Murray Missile 

A few years back I thought I might want to try a SS and picked up a wheelset with polished aluminum deep V rims, stainless spokes and no name hubs with a flip flop hub along with a freewheel geared to match the fixed gear and a single speed crankset. Other builds kept bumping it to the end of the line and over the years things have happened that make it impractical for me to build one to keep and since I ride a 62cm road frame it would be a tough sell if it didn't work out. Fast forward to last week when I acquired a really ratty 1978 Peugeot UO9 parts bike. It's a small frame, I haven't measured it but by eyeball I'd say maybe a 52 or 54cm? I kept staring at it thinking it was a shame to just pitch the frame but the paint and graphics are pretty beat up. Then I got the idea that I could clean it up, give it an oxalic acid bath to remove the rust and clear coat it as is to preserve its battle scars then build it up with the SS stuff I have and offer it up for sale. I like the look of old scarred up frames with nice new parts and I know there are others out there with the same questionable tastes. What do you think? Would I be wasting my time or should I just throw it all in a big pile and sell it with "some assembly required"? It's not going to be a money maker no matter what I do, I just like building bikes and I look it more as an "entertaiment expense" than a loss. What's the verdict? If I DO build it would it work with moustache bars? I have a like new set I never really fell in love with.......

It looks really bad but I've cleaned up worse and made them presentable:


Here's a before shot of a Schwinn Traveler I bought for the Campagnolo Nuovo Record and Mafac Racers the PO had hung on it. It doesn't look it in the before pic but it was almost as bad as the Peugeot. That brownish tint isn't a trick of the lighting, it was covered in brown funk almost like it had been hanging in a tavern for 20 years before they banned smoking in public places and was covered in nicotine. The red paint was D-E-A-D underneath the funk but Meguiar's Micro Polish brought it back.


A day of cleaning and digging through my leftovers pile and it came out looking a bit better, it sold in less than 48 hours and I actually made a couple bucks over what I had in the parts I put back on it after deducting the price I paid for the bike which was considerably less than a near mint 1974 dated Nuovo Record rear derailleur sells for:

Chad1376

If the goal is project and not profit, then by all means, have some fun. In it's current state, that doesn't seem like a bike anyone would want. It could be satisfying making it something someone else might appreciate. I think the hardest part would be finding the "right" buyer.

Murray Missile 

Yeah, she's a total pig and languished on Marketplace for weeks at $40 then last week he offered it for free. I have a few Gitane and Peugeot project bikes so I figured for free it was worth going after for the derailleurs and I'm hoping that Nervar 1011 crankset is on a French threaded BB and not Swiss as I am in need of one for another bike. The FD turned out to be a zinc plated Shimano replacement so that was a let down but the RD is a Simplex SX410GT long cage that I needed. Turned out the bike was only 3 blocks down the street from where I work so no real investment in it other than a few minutes and a cup or two of gas, it was the opposite direction I normally go but the RD made it worth going so "far" out of my way.

Even when the market around here was good and I could flip a few bikes to bankroll my velo addiction I wouldn't have given this a second thought as a flip but it's so pathetic looking I feel a need to give it a 2nd chance. It is TOTALLY a project, I have no delusions of even breaking even on it, my usual modus operandi is "buy high, sell low" LOL, plus I've had the parts long enough they're pretty much a write off now anyway. I just want to see what I can do with it and keep it out of the scrap pile if I can. As far as the "right buyer" goes, being as tall as I am that's always the case for me when selling one of my bikes to make room for the next project, sometimes it takes a couple years to get one sold and sometimes ones I thought would be a tough sell got snapped up right away. You just never know.

This old Schwinn was given to me with some other bikes, I didn't take a before pic but it was NASTY, it was so filthy I honestly thought it was brown not red and I couldn't see any point in keeping it. I was literally almost to the curb with but just as I was crossing the sidewalk that little voice told me to go ahead and see how it would clean up. I turned around and tore into it and it didn't turn out too bad. It sold in 3 days and I had 3 people wanting it. I even made a nice profit after putting new tires tubes and cable on it. I still don't understand what the attraction was but sometimes that's how it goes.

Murray Missile 

I pulled the plug on the "Pug", it was a LOT worse than I first thought. I got some great pieces off it for my other projects though. I've decided to give the Single Speed a try for myself after riding around on a coaster brake folding bike. I just had both knees replaced a few months ago so no FG for this old man. I have an old 80's Univega I picked up dirt cheap I'll try it out on.

grant40

I got this old Univega for $10 That was going to be thrown out and converted it to fixed gear with spare parts. I ended up putting a brake on it and giving it to a friend who wanted a singlespeed road bike. I did remove the seat before giving it to them and they put an Adamo seat of their own on it.

stevel610 

Looks like you could make a go of it as a bike detailer. Guaranteed profit on every one.

Murray Missile 

New year, new plan.

I was tearing down my '72 Gitane Interclub yesterday to take it in for a frame repair thanks to someone putting one of those old steel hardware store kickstands on it then using an impact wrench to tighten it (only a slight embellishment). The bottoms of the chainstays right behind the BB shell are slightly crushed. You can't see it and it doesn't effect the ride but I know it's there and it's driving me nuts so I'm going to spend more than the bike is worth to get it fixed but I like the bike, logic be damned. As I was tearing it down it hit me this woud be the perfect try out for a single speed. It has NO braze ons, it rides great but has zero collector value and about half the original drivetrain has been replaced already so it's not original. Since all the cable guides and stops are bolt ons it leaves a nice clean frame and if I decided a single speed wasn't for me I just bolt all the hardware and drivetrain of my choice back on and go on my way. It was getting a repaint and new decals anyway before I decided to have the chainstays repaired so there won't be any paint shadows from the old hardware either. Gotta keep those Mafac Racer brakes though, now if somebody would just reproduce the hoods for them.

As found.........

Chuck M 

I'm not into the SS or FG thing myself, but if I was, your logic that everything is undoable by replacing the stops and clamps seems sound.

I just highlighted and colored red the things that are inline with my thoughts on spending money on an old bike. I'm over here enjoying the wrenching and riding. Not making investments.

Murray Missile 

I hadn't been into it either other than I have seen some BEAUTIFUL builds on this side of the fence and wanted to build something like that. Plus I always want to try different bike stuff and after buzzing around on a coaster brake folder a bit I thought it might be fun to build a single speed. That little folder was a blast, so much so I bought an older one with a 6 speed and rebuilt it for running errands. It also came in real handy after my knee surgeries! At my age and with 2 knee replacements a fixed gear is a definite no but a freewheel bike with brakes will work and what could be better than doing it with a vintage French bike? OK, a lot of things LOL but you get the idea. Good excuse to share a pic of the folder (or not). It had languished in the back of a garden shed for 20 some years and looked it when I brought it home. It's now a 7 speed with a 53t chainring, it will fly which gets a little spooky with the 20" wheels, short wheelbase and my high center of gravity!

rustystrings61 

The Gitane TdF is a PERFECT frame to convert to fixed or single-speed use - and I can attest that the ride is sublime. I purchased mine, a c.1971 example, for $50 as a frame, fork, headset and bottom bracket, then spent double having it shipped to me. No regrets. It has become my first choice go-to grab-and-go bike. It was originally meant to be a beater fixed-gear for family beach week use, and it's been all over Edisto Island, North Myrtle Beach, Garden City, etc. as my early morning Dawn Patrol ride. Current parts spec is Nitto Technomic Deluxe stem with mod. 176 bars, SR LaPrade seat post, original Stronglight P3 headset with a Zeus top nut, Dia-Compe Blaze aero levers with electrical tape repairs to a torn hood, Weinmann Carrera sidepulls ($10 on the 'Bay), Kogswell hubs laced to MA-3 rims (I traded for those), Stronglight 93 cranks with the inner ledge shaved down some and a single 45T ring, Phil Wood BB with French mounting rings, MKS Sylvan track pedals with Christophe clips and ALE straps with buttons and pads, Panaracer Pasela 28s, and a B-17 I bought 22 years ago that has graced several different road fixed-gear conversions through the years. As seen it's set up for a Dawn Patrol ride with generic battery LED lights. Somehow, this is THE smoothest running, quietest, most surefooted mount in the stable. I suspect you will love yours.

Murray Missile 

The Interclub frame is back from the LBS and he did a fantastic job on the stays. I shot some sealer primer on them when I got it home until I'm ready to strip and repaint it. I've decided on moustache bars with an Origin 8 stem and Grand Compe drop bar aero levers to clean up the front a bit. In the interest of reducing "clutter" I also decided to ditch the Mafac Races for now and go with a set of polished Tektro R539 side pulls. I like the original blue but I'm going to do a color change, a 1990's GM color, Metallic Medium Maui Blue. Here's an example, I think it will really set off the Gitane foil decals and the aluminum components, especially the polished pieces. Probably won't be much of anything noteworthy done until Spring now as my shop isn't heated.