1974 Peugeot UO-8: 2,000-Mile Update

I love this bike!!

Last time I wrote about this bike, I wrote toward the end that it was probably the first time I ever "nailed" a custom build in a way that I was immediately happy and didn't really want to change it afterward. I have covered over 2,000 miles on this bike by now, and that feeling has not changed. I've had to do some work to the bike, but only out of necessity.

One day in January, I started having a little bit of trouble with the SRAM DualDrive 3-speed hub. It wasn't shifting quite right. I kept riding it, until I had a delivery at the bottom of Bates Street at the Technology Drive complex. I dropped the hub into 1st gear to get up the hill, and carnage ensued. The hub, which has a history still unknown to me, stopped being able to take power without skipping. I pushed the bike up the hill and back up to the shop, where my manager let me go home to switch bikes. 

It turns out that the rear axle had snapped in half. I replaced the wheel with a plain 8-speed cassette wheel that I picked up on the same day as the previous wheel. It wasn't completely round and required some truing - it ended up breaking a spoke a few weeks down the road, but I happened to have a spare spoke of the right length and kept it going. I know the brake track is wearing thin and the wheel is on its last legs, but it'll do for now. 

I disconnected the cable for the 3-speed hub and rode the bike with the DualDrive shifter for a while, until I decided to get a (much) cheaper regular shifter that I didn't mind wearing out. At this point, I removed the brown tape that was sliding off the handlebars and replaced it with some very old rubber grips from Kraynick's, which I only found out about when I asked about the grips that Rocky had on his bike. I really like these. 

I found out that the new shifter did not have a 1:1 pull ratio despite it being a SRAM piece, so I used the 9-speed Shimano Acera derailleur that came off the Lotus when I took it apart. By then, it was springtime and there was no more salt on the roads. I took the time to give the bike a thorough cleaning and new brake pads, a new chain, a new basket, and a new rear tire. 

The amount of wear and tear that the bike went through during the fall and winter was crazy. Even crazier was the fact that the only thing I did was tighten the brake cables as the brake pads wore down, and replace rear tires as they disappeared. The bike continued functioning perfectly well.  The I oiled the chain after riding in the rain - didn't even clean it. Well, this led to the chain and cassette wearing together, to the point where the new chain didn't mesh with the old 11-34 tooth cassette. I used this chance to replace it with an 11-40 8-speed cassette since I usually shifted more than one gear at a time, anyway. The 1:1 granny gear was a welcome change since losing the DualDrive hub. 

I have to be honest, the Velo Orange Model 5 saddle (made by Gyes) was a slight disappointment. It felt great out of the box even though it wasn't broken in, but issues started coming up as the miles increased. First thing I noticed was that the colored water-resistant layer on the saddle started rubbing off after a few rainy days, as I mentioned in the last post. However, my suspicion about the rails being too soft ended up being true. I hopped a curb wrong one day and landed on the saddle, bending it forward severely. Out of all the times that I have fumbled a curb hop, this is the only saddle that got bent. I wonder if it was a particularly bad fall, or if other people have had this issue. 

I ended up replacing the saddle with the one that came stock on the Raleigh Stuntman. I noticed that it had a more gradual taper from the wide rear and the narrow nose, so my thighs rubbed it a little more. I've considered changing it but so far, no alternatives have come up. I might just use this one until it wears out. 

Because I wore out the Vittoria Randonneur Cross tires so quickly, I thought I would just get some cheap tires to burn up while doing deliveries. I made do with some Charge 700x35c hybrid tires from Dick's Sporting Goods, but quickly got tired of them. They were slow, heavy, did not soak up bumps well, and did not have much traction despite the tread pattern. I caved and bought a pair of 700x35c Panaracer Gravelking SKs last week which immediately felt better in every way. 

One day in late February, the lone car driver for that night had his car in the shop, so I was enlisted to deliver a $430 order for an $86 tip. 40 bottles of water, 50 bags of chips, 60 cookies, and 60 half-sandwiches. I tried my best to put most of the weight toward the bottom rear of the load. It was the most dangerous thing I had ever done. I found a metal shelf in the back room and tied it to the front rack. After my co-workers helped me tie it up, I found out that the load was too tall to see over, so I had to get off and push. Worth it, but never again! 

Due to the "current situation" (as everyone calls it, to avoid saying CORONAVIRUS), business at the shop has been slow, but kept alive by the myriad of hospitals within a 3-block radius. Orders have been spread thin between delivery riders and drivers, so instead of taking 4-5 orders at once during the lunch rush, we usually only take one or two. One day, two orders headed to the dental school popped up at the same time, so me and another rider decided to race halfway up the hill to where the building was located. He was on an aluminum Nishiki Anasazi hybrid and had at least a car's length on me the entire time. He won fair and square and made me think about building a lighter bike, but I ultimately thought better of it realized I was being silly. The Peugeot may be heavy, but it's comfy and dependable and I've been able to work it and ride it harder than any other bike I've owned. 

I do not have any real complaints about this bike. There are some windy days when I wish it had drop bars, but that would compromise its ability to carry front loads. I really like the way the bike rides with the super-wide Fairdale MX handlebars. I also had considered using a 50-34 tooth double crankset up front, but the new 11-40 cassette gets rid of the need. I never max out the highest gear, either. My biggest dilemma is what might come of the bike once I stop delivering food. However, I don't think there is any real reason to change it or stop riding it, since it works just fine carrying out day-to-day errands. I think I'm just being paranoid since I like riding this bike so much and I don't want anything to change. The only thing I should really do is replace the rear wheel for something that is not on the verge of folding up. 

After I got off work on Friday, I made my way over to Donna's house to show her how her old bike was doing. She was thrilled that I was enjoying it so much. It turns out she wants to start riding here once again (she does ride when she goes to Florida every winter). I tuned up her other bike and we ended up drinking beer and talking on the porch for six hours, six feet apart.