partyanimal

(Accidentally posted in the C&V Appraisal thread, copied it here - will try to delete the other one)
With the help of this forum, my local bike co op and lots of Park tool videos I taught myself to (almost completely) rebuild a bike. Found this old Peugeot Orient Express MTB from the 80s fro $10 on FB Marketplace, spent the past few months slowly buying parts, stripping and rebuilding it. Stripped all the parts off, did a treatment in oxalic acid to remove all the surface rust, replaced everything except the crank and wheels but I replaced all the bearings in front and rear wheels.
Only real hurdles I hit: there was a steel rivet holding in the cable routing under the BB - had to file it down inside the BB shell to get the new one in there. Second - had a hard time finding the exact right headset as the crown is 27mm (JIS) instead of normal 26.5mm so just decided to dremel the inside of the crown ring I bought until it fit. Lastly, had to do some research to find the right brakes to fit as this bike has the outboard spring holes on the canti posts instead of on the inside. Got a set of Dia Compe 988s that work and look great. Only thing I'd change - I thought the white cable housing would look better than it does. I'll probably put some more road/gravel friendly tires on but the ones that came with it weren't in terrible shape and wanted to wait till I figured out if I liked the build before I spent money on some 26" tires I couldn't really use anywhere else.

Before, during and after:

markk900

Great rescue job. My own mid-80s ATB with street tires is my favourite ride in town, so I expect you will really enjoy that one.

I agree though that the white cable housings stand out a bit too much. No biggie but black might be better when you get around to it.

cycleheimer

Man, what a transformation! I have had a couple of these. They are nice bikes. Your set up should be a blast to ride on most any terrain.. I currently have a 1st year Canyon Express with "bull moose" bars that I should be working on. Your post is motivating me!

partyanimal

Thanks. My general intuition is to just go black on just about everything so thought I'd try something completely different. Need to learn to trust my intuition.

montclairbobbyb 

My first MTB was a 1985 Orient Express. Loved that bike, and I owned another original one years later...AWESOME JOB!!

thumpism 

I spy a shop sticker from Big Wheel Bikes, a legendary (or infamous) shop in D.C. and environs.