Grizzly

I happened to run across a thread that went by in July and noticed a Peugeot UO8. I have one stored in a garage and to my knowledge never ridden. "Tube special allegre peugeot" is on the seat tube. In the mid seventies from Virginia it was supposed to go with me to Florida but got substantially waylaid, and when found it went to a bike shop and sat. I was transferred all over and so it was confined to a shipping box put into various storage facilities and almost forgotten. Six or so years ago it caught up with me, unwrapped, and its been in a enclosed but unheated garage. The bike took some heat in Florida, Virginia, Arizona while being enclosed in a container for several years but not ridden and ruined. Is this bike worth bringing out of mothballs? The old (knife) seat, for example, is crazed and my butt has increased in size. The bike has some surface oxidation on the wheel spokes and some in the wavy serrations on the rims for the brakes, but nothing at all serious. The paint and decals have held up. The air pump is missing and it has a spring loaded carrier installed on the back, but other than that original as far as I know. So, 1. What is it worth and would refurbishing make the cash outlay worth it? 2. It's been awhile. What kind of bike is a UO8? Touring? 3. Is there literature in English I might find on the bike? 4. Can anyone still fix these bikes and are parts still around? I think I paid nearly $200 for the bike and prep and carrier when new with the advice that it was a good bike for getting around in Florida. I never found out then but am willing to give it a try if those of you out there who know advise me the better alternative-go or no go. 5. If no go what can I do with this and no fair asking me to donate it to you.

ezrap14

Hey Grizzly...

You will find some pics of a uo8 on the thread 'need id help on a peugeot', in case you are not sure of the exact model. You should have a serial number stamped on the rear dropout. Six digits with a letter mean 1960's and seven digits with a letter means 1970's.
I ride a peugeot uo8 daily to and from work. It's a 28 pound bike that I love driving, although the uo8 is geared low, for mountain riding. I was born on a bike in Belgium. The uo8 is great, although I would prefer a higher gear for flat or down stretches, specially with the wind in back.
Prices vary, I paid $20 CAN in a yardsale. I am riding it 'as is'. I was very happy with the find. I own a pc shop and have done a lot of browsing on the net without finding a whole lot on the uo8. (i browse in the seven languages i speak). Next trip back home I definately must go browsing the flea market in Paris.

bluehorseshoe

Speak of the devil...

I just picked one up, spec'd exactly as yours, from a yard sale for $10, from the original purchaser. (My wife was, shall we say, baffled by what had followed me home.)

Yes, its heavy, but it has a nice ride (perhaps those 1 1/4" tires?) and fits me perfectly. Try searching Sheldon Brown's website; he has a little information on the UO-8, and more on French bicycles and their, um, issues. So far, I've adjusted the seat, stem and brakes, and may replace the derailleur cables as well. Check out the seatpost installation -- I found Sheldon Brown's prediction that the clamp would be installed upside down, and lead to the post poking the leather seat, to be absolutely true.

Good luck, and enjoy your bike.

Poguemahone

UO8s make nice beater bikes and excellent urban fixies. Keep the headset and bottom bracket maintained, as they can be difficult to replace.

Check your rims; if they are steel, consider replacing them for daily riding (alloy rims brake better than steel). It likely has a cottered crank, and I recommend trying to replace these with cotterless eventually. Take your time; replacement parts can be found cheaply in thrifts and the like if you're patient.

Pricing seems to vary. I bought mine for five dollars and fixed it up as a fixed gear with old parts from my basement; the total investment was just under 40$. I personally wouldn't pay more than 25$ for one, but I've seen them go for more on ebay and one poster here swears 125-250$ is fair for one modernized and in good condition.

The bikes do have some odd issues-- weird seatpost sizing, 96mm front dropout width, but all this can be overcome with a tad of ingenuity. There's a reason why people still like riding them.

John E

The UO-8 has one of the best general transportation frames ever made. The Mafac brakes are very good, but, as mentioned above, the steel rims, cottered cranks, and Simplex derailleurs leave a bit to be desired.

Ezrap14: If the stock gearing is too wide for your tastes, why not replace the freewheel with an "ultra" 6-speed with something like 13-23 or 14-24 teeth? Another option would be half-step front gearing, but replacement chainrings would be tougher to find than a close-ratio freewheel.

gear freak

this was a low cost quality french bike boom bicycle, was usually the most a newbie could afford & probably seemed quite expensive. one of my high school friends bought one of these for $100 in 1967. it was a nice bike bike for the time but was all steel except for the mafac racer brakes. i met a woman riding on of these on a night time ride over 30 years ago & i bought her a set of the then new narrow profile narrow profile mavic wired on rims, phil wood hubs (is there anyhing else?) & dt spokes. this made a tremendous difference in her riding comfort. steel wheels are just to heavy to push around, if you do this modification it will cost you $400 since phil sold the company phil hubs got as expensive as hugi hubs

Maddox

Random thread resurrection for the win. This is a thread from '04, gear freak.

Grand Bois

There are pleanty of good hubs out there for a fraction of the cost that don't look like orange juice cans with flanges.

miamijim

Grizzly, whre is the bike currently located?

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Probably elsewhere from where it was when the OP posted about it.... in 2004

nlerner

Wow, this might be the record for a zombie thread. And it's about the zombie of bicycles, the Peugeot UO8!

Neal

David Newton

Maybe Grizzly is a patient person. If so, he'll be along soon.

My first 10 speed was a UO8, Aztec lugs, bought new in Meridian, MS. $112.
25" frame, too tall for me, but I was skinny then. I sold it when I bought the International a few years later to a guy shorter than me, and he loved it, said he liked to "stretch out" on it.

Road Fan

In Ann Arbor there seem to be a bunch of these zombies stalking around, looking for carbon to eat. When I was in high school they sold typically for $5 more than a Varsity, about $85 for the Peug - 1967?

I like the classic look of course, but the ride is really the thing. The geometry does not work well with narrow 700c such as Gommitalia Espresso tubulars (twitchy!!!), but it's very comfortable . The steering works quite well with the original 27x1 1/4 wheels. Mine is gonna get some 700 x 32 clinchers when the weather gets better. Replacing the steel with aluminum has brought the weight down to around 25 or 26 lb. Pretty darn good for 1020 steel!

Old bike, old thread, it's all good, just not timely.

Grand Bois

Twitchy UO8? The only twitchy UO8 I ever rode had been run into a parked car.

Road Fan

Maybe twitchy is the wront word, but with a trail around 35 mm, 21 mm tires with 120 psi, steering was guick and too responsive. It's hard to describe.

randyjawa 

You might find this feature article on the Peugeot UO8 interesting and helpful.

My grandson found this bike, while at the Dump, with me, one afternoon...

ozneddy

randyjawa,to find that bike in that condition , your grandson gets my score of the year award !

bootchop

this Peugeot bike describes like a lovely riding heavy poc. Sorta like my new to me ue8, cant wait to get it going.

Road Fan

Great buy!

The early '70s ones and before had a rather laid-back head tube and a lot of fork offset. This amounts to low trail, but also facilitates a lot of fork flexing over bumps. The seat tube was also laid-back and that also helps the ride quality. So yes, the 27 x 1 ¼ tires have a lot to do with the ride, but so does the frame/fork design.

Road Fan

Yes, even in 2017 one can buy pairs of Normandy or MM Atom hubs -- decent vintage quality, but way cheaper than Campy.

Road Fan

Boot chop, the UE8 and UO8 were very similar - I'd expect the same ride as from the 1970-ish UO8. It was the style in the early 60's, at least for Peug.

big chainring 

Steel rims, Simplex derailleurs, cottered crank, 27 x 1 1/4 tires. All the things that make the UO-8 what it is. I like 'em stock. But modified somewhat is fine too.

Everyone knocks the steel rims. The French Super Chromix rims are very nice rims with excellent chrome finish and surprisingly light. I would rather ride round steel rims than flat spotted alloy rims. Dolomiti rims on Italian bikes are another storey. Noticeably heavier than their french counterparts.

Simplex Prestige derailleurs are my personal favorite. I find they adjust really easily and can be fine tuned to operate very well. And I like their appearance too.

Cottered cranks are super dependable. Removing the chaingaurd really helps the look too.

An aspect of UO-8's that rarely is mentioned is the long chainstay length, about 18". I find the chain lines in crossover gears very acceptable so that all ten gears are useable.

Aubergine 

I take it you never ride in the rain.

big chainring 

Nope. I have found that steel rims provide a nice ride. I like the ride of my Raleigh Grand Prix and Gitane Gran Sport dlx. Theres a certain quality to them. Definitely smooths out the bumps with steel rims and wide tires. First response on BF's to people who have aquired a bike with steel rims is - you have to replace the wheels/rims. I just think thats silly. Same with the Simplex delrin derailleurs, and cottered cranks. The whole package operates quite well as delivered.

jimmuller 

Wow, a 2004 thread revived in 2011 and revived again in 2017! I'll chime in because I've been riding my UO-8 since about 1972. Put decent alloy wheels on it with good tires, install Suntour Vx or VGT Luxe derailleurs, replace all the steel bits with alloy as you can afford it, and you'll have a nice road bike.