jptwins

About a 6 months ago, a friend dropped off a 1975 Peugeot UO-8 frame. Initially I thought it would make a great city porteur bike, and posted about it, but it wasn't in the greatest of shape, and with all the French sizings, I chose to just hang it up and not do anything.

A few months later, ColonelJLloyd put up a very tall 22.0 stem with 25.4 clamp for sale, and i thought, "Maybe I'll give this puppy a try. And why not make an off road bike?" Using the stem and a moustache handlebar I had on hand, along with some random cheap plastic brake levers and half a stem shifter, I had the cockpit figured out. I didn't want to deal with a cotter press spindle, and since my minimal amount of effort couldn't get the drive side of the BB shell out, i just bought a replacement spindle that had the same rough dimensions. The Shimano 600 crank i had on hand (bought form Orrery) works fine for now. With some crappy old 40mm tires and a cheap wheelset, I was pretty much good to go. the 25.8 seatpost was the only other tricky thing.

I finished back in March, but was in the middle of so many other bike projects, that this just got hung up without really being ridden. sad, i know.

here's some pictures of the first ride in the Boston area's own Cutler Park, which was wonderful for the greenery, the emptiness and just the sheer joy of off roading!






The tall stem here is necessary, because even at 25" the frame is too small:


You can see that even with 40mm knobby tires, i still have clearance on the DiaCompe brakes!



My only issue is that there is only barely enough clearance for the rear tire up near the chainstay bridge and BB (oh, and the cheap wheelset that went out of true after the first barrage of bumps). I would love to be able to move the center of the rear wheel further back, but am using this (see below) for my derailleur hanger. Is there a better option that doesn't sacrifice that 10mm of space and allows me to jam the QR all the way back?


What I realized riding on a bike with tires this big and full is how fun real off roading is.

drrobwave

interesting build, its a amazing you have that much tire space. Do you have to put the wheel in with the tire flat? Your issue with the derailleur ​is one I'd like to know how to solve too - make it a SS is all I know.

02Pilot

As someone who has also lavished considerable attention on building a custom bike based on a forlorn entry-level French frame, I applaud your efforts.

jptwins

Yes, the rear tire needs to be almost completely deflated to get in/out, but it rides so nice and cushy, that the extra effort is worth it. And i agree that a SS would solve the problem. I also thought about an unconventional SS in the back and a derailleur in the front for when i need to get up the hills.

while truing the wheels post ride i realized how cheap the wheelset was, so I've now got a slightly better (and even less French) Suntour set in.

Any pictures? sounds like a cool project.

02Pilot

Full details and pics are here: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...g-and-rambling

Mos6502

The Japanese made/make backwards hangers for bikes with rear facing dropouts (which are still common on cheap bikes in Asia)

pic from disraeligears

Not sure where you could find one in the U.S. and it would defeat the point of having a quick release.

Kevin stafford

Maybe you could try removing the pich bolt and nut from the hanger, and try using just the QR to hold it, they clamp pretty tight. It would be a little tedious to align everything while you close the QR, but would probably hold OK

ColonelJLloyd 

Cool bike. That does look like fun!

jptwins

Mos6502,

I might just try taking the hanger i have and seeing if i can flip it around. This bike is pieced together, i figure why not. especially if it gives me the extra clearance. I don't plan on removing the wheels much anyways.

kevin,
i thought about that as well, or even drilling another little hole and tapping it for the pinch bolt. however, i'm not sure my drill could get through that chunk of steel there...

thanks guys! i'll let you know what how it goes.

jptwins

thanks again for the stem justin. that small purchase went a long way!

himespau 

That looks cool.

Sixty Fiver

Would not worry about the tyre clearance and having to deflate it to remove it... odds are that when you remove it it will have flatted.

jptwins

I put on another tougher wheelset, and flipped the derailleur hanger around. It looks a bit goofy (well, this whole bike is kind of goofy), but it shifts better now, and I have more like 7-8mm of tire clearance now. perfect to fill with mud!

thanks for the help guys!