Unstoppable Peugeot

[Dogtrousers]

At the weekend I cleaned up an old Peugeot. Unridden for about 15 years, and sitting in a barn. Underneath layers of spider webs, mud and congealed gritty oily gunk was a nice bike. I disassembled it, cleaned it thoroughly, replaced the cable inners and outers, and retaped the bars, regreased some (but not all) bearings, gave it some second-hand tyres, and bingo! A really nice bike. Paintwork and steel wheel dotted with rust, but that can't be helped. The bar tape was recycled from my own bike, and one piece was a bit short, so I had to skimp around one brake lever, so not perfect. But a nice looking bike.

But the brakes, oh dear.

There are Weinmann "suicide" levers. The front wheel is steel, the rear aluminium. The calipers are Weinmann single pivot side-puls. The blocks were all the little "Fibrax" type.

Neither brake is keen to release. It seems that the spring in the calipers isn't strong enough to pull the levers back after they've been applied. So you have to push the levers back after braking to get the calipers to open up again. I checked that there were no snarl ups or sharp bends in the cable outers. I lubricated the levers with a drop of light oil. Not such a big deal, but a bit annoying.

The front brake was a bit rubbish, but OK-ish. But the back brake simply didn't work. Even after adjusting it so that there was the absolute minimum travel between block and rim, it would stop the wheel if it was spinning and off the ground but had zero effect when riding. Nothing at all. Really scary. I always thought Fibrax blocks were just for steel rims, so I replaced the blocks with some "universal" ones from a nearby supermarket. Now it modulates the speed slightly but is still worryingly poor.

I've suggested that the owner cleans up the rear rim with a bit of wire wool and something non-oily like washing up liquid - in case there's some oily residue or something on the rim. Any other thoughts?

So what next?

Maybe some Tektro aero levers to replace the suicide levers. Fairly cheap. These have return springs in them so the calipers don't have to fight the levers when releasing. Maybe not period-perfect, but the aim is to get a nice (non-lethal) runaround bike, not a museum piece. The handlebars have a recess/crease in them to take under-tape cabling.

Maybe consider a minor bit of spend and get some dual-pivot brakes with decent blocks (Still have to stay with fibrax on the steel wheel?)

Any other thoughts/advice?

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Sorry, no advice from me, I'm only posting to say what a nice job you've done.

The brake levers reminded me of a mate of mine (we were about 15 at the time) who came off his bike at very low speed while trying some slow manouvreing trickery. I don't know how he managed it but he got one of the levers fully embedded in his inner thigh. When the ambulance came, they cut the cables and were able to remove the bars, which went with him to hospital, still attached to his leg.

GC

 

[KneesUp]

I have an old Peugeot with the same brakes and levers (although different rims) Mine are pretty rubbish too - I think the callipers are the problem - over the years they corrode so the spring has to fight more friction in the mechanism. This makes it harder to put the brakes on, and also means they don't come off again properly.

They were never very good even new though. I'd recommend the new callipers and new lever route, although if I were just to change one it'd be the callipers.

 

[raleighnut]

The calipers just need stripping cleaning and some oil on them. Clarkes pads are good but I'd replace the front wheel with an ally one ( the rear will have been changed from steel at some point). The suicide lever element can be removed from the levers by undoing the "roofing bolt" screw on the pivot but I like them on a retro cycle and fitted a set to my Raleigh Equipe just for the look, they were never meant to give full braking effort just to slow you down gently, full on braking needing a drop to the levers.

 

[Tony Raynor]

In my short experience if I tighten the brakes onto the frame too much it hinders the release. It doesn't have to be by much but a small turn to loosen after cleaning and some lube works wonders. You'll know when your there as if the are not releasing once you loosen the bolt a little they will spring out.

 

[Stu Plows]

Yup, took my Peugeot out for a burn to work one day with no front brake, thought it would be fine... It wasn't, I ended up using a stone wall to help me stop from running into a van.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The calipers just need stripping cleaning and some oil on them. Clarkes pads are good but I'd replace the front wheel with an ally one ( the rear will have been changed from steel at some point). The suicide lever element can be removed from the levers by undoing the "roofing bolt" screw on the pivot but I like them on a retro cycle and fitted a set to my Raleigh Equipe just for the look, they were never meant to give full braking effort just to slow you down gently, full on braking needing a drop to the levers.

Thanks.

I thought of disassembling the brakes, but I was also having a short holiday and needed to do other things (like go out and ride my own bike!) so I cleaned them up from outside and dribbled some light oil onto the central pivot and then wiped them down well before replacing. I've seen suicide levers with the "roofing bolt" cross head on them, but I removed to plastic cap where that normally is and these had a rivet. Anyway, the problem is not with the suicide extensions themselves, but with the stiffness of the overall lever mechanism.

My mate had vague memories of swapping the rear wheel for an alloy one, perhaps his bro did it. I don't have a spare alloy front wheel, or I'd have taken it with me. Interestingly it's a 6-speed cassette, not a freewheel and the BB was a sealed unit, not a "proper" one with cups and cones. The frame had internal cable routing (two holes in the crossbar)

Unfortunately I won't be visiting there again for a few months so it will have to wait.

 

[John the Canuck]

no option but to strip the calipers
you will find corrosion on the through-bolt along its length
so the spring clamp boss, and both arms are fighting this
i did mine - work fine now --- given about 20' to stop..................

use orange Koo lStop Continentals on steel rims
KOOLSTOP Continental :: £4.00 :: PARTS & ACCESSORIES :: Components - Brakes - Brake Blocks :: Spa Cycles, Harrogate - The touring cyclists specialist.

 

[biggs682]

@Dogtrousers another vote for koolstops here

 

[Dogtrousers]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I actually have a pair of fairly ancient weinmann sidepull calipers at home that I think will fit. I'll dismantle these and clean/lube at my leisure them and get some koolstop blocks as suggested above for them, send them out and suggest the next fettler to visit tries them.

I also have a pair of Weinmann centre pulls, but they would be considerably more faff to fit as they'd mean fitting the little doodads that terminate the cable with the adjuster that hang off the headset and seat post. So I won't bother with them.

One thing I never did check was whether the seatpost was seized. If it is then I won't be able to ride the thing when I visit because it's a good few inches too low for me to do more than brief test rides.

 

[tyred]

Centre pull calipers are fiddly to set up but work brilliantly once done (or at least Mafacs do, never tried the Weinman version).

 

[Dogtrousers]

Centre pull calipers are fiddly to set up but work brilliantly once done (or at least Mafacs do, never tried the Weinman version).

I've got a pair of Weinmann centre pulls, that successfully stopped me for many years, and I've probably got the little hanger doodads which attach to the the seat post and headset (with adjuster screws on them) and wossnames (the hooky thing that bolts onto the brake cable and engages with the yolk) .

Unfortunately the brake levers don't have any quick release button. IME this is really useful (if not vital) to give you a bit of extra slack in the cable to hook the wossname onto the yolk. I think I hate those brake levers.

I'll keep these for plan C. Plan B is to give an alternate pair of sidepulls a lot of TLC and try those.

Edit: I think it's a yoke not a yolk that the wossname engages. Just in case any pedants are passing. I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm a yolkel.

 

[KneesUp]

I have got my self-safe brake levers attached to some cantilevers, and the other problem is that when you unhook the yoke from the whassaname, the cable goes slack, and inevitable the nipple end of it comes out of the lever, and it's a right to-do to get it back in again.

 

[raleighnut]

That's actually the way to fit them , you hook the cross wire into the saddle then pressing the brake blocks against the rim hook the nipple into the brake arm.