Peugeot Audax frame - rear spacing?

[Ugo51]

Hello everyone,

I'm considering buying a retro (I believe 1990s?) Peugeot Audax frame. It has canti lugs and decent tire clearance as well as mounts for mudguards and rack.
I don't know, nor the seller is able (or willing) to tell me if the spacing is 130 or 126mm

I'm not against stretching the frame and fit a modern wheel into a 126mm frame, but in practice it is actually quite cumbersome, especially with the old-school semi-horizontal dropouts, and even more when the bike has mudguards and racks.

Also, I never had a vintage frame with modern components. Would I need to optimize the horizontal position of the rear wheel in order for the derailleur to work, or I just need to make sure I push it all the way back into the dropouts?

Thanks!

 

[non-fixie]

Is this the subject bike?



If so, it apparently came with a 9-speed rear cluster, and I would expect it to be 130mm. If not, cold-setting the rear spacing to the desired width is not that big a deal. DIY instructions are available from Sheldon Brown and RJ The Bike Guy.

I am not sure why you think that using modern components would necessitate pushing the wheel all the way back.

 

[bikeworkshop]

As a general rule:
Canti bosses are 130 by the early 90s, and became 135 by around 95

Sold a few of these new.
Definitely not 126.
126 was obsolete before my time.

Gary Crewe was the peugeot agent back then, national rr champion 1976?
Nice man with some great stories.

 

[Canuk]

As a general rule:
Canti bosses are 130 by the early 90s, and became 135 by around 95

Sold a few of these new.
Definitely not 126.
126 was obsolete before my time.

Gary Crewe was the peugeot agent back then, national rr champion 1976?
Nice man with some great stories.

Yeah Peugeot had a great rep for cyclo cross frames back in the day. I remember my first CX race (I limped in, last place!), it was ridden over fallen trees and mud deliberately piled a foot and a half deep. A lovely pearl blue Peugeot 753 won the event. If I could find one now I'd snap it up

 

[Ugo51]

Is this the subject bike?

View attachment 930917

If so, it apparently came with a 9-speed rear cluster, and I would expect it to be 130mm. If not, cold-setting the rear spacing to the desired width is not that big a deal. DIY instructions are available from Sheldon Brown and RJ The Bike Guy.

I am not sure why you think that using modern components would necessitate pushing the wheel all the way back.

Thanks.
Yes, that one!

Mh.. difficult to explain about the derailleur. What I mean is that I don't know if a modern derailleur would work well once the wheel is pushed all the way back into the dropouts. I suspect the horizontal distance between wheel and derailleur has an effect on the way the derailleur works and maybe modern derailleurs are designed for a specific distance while old ones another one?
I don't think it would make a great deal of difference as the relative position of wheel-derailleur can't be that different from old dropouts to new ones, but I don't know for certain.
There used to be spacers to put into horizontal derailleurs on some bikes. Maybe I would need to use them?

 

[Ugo51]

The one I am looking at is definitely not 753 but looks lovely nonetheless!

Yeah Peugeot had a great rep for cyclo cross frames back in the day. I remember my first CX race (I limped in, last place!), it was ridden over fallen trees and mud deliberately piled a foot and a half deep. A lovely pearl blue Peugeot 753 won the event. If I could find one now I'd snap it up

 

[bikeworkshop]

Thanks.
Yes, that one!

Mh.. difficult to explain about the derailleur. What I mean is that I don't know if a modern derailleur would work well once the wheel is pushed all the way back into the dropouts. I suspect the horizontal distance between wheel and derailleur has an effect on the way the derailleur works and maybe modern derailleurs are designed for a specific distance while old ones another one?
I don't think it would make a great deal of difference as the relative position of wheel-derailleur can't be that different from old dropouts to new ones, but I don't know for certain.
There used to be spacers to put into horizontal derailleurs on some bikes. Maybe I would need to use them?

An indexed derailleur works better if the top jockey wheel is closer to the sprockets.

But moving the wheel back fully to accommodate a larger tyre+guards doesn't make much difference unless you're already pushing things elsewhere.

Condition of the derailleur pivots probably makes more difference 8/9/10 speed.

Modern 11&12 speed wide ratio gear can be a lot fussier in this respect.

 

[Ugo51]

Thanks.
I want to keep things simple, 8 or 9 speeds.