the cool, well used but usable fixie/single-speed, flip/flop hub deep-vee rear wheel. Vaguely sinister looking.
To improve a good chain-line I installed the chain-ring on the inside of the crank spider. This required installing the chain-ring bolts in reverse. Vero brand crank/spider.
Cateye brand reflector of that era. Side-pull rear brake cable not yet installed.
All paint, stickers, decals, headbadge and patina were preserved. All usable and suitable parts were reused.
Arthritis requires I keep my neck and head level. The Very Tall Quill-stem and short-riser handlebars are the answer.
The ride and handling did not disappoint. Light, quick on turns and springy like steel bikes should be. Good for old people. Now I’m riding French style. I feel so sexy.
Costs (US dollars)
Bike- $30
Deep-V used wheel- $25
Brake cables and sheath- $5
Tire and tube- $15
Rack, bars, levers, tall quill stem, seat, post with QR, cranks, pedals, chain-ring and bolts, kickstand, wheel skewer and various fasteners I found in my parts bin.
Total= $75
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That is a pretty bike.
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