Vintage Peugeot Fixed/Single Speed Conversion

Still waiting on my crank nuts and pedals, then comes the really fun part of getting the chainline straight.

That sounds fun indeed. I'm scared now!

All good though, baby steps as they say. I'll get the bike on Saturday and will get those hands dirty, starting by that rear brake. Yes!

Right, so the BB issue is finally sorted, PRAISE THE LORD!

Chain is on and seems to be ever so slightly out of alignment (I'll post a photo a bit later), in that it is slightly further out at the chainring. Would it be ok to put a spacer on the rear hub, which the freewheel will then sit up against? Obviously it will reduced the amount of thread for the freewheel to secure to and I wondered if that'd be a problem?

Good news!

Have you tried the chain ring on the inside of the crank, assuming you're using the original double?

PS Sheldon's article on chainline for SS & FXD.

Yes, I switched the chainring to the inside of the spider as it was originally a lot further out of alignment.

I've read that Sheldon article a couple of times and still don't really understand him when he talks about spacers. I think I just need a proper visualisation - the photo of the axle with spacers, is that just missing the cog? So the cog would just sit in between the spacers and the locknut?

The photo is missing the hub! The freewheel screws onto the hub.

The perspective of the photo is from the front of the bike looking backwards, which is why there are more spacers on the left-hand side of the photo (the spacers fit inside the freewheel): "In the case of a hub originally meant for a multi-speed freewheel, there is usually a rather thick spacer on the right (freewheel) side of the hub."

So if you swap spacers from the drive side to the non-drive side, that will shift the hub across, changing the chainline.

Once you've got that right, you'll then need to re-dish the wheel to centre the rim. A bike shop can easily and cheaply do this.

Before you do this, it would be a good idea to measure the chainline so you have an idea what sort of adjustment you need to make, rather than blind trial and error.

As always SS thanks for your knowledge!

Sooo, the bike is now pretty much on the road! Will post photos later tonight. I think the chainline is very minimally out of alignment, but looks pretty much straight to the naked eye and I've been told this won't really be an issue?

I had a bit of a problem coming up Haverstock Hill today though!! The rear wheel only went and bloody shifted in the dropouts under the force of climbing uphill!! Is there anything I can do about this other than tighten the bolts more? (I thought they were already pretty tight).

Good stuff: chapeau!

As far as I know, the only thing you can really do is tighten them up more.

Looking forward to the photos...

I am trying the smae thing with an 80's Peugeot frame. Can you tell me how you solved the BB problem exactly? I have measured the thread size in the frame and it is 26TPI (threads per inch). I believe standard British BB's are 24 TPI. IS this why you couldn't find one to fit? Did you end up with the threadless option. I thought this was gonna be easy! Good fun though.

What happened to the photos BP?

Pics or it didn't happen!

I am trying the smae thing with an 80's Peugeot frame. Can you tell me how you solved the BB problem exactly? I have measured the thread size in the frame and it is 26TPI (threads per inch). I believe standard British BB's are 24 TPI. IS this why you couldn't find one to fit? Did you end up with the threadless option. I thought this was gonna be easy! Good fun though.

I have had a few 80s peugeots and still have two. The early eighties generally have swiss BBs (Same as french but LH thread on drive side). Mid eighties onward have english BBs. Bottom bracket cups for the swiss type are like hen's teeth. If I needed to replace one now, I would use a threadless BB.

Should have added : http://sheldonbrown.com/cribsheet-bottombrackets.html

^^ last I heard he powered the rear wheel out the dropouts, thankfully riding on a freewheel, whilst attacking a climb. POWER.

Ok thanks, I have just re-used the original ( which I damaged getting out in the first place) and am hoping it will be ok with a few new ball bearings and re greased. If not I'll take your threadless option advise. The rest of it is coming together nicely. I think it looks awsome and I'm hoping the first ride will be this weekend.