merziac

Sounds like you got the right touch with this.

Not sure if you replaced them but new balls and thick oldschool axle grease will keep these going well from now on and no real loss if not.

I use the thick grease much of the time and many here advocate for marine grease but regular is thicker and will last better under our circumstances, low rpm and far less load.

non-fixie 

Excellent find! I'm guessing the mrs will like the 'his & hers' idea and the fact that hers is just that bit nicer than yours.

IdahoBrett 

Put “his” on the stand to take a closer look.

Rear freewheel is a 6 speed. Hard to read the multi stamped manufacturer. Starts with A and the second word is compact.

I’m not that knowledgeable in general, but willing to learn. The RD appears to not be correct? Short cage and the dropout doesn’t have the bolt hole. Jockey wheels are missing teeth. So it’s likely to be replaced.

Thread title should be changed to his and hers A08…

52telecaster

The alignment tool is a lifesaver

juvela

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datum -

in case you wish to see confirmation the machine's Juy Prestige gear mechs may exhibit a marking...

if present, would forecast either a lxx or a lxxi




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the double striking of the face plate on the Atom gear block created something such as one might expect to encounter on a diabolical vision test

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the velo's original saddle was likely an ADGA model 28A from the firm of Gallet






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IdahoBrett 

Oof, that style of saddle doesn’t look comfortable juvela Maybe it’s the unorthodox shape.

As to the diabolical vision test; I just assumed my readers just weren’t doing their job for my aging eyes…

I looked for a year date on the FD but failed to see one.

The RD is missing the thingamajig bolt that slides into the dropout. I’ll procure one along with new jockey’s.

IdahoBrett 

Thanks juvela Found the date “codes”

markk900

Another nice score! To your question yes that RD is correct and probably original given the date code. The 6-speed is an upgrade (I have done same) but not original even if “correct” place of origin, as are the wheels (again correct country of origin for the rims!)

You will have fun riding with the Mrs…. We do with our own set of AO-8s

juvela

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thanks for the update with new information

oops, was off by a few months with me date

one of the reasons for selecting 1971 was the absence of the NERVAR chrome chainguard which came in with the 1972 models

possible it was removed by a previous owner or was a mid-year 1972 addition...

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since yesterday was supposed to be your day of working on the honey-do's list and instead you went to buy a bicycle we will be expecting to see you work on the list today instead

any more updates today means you are at risk for esconcement into the canine castle...


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noglider 

If these were my bikes, my approach would lean toward the practical. I would not stress much original equipment or period correctness. The derailleurs you have tended to fail or wear out rapidly, as their designs and materials were sub-par.

The French-threaded freewheel is likely to cause problems. Finding one these days is hard, and it's going to get harder as the years go by. If the hub accepts an English-threaded freewheel, use one of those. If using an English-threaded freewheel is damaging the hub, well, so be it. You can use the hub for as long as it works, or you can replace it. I had a French-threaded hub once long ago, and I don't plan to do that again.

bikemig 

That bike is worth $30 all day long. The UO series bikes (UO 8 through 10) and their variants are all fine bikes. They have tire generous clearance so they are very good as commuters, lock up bikes, and even as touring/gravel bikes if that is your thing.

Road Fan

I don't want to challenge your experience with Simplexes - mine was better, but perhaps Simplex made variant versions with different characteristics and capacities. Back in my last year of high school, 1970, that A08 and U08 gearing, 52/36 and about 14/24 or 28 (yes, I understand that is a significant uncertainty) shifted amazingly well on Peugs with black Simplex rear mechs and the piston-cage front plastic ones. The fronts were subject to fracture once the Delrin started to get old, but a rider who knew how to shift and guard against jamming could get great usage out of the unbroken ones. The Simplex rear mech had a deceptively large range, in terms of sprocket size accommodation and chain wrap. I think this was due to the geometry of the parallelogram, drop, and sprung upper pivot and of course its swing range. Frank Berto's old-time book "Upgrading your Bicycle" (my copy is from the 1980s) covers this pretty well based on his old tech articles in Bicycling Magazine. Berto put a lot of that information in his other books, the several editions of "The Dancing Chain."

I can't give a full account of why the Simplexes worked so well when new, but my recollection with my bike (Campagnolo Gran Sport and later Nuovo Record) and the French bikes of my buds is that the Frenchies were easier to shift. The Campy's had a more solid chunky feel and were very nice to use once you got the feel of them, but the Simplexes were smoother in all usage and more accessible for less experienced users. Left behind in the race of shifter systems, were the by then ancient Huret Allvit and its variants. As high-school kids we were clueless about all the different versions and relative benefits of Huret Allvit, but perhaps now we can be a little more charitable than we were back in the day. Somebody wrote about how the worst things about them is that they wouldn't work well and wouldn't break, so you couldn't justify buying an upgrade! This was true for Schwinn, Columbia, and other low/medium level bikes. Schwinn roadies had this equipment all the way up through the Super Sport line, IMHE.

As the kid on the block who had a knack with a few small wrenches and screwdrivers, and some experience getting balky shifting bikes to shift better, I could improve Campy and Simplex bikes in most cases. Not so the Varsities and various Stingrays which appeared in the hands of my buds and their siblings - I could not sort those out nearly so well! I was very impressed to see those mechs as equipment on top-end rando machines from the constructeurs, showing me there was and is a higher level of skill and competence, than mine.

markk900

Once you get a few miles on a Simplex equipped bike I agree they can shift decently, at the rear at least. When we acquired the purple AO-8 it was so stock I wanted to leave it that way, front Simplex and all. But a few rides brought back my wife’s memory of poor shifting and when I tried it out, I remembered how much over-shifting and trimming it needed with the 52/36. My own bike with a 50/46 shifted great with a Simplex, so my feeling is that the front is challenged with that many teeth gap.

Road Fan

I totally sympathize! I've worked with 50/34 (same 16 tooth jump) and other 16-tooth jumps off and on for about 20 years and I like it a lot, but all have taken some work and were learning experiences. My indexed examples are all Campy, and the Campy CT designs are intricately curved to press on the chain outward or inward at exactly the right place, as well, they have evolved instructions which I find useful and accurate, but I had to put it all together pretty carefully.

I have a non-indexed non-Campy Franken-gear 2 x 10 in 46/30 and 11/30, and it's a 650b rando-style bike. The rear mech is an older Deore LX long-cage, the cassette is a cheapest SRAM 10-sp, and the chain is a new-bought cheapest 10-speed. That all went together pretty readily. The shifters are downtube Campy friction, C-record era. They did not come with any clicky function, but they have tension screws and set up well - a blast from the past. Choosing a front derailleur was the hard part, here. One complication was with the small 30-tooth granny the cage had to be pushed down close to the BB - I could not have used a frame with a front mech braze-on, but a derailleur close enough to the chainring could be too close to the chainstay. So I needed a short-cage derailleur, or a pretty unique long-cage.

End of day, I ended up using a NOS Suntour, I think an XC. Several years but not a lot of miles, it rides great. But i still end up taking out my Campy bikes.

Sorry I can't be much help with your old Simplexes, but with experimentation I found solutions and could pick the best one for my fram. Back in the 1940s and perhaps earlier, long distance riders solved these problems, sometimes with improvised solutions.

I was a member of an antique motorcycle club, back in Chicago. Asking naively of some greybeards "what do you do if you can't buy parts?" I was told "ya make 'em!"

Road Fan

Whatever I say about the derailleurs, I like those bikes! My size, too, based on the head tubes!

IdahoBrett 

Update: Snow is deep outside, holidays are over, other bike project done. Back to the pair of Peugeot’s.

The stem is rusted in place on my A08. It’s been soaking in Kroil for 16 hours. Smacking it with a dead blow is having no effect. Tips?

juvela

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1. make sure expander nut is out

2. clamp fork crown in beefy bench vise with blocks of wood

3. bar should provide adequate leverage to break things loose

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Trakhak

Whenever we ran into an immovable object (stem or seat post) in the bike shop, we'd bring the bike to the service station next door. One of the mechanics would pull out a big pneumatic hammer and have the part out in seconds.

markk900

Couple of thoughts: when faced with a similar situation (not a Peugeot) I also turned the bike over an put penetrating fluid in through the bottom of the crown (after suitably stopping up the holes).

I left the bike to soak for almost a week, then on a daily basis I tried as juvela suggested to lever the stem loose. I also gave the stem some nice whacks from above (supporting under the crown) each time in an effort to break the corrosion lock. I worked it for several more days before I got any movement at all but once you get a little, separation is inevitable 😎.

Once the pieces separated (and they did!) I noted that the penetrating fluid had done almost nothing to be honest. Of the 4” of clearly corroded stem the penetrating oil had maybe gone in 1/2” at either end….every little bit helps I suppose but don’t buy into “penetrates deeply” claims!

IdahoBrett 

The expander nut did move down, but it isn’t loose. Thanks markk900 for the sealing up and filling with penetrating oil idea. I’ve sprayed a bunch and yes it drains out.

Single digit temps today. With a foot of snow on the ground. So it’ll be a bit before I can ride. I can take my time and not rush (usually when I break stuff).

IdahoBrett 

I’m a tool fanatic. So I got the Bikesmith cotter press. Well worth it in my humble opinion.

I’ve read enough about cottered crank removal that I was apprehensive about servicing the BB. Effortless (almost) with the press. That and a previous owner likely had the BB serviced since the bike left the factory.

While my stem is still soaking in kroil I moved on to further disassembly.

juvela

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great to see that you have that step now ell sorted

if you elect to reuse the pins make sure to file smooth the flats before remounting

and remember to mount them symmetrically; either tail leads or head leads in the rotation

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PS -

don't let the word get out amongst your local cycling friends that you have the Bikesmith otherwise they will be giving advice such as "Oh don't worry about servicing that cottered chainset, good ol' Brett has the Bikesmith."


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markk900

Couple more thoughts for you: first, and if you already know this I apologize, use the press to put the pins back in. When doing up the nuts they should not be what is pulling the pin into its final spot.

Second, when you dress the pins before reinstalling, you can use a sharpie as a poor man’s engineering blue to see where the pin needs to be touched up.

And finally, I assume you will be disassembling the BB for maintenance: unless there is something really messed up you don’t have to remove the fixed cup! (Some people like to anyway). But it’s quite easy to clean and regrease with it in place and can save hours of swearing and skinned knuckles to leave it alone.

IdahoBrett 

A week of soaking in penetrating oil and I finally got movement on the stem! It started with a creak left, creak right. Building to a screeeech left, screeetch right. Until the handlebars would rotate to the top tube. The stem is being stubborn and not coming up and out. A few more days of penetrating oil oughta do the trick.

Movement of the stem was a relief. I was starting to think I was going to hacksaw it off and remove the fork from the frame. My celebratory mood may be premature. I ain’t giving up until it’s out.

Yes I know my work bench is a mess. Probably what the inside of my head would look like if it could be photographed…

juvela

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when stems & steerers get "welded" together with corrosion it can occasionally happen that a "pill" (small hard sphere) of corrosion will form at some point in the circumference of the stem

if this is the case when one finally breaks things free and is able to twist the stem the "pill" can cut a groove into the alloy of the stem and it still will not come out

from your description it sounds like this may be occurring here - wylde speculation


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