Help with Peugeot frameset please

[Ball]

Hi all,

Looking for some help with a fixie project I'm embarking on, I'll post this in Fixed and Singlespeed too in case this is the wrong place.

I just bought a second hand frameset for £70. It's an old steel framed Peugeot, Carbolite 103 frame, with headset, brake calipers, seatpost, saddle, square taper bottom bracket and forks. All it's really missing is wheels, brake levers, chainring, rear hub (and cogs) and a chain.

I have a couple of issues however. I had a set of Quest Como wheels (700s) lying spare, so thought I'd stick those on as I'm not particularly worried about weight. However, the brake pads only just reach the rim, and they are as far down on the calipers as they will go. The calipers have about a 2.5 inch drop from the frame bolt to the middle of each brake pad. Does this mean I'll need to buy bigger wheels?! The seller said that he was running 700s on it fine!

Secondly, I'm looking for a cheap set of brake levers. I bought some cheap Shimano AX road levers off ebay, but they are too small for the handlebars. Anyone know of any good ones?

Last question is, I've used the quick release levers on my wheels, but they seem to screw in a lot more than on my road bike, meaning the levers stick out a long way from the frame. Any idea why? Is this because the forks are narrower? Should I therefore not use the Q/R levers and attach the wheels some other way?

Cheers in advance for any help.

Tom

 

[biggs682]

i think original wheels would have been 700's or imperial 28" so should be fine , did the brakes come off the frame originally or not . measure the drop you actually have and obtain a set with correct drop . as for q/rs should not be an issue .

 

[Pennine-Paul]

I used to have the same frame as you,I ran 700 size wheels and a deep drop
brake on the front (a 49-59 mm drop),I wouldn't trust a q/r on the rear,I used one years ago and it
slipped, the rear wheel jammed against the chainstay and i went down with no
warning,chipping a tooth and cutting my face in the process.
Re the q/r lever sticking out................ do you mean there's a lot of thread showing??
If so just cut it off with a hacksaw/dremel,i use a security skewer on my front wheel
and had to cut off the excess ( presumably they supply a skewer to fit mtb wheels
which would be wider than road bike wheels) I use crosstop brake levers on my fixed gear
they fit most bars I've had,Dirt harry brakes are popular too and these come with shims
for various sized bars.

 

[HovR]

I wouldn't trust a q/r on the rear,I used one years ago and it
slipped, the rear wheel jammed against the chainstay and i went down with no
warning,chipping a tooth and cutting my face in the process.

On the other hand, I've used QR skewers on my Dawes for the past 1700 miles without a hint of wheel slippage in the dropouts. The important thing is to make sure you're using skewers with an internal cam (shown below), as these type allow you to apply more clamping force than the newer external cam types.