Project: Restoring a Peugeot Premiere

[Ugo51]

Hi all,

I thought to share the progress of my latest impromptu project: the restoration of a Peugeout Premiere I bought a couple of days ago for £60.
The initial idea was to buy a bike my size, given my ride is another Peugeot Premiere size 57cm, which is too big for me.
The new one is 54, so I thought it would suit me perfect (52 was too small).

It was for sale for £95, but the rear tube was flat, the seat broken, the right pedal seized, the chain stiff and the bottom bracket was not happy either.
Plus non stock wheels and Shimano Claris mech, which is as ugly as they come.
Riding it home was an adventure with the seized pedal, but I made it.

This is Pelle as I brought her home:



For some reason, I don't really like it, and I doubt it will become my bike. So the project is to make it pretty, or at least functional, and then resell it. Ideally for a profit.
So instead of a restoration, which would cost me £££, I will just repair it and make it usable again.

First, I took off the pedal and the crank. Surprisingly, it came off very easily.



The BB was not happy:



I didn't even try to remove the fixed cup. But I did open up the BB and found quite a lot of dirt inside. The left hand side bearing cage is in good conditions, but the right hand side one is broken. Bearing are fine, but the cup is slightly scarred. Nothing too bad.
I will use the intact cage for the right hand side and I will use free bearings on the left.




In the end I cleaned the spindle and greased the pedal. It now works fine and spins freely. I'm glad because it was easy to remove the dustcap, but it would have been impossible for me to open up the pedal and fully overhaul the inside.

All this was done yesterday and it didn't take long at all.
Next I would like to clean up the freewheel and the chain, to see if it's still usable. Looks OK, but needs some TLC.

 

[marshalllucky]

Re:

Just checking, are you aware the fixed cup turns clockwise to unscrew ?

 

[Ugo51]

Re:

Thanks, I appreciate this.
However this is a French bike, so it should have a regular thread on both sides (I'm given to understand also some vintage Italian bikes are the same, but I never had one in my own hands).
In any case, as I said, I won't even try removing the fixed cup, mainly because my wrench doesn't open that wide

 

[47p2]

Left thread on the fixed cup

 

[marshalllucky]

I concur with 47p2 , 80`s Peugeot`s def had British thread bottom brackets with left hand thread on the fixed cup, your info may refer to much older french bikes? .

 

[Ugo51]

Re:

Really??
It's something I've always know. French bikes have normal thread on the both side of the BB.

I guess it would have been too simple. There always has to be an element of confusion or an exception to the rule when it comes to bike standards

Anyway thank you. Now if I will ever decide to take it off, I will know what side to turn

I might end up doing it if I see it's worth keeping the bike. The frame is in good condition but the paint is chipped in several places. I might want to re spray it, depending on how much it costs, obviously.

 

[legrandefromage]

Step away from the spanners, forget what you think you know and invest in a cycle maintenance course/ books/ Park-Tool video stream.

Your posts have been mildly argumentative for everything, frustration evident with everything that seems to have gone 'wrong'. You then post on the site as if its the world's fault that it doesnt work as it should.

Have a look at the Sheldon Brown website and the Park Tools site for how to do things and what standards were used by manufacturers over the years

Heres the bit for Bottom Bracket sizes and standards: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_bo-z.html

If you had have asked first you might have been told to ignore the Premiere model as its pretty basic and absolutely nothing special. They are can be a pain to rebuild as the stem is often stuck within the forks and the seatpost is such and absurdly small size when compared to other manufacturers at the time. They were sold by the thousands and were pretty much bottom of the Peugeot range with an unrewarding ride.

Peugeot made some very high quality frames that can be found quite inexpensively as they are often mistaken for lower end models. Look for Reynolds badging, look for chrome stays and fork ends.

But whatever you do, step away from the spanners for a while, this site and others are a huge resource for information, have a cup of tea and learn from our mistakes.

If in doubt, ask first!

http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/Home.html

http://velobase.com/

https://www.parktool.com/

 

[Ugo51]

If you had have asked first you might have been told to ignore the Premiere model as its pretty basic and absolutely nothing special

Which is why it's ideal for mucking around with.


I'd be curious to know what sounds mildly argumentative to you :roll:

 

[hamster]

I'd be curious to know what sounds mildly argumentative to you :roll:

That? ^^^

 

[Ugo51]

Re:

That sounds argumentative?
:facepalm:
I'm definitely not an argumentative person, so it comes as a surprise that it's what transpires from my posts.

Anyhow...

Yesterday I took off some more bits from the bike, namely the bar tape and the calipers. The first was definitely a throwaway and it will obviously be replaced, while the calipers only need a clean. To be honest I could have easily cleaned them well enough without taking them off the frame, but at the rear there was on a mounting bracket for a reflective "thing" (not sure what the name is), but without the reflective part in place. It made no sense keeping it on.
I might take off the front one too. Massive weight saving here

Just for fun, I tried to loosen the steering bolt...and it came off easily! I've been lucky so far, not one seized fastener. I expect bad luck to come and bite me at some point :roll: