Originally Posted by Geekage

Would falling for the Sunk Cost Fallacy qualify as a mistake?


I got a similar vintage PX10 from my great uncle by way of my dad, then my eldest sister.

First I replaced the tires with something more puncture resistant (Wolber Invulnerable tubulars). Then the rear derailleur- I was somehow able to find a Simplex rear derailleur, the kind that's unthreaded but uses a bolt through the back to hold it on, because that's what kind of dropouts the Peugeot has. Then a new freewheel or three. Then a new rear wheel (after bunnyhopping straight onto a speedbump)- clincher! Maybe the wheel was before the freewheels- I can't believe the Maillard Atom freewheel wasn't also some obscure French threading. Then the chainrings- some shop was able to find me a 38 tooth inner ring in the Stronglight bolt circle diameter to replace the stock 45 tooth, then pedals after retapping the crankarms for current standard threads instead of French threading. Then sidepull brakes (Suntour Superbe- not Superbe Pro, those weren't available in long reach) to replace the old Mafac Racer centerpulls, bars and stem (again, lucky to find something that fit the narrower French steerer tube and the Cinelli bars). Maybe a new front wheel about this time. Scott Mathauser finned brake pads. Campy headset. Another wheelset that I handbuilt. A new rear derailleur after tapping and filing the dropout. Indexed shifting- brifters, rear derailleur, freewheel. New saddle after the Brooks kept creaking so much. Seatpost for some reason. Etcetera.

Obviously, all that was way more than the $550 that I spent on a used bike which replaced that Peugeot eight(?) years ago.

Okay, maybe it wasn't a single repair mistake, but instead a series of them digging me into a hole until I finally got frustrated with trying to find vintage French parts or trying to modify the bike to use more modern parts.