The very essence of where I started as an estate kid . Making klunkers out of old frames and bits from the bike shop . 1970s . Dawes frame . Cowhorn handlebars , knobbly tyres (as we called them then where I’m from) .
@@TimFitzwater we called the bikes ‘trackers’ in my neighbourhood, usually single speed . I don’t recall the term mountain bikes till the 80s . My father was a linesman on the railways and used to carry home old bikes he found abandoned on the sides of the lines and embankments . My first ‘store’ bike from a real bike shop was a Dawes galaxy tourer I bought with paper round pay . Complete with friction shifters . The posh kids had grifters and choppers . Raleigh bikes that were from the toy stores . I never had one , my tracker was great on the ‘bonks’ which was a makeshift single track with jump offs on wasteland behind the co-op factory . Good times .
Tim, I love these old school steel bikes & what you can do with them. You can ride them as is or make it any type of bike you want as you did. I’m looking for one now to make an inexpensive gravel/urban assault bike like you did. You got a great deal, looking forward seeing how you finish it off & also putting it through its paces, I really enjoy you channel, Jim from Philly, stay safe!
@@TimFitzwater Too racey would mean less tire clearence? I saw a video of a guy converting old treks from 27 inch to 650B. I'm about to buy a 1986 columbus frame made for an Ex-Yugoslavian rog production factory called ROG in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and everybody around here is telling me how impossible is to fit anything bigger than a 32mm tire. But then I see your videos or that other one, and it looks like possible. Hey, and thanks for your content, very honest and inspiring. Best from Ljubljana!
Just did this with a 85 fuji sagres i got from a yardsale for 10 bucks , took wheels and handle bar off a mongoose hot shot I got from wal mart a few yrs back . Love it . Just got back from freedom trail .
Nice conversion dude ;) I have a trick for you: to get more out of your 7 speed rear hub you can get a 10 speed cassette, remove one spacer and one cog (usually in the middle of the cassette, like the 19T) and voila you have 9 speed on a 7 speed hub ! (you can do the same with a 9 speed cassette but getting in the end 8 speeds) That's what I did years ago to upgrade an old 90's MTB. OFC you'll need a 10 speed chain with it to make it work (trust me I tried with the old 7 speed chain, it always rubbed)
Thanks. That is good advice for other builds that I will remember. The problem with this wheels is that the free hub body was a short lived standard. Newer or older cassettes don’t slide on because of the splines.
I was wondering if some wider tyres will fit my PH11. Now I know the answer. Thanks!😄 Also I have a PH10, which has the same color as yours. I have upgraded it heavily, so it's a restomod beast now. I really like how this bike feels on the road. Carbonite ❤
I found a Peugeot P8 at a thrift shop for $20, on which to go to the mailbox on the main road. Would do more to it, but it’s frustrating to source a longer seatpost in the super-rare French diameter. Still, it fulfills its intended purpose and even a ride of 1/5 of a mile, each way, is a step into another realm.
I recently bought a bike that had been converted to upright bars. I enjoy riding it as a commuter, but as you mentioned in the video , the road gearing is too high for serious gravel use. May I’ve I’ll try gearing it down sometime.
Peugeots from that era: they just worked and they had class. A little Continental glamour among bikes in the English speaking world, in the days before we knew what a cappuccino was.
Yes - as long as you can find ones that fit the spider - not always easy with old road cranks. I did swap the whole wheel to get a cassette with easier gearing since making this vid.
how can we measure if the tire is gonna fit with the frame? no bikeshops near me and I'm hesitate to buy online if is not compatible hard to replace buying obnline replace if doesn't fit
Calipers at the chain stays would be the only way without trying to put a physical tire and wheel combo in there - but even that isn't perfect as different tire/wheel combos don't necessarily measure out to what they are claimed to be. Its trial and error to be honest.
I want to convert this 1990s Dawes audax giro that has a 550mm top tube and I’m 5ft 5 and simply cannot manage the reach even with a shorter quil stem. Thanks for the video 😊
Is the braking surface on those rims actually black, and does it stay like that after usage? Looks really nice and clean, like disc rims. I’m looking everywhere for a similar set
I like the idea of beefing up old road bikes with chunky rubber. With regards to brakes, would it be possible to convert them to drum brakes? Or 650b rims with drum brake hubs. Oh my… I feel another super project bike coming on… TO THE SHED!
I've never messed with converting rim brakes to anything other than longer pull rim brakes. You could do 650 with the right rim brakes though - people do it.
Thanks! I just force it in there. I've never actually messed with trying to correctly stretch vintage frames but I've also never had a problem just jamming it! Steel is real!
I bought a new Giant Cross City 2 for commuting which cost me $900 AUD and the only difference is disc brakes. That Peugeot is a sweet deal with a better paint job.
Switching to 700c from 27 inch *may fit you 38mm. I find the chances are better on cheaper vintage bikes. Its unlikely on bikes that came with 700c originally or anything on the nicer end of the spectrum. There is really no way to know until you try with each bike. Brakes are the same - all over the place. A lot of foreign bikes were designed with brakes that can reach because they sold the bikes as 700c in Europe but 27 in the US. Tektro does sell long reach brakes but I've done it all by trial and error.
@sirmez9597 not modern 27.5(650b) but the vintage US standard on old road bikes. Those were smaller than 700c. And watch your language- especially when you just don’t understand things.
It depends. There are lots of Peugeots out there of varying types and sizes. But many that had 27 inch rimes for the American market also had brakes made to work with 700c. When it comes to tire clearance and brake reach the only real way to know is to test it.
Why even come at it like that? I know its a cheap bike - its fun to ride. Tons of people rode cheap Peugeots and they must not suck that bad with so many still ticking. It was nuts the amount of these in the streets of Paris when I was there. Everything doesn't needs to be a Colnago. Bikes are fun - bad attitudes and gate-keeping are lame.
The very essence of where I started as an estate kid . Making klunkers out of old frames and bits from the bike shop . 1970s . Dawes frame . Cowhorn handlebars , knobbly tyres (as we called them then where I’m from) .
Ah - I thought people were just joking when they said knobbly!
@@TimFitzwater we called the bikes ‘trackers’ in my neighbourhood, usually single speed . I don’t recall the term mountain bikes till the 80s . My father was a linesman on the railways and used to carry home old bikes he found abandoned on the sides of the lines and embankments . My first ‘store’ bike from a real bike shop was a Dawes galaxy tourer I bought with paper round pay . Complete with friction shifters . The posh kids had grifters and choppers . Raleigh bikes that were from the toy stores . I never had one , my tracker was great on the ‘bonks’ which was a makeshift single track with jump offs on wasteland behind the co-op factory . Good times .
What a cool looking bike
Tim, I love these old school steel bikes & what you can do with them. You can ride them as is or make it any type of bike you want as you did. I’m looking for one now to make an inexpensive gravel/urban assault bike like you did. You got a great deal, looking forward seeing how you finish it off & also putting it through its paces, I really enjoy you channel, Jim from Philly, stay safe!
Thanks! Yeah / long as they aren’t too racey there is so much leeway! Thanks!
@@TimFitzwater Too racey would mean less tire clearence? I saw a video of a guy converting old treks from 27 inch to 650B. I'm about to buy a 1986 columbus frame made for an Ex-Yugoslavian rog production factory called ROG in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and everybody around here is telling me how impossible is to fit anything bigger than a 32mm tire. But then I see your videos or that other one, and it looks like possible. Hey, and thanks for your content, very honest and inspiring. Best from Ljubljana!
@@TimFitzwaterImagine you argued with the previous owner over 5 dollars😂
Just did this with a 85 fuji sagres i got from a yardsale for 10 bucks , took wheels and handle bar off a mongoose hot shot I got from wal mart a few yrs back . Love it . Just got back from freedom trail .
Nice!
Probably missed you because I choose the Hike & Bike today. Just discovered the Stow Bikeway leg too - some how never knew about it…
Love the old bikes
Love these types of builds! Looks like a keeper, congrats Tim!!
Thanks man!
i do enjoy vintage peugeot, & bianchi, rossin, gitane.....in western France ; enjoy your vids !!!
Awesome- thanks!
Nice conversion dude ;)
I have a trick for you: to get more out of your 7 speed rear hub you can get a 10 speed cassette, remove one spacer and one cog (usually in the middle of the cassette, like the 19T) and voila you have 9 speed on a 7 speed hub ! (you can do the same with a 9 speed cassette but getting in the end 8 speeds)
That's what I did years ago to upgrade an old 90's MTB. OFC you'll need a 10 speed chain with it to make it work (trust me I tried with the old 7 speed chain, it always rubbed)
Thanks. That is good advice for other builds that I will remember. The problem with this wheels is that the free hub body was a short lived standard. Newer or older cassettes don’t slide on because of the splines.
doing similar with a pug frame and old raleigh stainless rims, i love stainless rims they never wear out
For sure! Nice! 😊
Want to something like this to my old 80’s Motobacane. Cool
I have an old Motobecane too - left that one mostly original though.
You have the same Specialized CCCP Bobrik jersey I have. I got 700 x 38's on my '72 Carleton with center pulls. I think center pulls.
Great content!! Thanks for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I was wondering if some wider tyres will fit my PH11. Now I know the answer. Thanks!😄
Also I have a PH10, which has the same color as yours. I have upgraded it heavily, so it's a restomod beast now.
I really like how this bike feels on the road.
Carbonite ❤
I found a Peugeot P8 at a thrift shop for $20, on which to go to the mailbox on the main road. Would do more to it, but it’s frustrating to source a longer seatpost in the super-rare French diameter. Still, it fulfills its intended purpose and even a ride of 1/5 of a mile, each way, is a step into another realm.
All my Peugeots have way more into them then they’d ever be worth - but if you ride it you ride it and that’s all that matters!
I recently bought a bike that had been converted to upright bars. I enjoy riding it as a commuter, but as you mentioned in the video , the road gearing is too high for serious gravel use. May I’ve I’ll try gearing it down sometime.
Yeah - we almost always do that - this rear hub is my problem - I need to get a different wheel.
Peugeots from that era: they just worked and they had class. A little Continental glamour among bikes in the English speaking world, in the days before we knew what a cappuccino was.
Exactly! 😎🥐
Is it an option to keep the cassette but install smaller chain ring(s), to get that lower gravel gearing?
Yes - as long as you can find ones that fit the spider - not always easy with old road cranks. I did swap the whole wheel to get a cassette with easier gearing since making this vid.
Cool Frankenstein! Which rim width fits those fat tires?
There just 80s road wheels - narrow. Ive never had a problem putting wider tires on narrow rims.
@@TimFitzwaterThat's greaaat! Thank you.
how can we measure if the tire is gonna fit with the frame? no bikeshops near me and I'm hesitate to buy online if is not compatible hard to replace buying obnline replace if doesn't fit
Calipers at the chain stays would be the only way without trying to put a physical tire and wheel combo in there - but even that isn't perfect as different tire/wheel combos don't necessarily measure out to what they are claimed to be. Its trial and error to be honest.
Can I ask how you managed to clamp your modern bars on a vintage quil stem assuming the bars are 31.8mm on the clamp section
I want to convert this 1990s Dawes audax giro that has a 550mm top tube and I’m 5ft 5 and simply cannot manage the reach even with a shorter quil stem. Thanks for the video 😊
These bars are from a 2001 MTB so the 25.4 just works with the French quill stem.
Velo Orange is a good place to buy something that will work better - either a quill stem or a adapter for modern bars.
Argh man fantastic 👍🇬🇧
Thanks!
Hello ! I have a question, how did you get the wider tires in ? I really didnt unterstand in the beginning when you were talking about it.
US bikes mostly came with 27 inch wheels which are a little bigger than 700c. So switching to 700c gives you a bit more clearance.
@@TimFitzwater oh, I see, thank you very much ! 🙏
There are alot of 7 pseed large freewheel options out there. Shimano, Falcon etc.
Got some actual names? I’ve obviously heard of “Shimano”.
Awesome
😎
Is the braking surface on those rims actually black, and does it stay like that after usage? Looks really nice and clean, like disc rims. I’m looking everywhere for a similar set
It is - black anodized. It has stayed like that so far - I don't have a ton of miles on them but they are more than 35 years old.
@@TimFitzwater awesome, thanks for the reply!! Very cool build. 👌😊
Are you in michigan, or just the midwest somewhere maybe?
Well, I’m literally in Michigan as I type this but I live in Akron, OH.
I like the idea of beefing up old road bikes with chunky rubber. With regards to brakes, would it be possible to convert them to drum brakes? Or 650b rims with drum brake hubs. Oh my… I feel another super project bike coming on… TO THE SHED!
I've never messed with converting rim brakes to anything other than longer pull rim brakes. You could do 650 with the right rim brakes though - people do it.
@@TimFitzwater yes, I’ve had a dive into brake types and the Paul V brakes look an option for a 650 conversion. It’s a fascinating topic.
On a road bike though you’d have to mounts welded on to use v-brakes or canti’s.
@@TimFitzwater Hmmm, time for welding class. Or maybe some JB weld glue. For V brake bosses, what could possibly go wrong 😂😂😂
Ha - I’d love to see the comment section on a vid where you glue brakes on!! 🥸
Cool bike? Did you have to cold set the frame and fork for the wider hubs?
Thanks! I just force it in there. I've never actually messed with trying to correctly stretch vintage frames but I've also never had a problem just jamming it! Steel is real!
I bought a new Giant Cross City 2 for commuting which cost me $900 AUD and the only difference is disc brakes. That Peugeot is a sweet deal with a better paint job.
I tend to favor used over less expensive new - but that is just my taste. I only have one new bike and it is now vintage!
I bought a cross city with canti brakes off gumtree for AU $400. Now running XT 1x11 👌🏻
Cuantos mm de ancho es la rueda
Son de 38mm
@@TimFitzwater ok amigo.. y no te roza en el marco la rueda vas bien con lo ancho es que tengo una igual a la tuya y quiero ponerle llanta más ancha
Tim , I plan on doing a build like this , so 700c wheels with 38 tires works on vintage road bikes ? What brakes reach the rim ? Thanks great video !
Switching to 700c from 27 inch *may fit you 38mm. I find the chances are better on cheaper vintage bikes. Its unlikely on bikes that came with 700c originally or anything on the nicer end of the spectrum. There is really no way to know until you try with each bike. Brakes are the same - all over the place. A lot of foreign bikes were designed with brakes that can reach because they sold the bikes as 700c in Europe but 27 in the US. Tektro does sell long reach brakes but I've done it all by trial and error.
@@TimFitzwater great thank you !!
Yes it works with 700*38c but it should be adjusted and centered very well, I did one before but I will switch to 700*35 later.
can you explain to me please how the hell you decided 700c was smaller than 27 inch ?
@sirmez9597 not modern 27.5(650b) but the vintage US standard on old road bikes. Those were smaller than 700c. And watch your language- especially when you just don’t understand things.
Peugeot has 700 x 28 , so you're saying I can put 700 x 38 gravel tires and without changing the brake mechanism ?
It depends. There are lots of Peugeots out there of varying types and sizes. But many that had 27 inch rimes for the American market also had brakes made to work with 700c. When it comes to tire clearance and brake reach the only real way to know is to test it.
0:01
put the corners bars on this bike!
Not a bad idea!
Hey!
Grab a clamp or vice grips.
Gently, carefully squeeze your chainstays.
Nobody will know.
The chainstays will be fine.
Looks cool but sucks…classic peugeot
Why even come at it like that? I know its a cheap bike - its fun to ride. Tons of people rode cheap Peugeots and they must not suck that bad with so many still ticking. It was nuts the amount of these in the streets of Paris when I was there. Everything doesn't needs to be a Colnago. Bikes are fun - bad attitudes and gate-keeping are lame.