ivanefl

Hello everyone!!

I wanna buy a vintage road bike on budget for a quite long time now with the idea of restoring it and use it.
I've been checking online sales and today I found this Peugeot road bike for 70€. For what I can see in the photos, the bike color is baby blue and it has only a down tube decal with peugeot written in blue with a white outline over a checkered pattern which is fading away on the bottom. It has a Atax stem, the front derailleur is from Simplex.
My questions are: What is the model/year of the bike?
Is it worth 70€?
www.olx.pt/anuncio/bicicleta-IDBQpCr.html

I appreciate any help!

Thank you, Ivan

Buellster

I dont see any pics or a link. Likley everybody needs that to help.
As someone who just recently jumped into the C&V world I do have a touch of advice.
The first C&V I bought was a peugeot. 80s model of an AE8. I loved working on it but I wish I'd known a few things about the different sizings.
mine for example has a very specific quill stem size, it doesnt even fit some standard french quills and I had to have something machined to fit it.
the bottom bracket is swiss, it was able to be repacked and works great but a replacement will cost me an arm and a leg.
The same is true of the cranks (square taper) sometimes the pedals and even the rear free wheel. All of those things are specific to my type of bike, or rather to a whole host of french bikes.
some peugeots have more standard english sizes but mine most definitely does not.
All that noted, I LOVE my peugeot. It's an entry level model but it rides wonderfully and as a heavy guy the carbolite frame is good for me.
Just keep in mind that depending on the model and year of Peugeot you may be looking at 2 to 3 times the cost of replacement parts for other bikes.

ivanefl

Thank you so much for your advice and for put me aware of those different costs of the replacement parts. As a student, the budget situation is really important to me.

I got the link working now.

Aubergine 

T-Mar

Unfortunately, models often vary between countries and I'm not familiar with the Portugese models. However, based on the lugless construction, cottered crankset and Simplex Delrin derailleur, it is an early 1980s,entry level model, very near the bottom of the line. I'm also not familiar with the used bicycle market in Portugal and can't advise on the price.

cb400bill

Thread moved to Appraisals forum

cb400bill

Pic Assist

ivanefl

Fisrt of all thank you for your time and help.
Im new to the bikes world, so I have no idea how to indentify those caracteristics yet and if they are good or not, but one thing that Ive noticed since I started looking for them is that, here a bike in that condition is away more expensive, thats why that one call my attention. Usually I find bikes around 50€-80€ full of rust or just dont even work..
My intention is to find at least a good vintage bike, so I can give it my "touch" and get it ready to be my transportation for school.
What price do u think is fair for that bike apart the market difference?

Buellster

From what I understand (I'm pretty new here too) "fair price" has a lot to do with your market.
here in portland $80 for a good functioning low end puegeot would be about right, but C&V bikes are super popular here right now. Try and haggle them down and see if they take it. I would try for $60.
That said I paid $125 for my Puegeot AE8 wich is also a near bottom of line bike. I probably should have paid a little less but the guy was nice and the paint was in perfect condition. I like the ride so I feel alright about it.
If the bike fits and you and the frame feels nice it's a good bike.
(someone more experienced than me may say I'm wrong, but that's my read)

ivanefl

Yesterday I tried to haggle for 40€ and today the guy says that can take 60€. To be honest, for what I've been seeing I think this is actually a fair price. Before this Peugeot, I had on eye this portuguese bike from the 80s (I think) for 50€. I couldn't find any information about the brand and the bike needs to be restored..

Buellster

Yeah that bike looks to be in good condition.
If you've been looking for awhile and this is a better looking bike than normally pops up at this price go for it. Just be aware that if it does have problems other than cosmetics, like I said above, you could easily spend 2 to 3 times what your paying on parts. If you can still ask any question I may try and figure out if hes ever had the Bottom Bracket replaced or repacked. That was my most expensive cost I ran into.
Can you test ride it?

ivanefl

Yesterday, the guy told me that the bike doesn't have any problem and its in perfectly conditions. Eventually Im going to test it out before buying it.
To upgrade the BB and the crank of this bike in the future for a modern one is it too expensive? Or is hard to find modern compatible parts?
And to overhaul the old BB can it be tricky?

Buellster

If it really needs a new BB or has any major issues you'll (mostly) be able to tell from a good long test ride. At this price range I generally expect to need to change out all the cables and do some thorough greasing of what should be great and cleaning what should be clean.
Just keep an eye and an ear out for anything odd. Spin the wheels to see how straight the spin, if they wobble you'll need to true them at a shop. Not super pricey but something to watch.
You can upgrade to newer parts from what I hear. They have "thread cup conversion kits" you can buy that screw into your housing and have a different female thread. There are also threadless BB cartridges that expand into your BB shell and stay in by exoanding out to fit in any BB. I have heard these methods BBs can wear a little faster and sometimes be squeaky. You can buy brand new BBs from a few places with the French threading, the swiss are tougher to find but can also be bought new. (Velo Orange offers french and threadless)
I have not ever repacked my own bottom bracket but it's something I think I ought to learn. There a lot of YouTube video walkthroughs and detailed instructions all over Google and likley this site. You can judge whether it's something you could do at home. My bike shop did it for 45 dollars labor so it's not really breaking the bank its just a skill I'd like to have.

ivanefl

Thank you!!!
I talked to the guy and I'm going to meet him on the first week of august (its when I have transportation to go there) to try the bike and buy it.
I have no experience with bikes at all, besides riding sometimes for fun on an aluminium bike that i have from the late 90s I believe (its not a road bike). That being said, I want to learn about bikes throught this experience and try to do the most by myself. Ive been learning a lot since I started looking for a vintage road bike, reading on websites, forums and watching youtube tutorial videos with detailed instructions, but I have a lot of questions.

ivanefl

Here is some questions that I have. Sorry if I use wrong terms, but Im trying to learn..

1- Assuming that the bike is running without any problems, but hasn't been overhaul for a long time, should I overhaul both wheel hubs, the headset and the BB? (I will change all the all cables, and cleaning everything too).

2- Can it be tricky overhauling the kind of headset on this bike or its all the same?

3- Is it worth to overhaul and repack a freewheel?

About the cranks and the BB

4- Is there any chance of this bike have a standard british thread?

5- Since this is a french bike, has cottered cranks and probably french threads is there a huge performance difference between the cottered cranks and square-taper cranks that justify the upgrade?

If so, I've been trying to think in some solutions based on what you said above:

6- The French Threaded Bottom Bracket from Velo Orange is 50$ plus the shipping cost wish is between 20€ - 30€, plus new cranks. Thats way more expensive than what the bike will cost me, so I think its not a good/smart idea, specially when im trying to do everything with a low budget;

7- I've been searching and I found a portuguese online store dedicated to classic bikes and on their website there is what they call Universal Bottom Bracket, if all the sizes are correct does this work with new square-taper cranks?

Universal BB: https://www.bicicletaclassica.pt/pt/m...sem-rosca.html

8- On the same store, they also sell French Bottom Brackets with french thread but without the central part (axles). They sell both axles separately, cottered and square axles. Am I able to "build" my own square BB with these parts?

French BB: https://www.bicicletaclassica.pt/pt/m...o-frances.html
Square Axles: https://www.bicicletaclassica.pt/pt/e...po-quadra.html

randyjawa 

Oh my, when good deals surface on the internet, generally you have to move quickly. You are not the only one looking for a good deal. At 60 urals, my guess is the price is not too bad, even though I am unfamiliar with market performance in your area.

ivanefl

I talked to him on the phone and we live in the same city, but since he lives 15Km from where I live and I only have someone helping me with the transportation on that week he said that is going to keep it for me.

Buellster

I can answer a few of your questions but I'm not experienced enough to answer many of them. I can tell you that the universal bracket is the same type as the threadless I referenced above. It would work fine but may be squeaky. It would likely be better to get the French threaded parts and then I'm guessing it wants you to use the same axle you already have?

I would also say that if things seem to be working. Just let it ride till you have an issue. You will feel or hear when the BB is going out and I dont even know how to tell when a wheel hub needs to be redone but I imagine it makes noise while spinning free similair to a BB. If things are in good working order, dont fix what isn't broken. Sure if you had a collectors item or a dedicated project bike it is good idea to rebuild the above parts. If you are buying a bike as a daily commuter and you just need something dependable, I would say it may be more work than it's worth to do all of that. At least in the sense that you will likley not notice a huge difference if you repack a wheel that was already working fine.
Often times you can switch from 27" wheels over to 700c wheels. Given the time and cost of parts to rebuild a 27" wheel hub, it may be advantageous to just do that when its needed.
With maintenance and replacements you will eventually pay more for this bike in parts and what not than this initial price, but if it really is in ready to ride shape then ride it for awhile.
This is all my humble non bike mechanic opinion.

ivanefl

I dont think I can use the same axle, because its a cottered one and for square-taper cranks I think it needs a squared axle (I think). But yeah.. as I said before, I dont know if there is a huge performance diference between those two, that justify the upgrade and if the bike worth all that work and money spended on parts..

Thank you for your honest opinion!! I will follow your advice and if the bike is in good shape and ready to ride like the guy said Im going to do just a good cleaning, check the cables and maybe buy a new handlebar tape if the other one is too worn out.