Replacing the Peugeot's Rear Axle

A while back, I discovered that the rear axle on the Peugeot was bent. I ordered a new axle from Harris Cyclery, and have just now gotten everything put back together. It wasn't that hard, but life has a way of intruding on our best-laid plans. There aren't many pictures because I prefer not to leave greasy fingerprints all over the camera. Until I can hire a full-time camera operator, you'll just have to deal with it. Here's the rundown:

DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional mechanic, and this post should be read only for entertainment purposes (if you find this kind of thing entertaining). If you want to do your own work on your bicycle, you should most definitely consult other sources, and if you are not comfortable performing your own work, consult a qualified professional mechanic.

Remove the rear wheel from the frame: Without a bike stand, I just up-ended the bike and went to work. First, and most obviously, remove the quick-release skewer and make sure the little springs don't fly away. When removing the rear wheel, keep in mind that you'll have to handle the chain, as you will need to disengage it from the rear sprockets. It will be messy. I find it easiest to just remove the chain to begin with, using the chain-breaker tool, which isn't as destructive as it sounds. That way, I can give the chain a thorough cleaning, too. You don't have to do this every time you take off the rear wheel, and you probably shouldn't, but it's been a while since I did.

Once I removed the chain, the derailer "relaxed," since it's spring-loaded, and came to rest on the gear cluster. To keep the derailer out of the way, you can take a piece of wire coat hanger and rig a simple device to hold the derailer arm away from the rear sprockets. Hook one end around the derailer arm, and the other end to the frame. Wrap the wire in tape to prevent scratching the frame. With the derailer out of the way, just lift out the wheel.

Remove the old axle: For the mechanically disinclined (like me), this can be intimidating. There seem to be a lot of little parts in there, but don't sweat it too much, it's not really that bad. You should have a locknut and a bearing cone on each side of the hub (if you don't, you shouldn't be riding the bike). The bearing cone keeps the bearings contained within the hub and allows the hub to turn on the axle; the locknut keeps the bearing cone in place.

You can remove the locknut with a regular wrench, although if it's been on there a long time, you might want to put a drop or two of oil on it to make it easier to turn. There is a special wrench that makes it easy to remove and re-install the bearing cone (called a cone wrench), but I've never used one. Most sites and mechanics recommend you get one, and they're fairly cheap, so I have no excuse. Since the bearing cone shouldn't be screwed down too tight (to allow the bearings to turn freely), you can probably wiggle it loose with your fingers and a small wrench.

With the bearing cone off, the bearings will be exposed, and if they aren't contained within a ring, they will be loose within the bearing cup (the picture at left shows the bearing cup after the bearings were removed). Be very careful that you don't accidentally dump the bearings out, because if they're old and the grease is dry, they'll just fall right out, and you really don't want to lose your bearings (ba-dum-bum). On the Peugeot, each side of the hub has nine bearings (I don't know if it's different with other bikes). Once you've removed the locknut and bearing cone on one side (the side without the freewheel), you can slide the axle out of the hub. I was sitting, holding the wheel horizontally across my knees to do this, and fortunately caught the down-side bearings in my hand as I slid the axle out of the hub. The photo at left shows the hub with axle and bearings removed.

You will now be holding the old axle in one hand and the wheel in the other. Put the wheel aside for a minute. The old axle will still have the bearing cone and locknut on one side, and to get these off, you may have to grip the old axle with a pair of pliers or a vice in order to get enough leverage to turn the nut and cone off. If your axle is still good and you want to keep it, you should grip it at the center and cover whatever gripping tool you use with tape or cloth to prevent it from damaging the threads of the axle. With the final hardware removed from the old axle, set it aside or put it in the odd bits section of your toolbox.

Clean and re-grease the bearings: These literally keep your wheel turning, so if the bearings are dried up or mucky, you should clean them, as well as the bearing cup and the cone. I use Pedro's BioClean, which works quite well. Once everything is sparkly-clean, get your tube of grease and squeeze a healthy quantity around the inside of the bearing cup and spread it around with your little finger. Place each bearing back in the cup (the grease will hold them in there, but be careful handling the little buggers with greasy fingers), and when they're all in, cover them all with another dose of grease and pack in down a bit with the tip of your finger. Don't worry about putting too much in there, everything should have a nice thick coat. Do the same with the other side. You can put a piece of tape over the side you've already done just to make sure the bearings don't fall out when you turn the wheel over.

Install the new axle: I basically just did everything in reverse, threaded the bearing cone and locknut on one side of the axle, slid the axle through the hub, and threaded the cone and nut on to the other side, making adjustments to each side until the axle was centered in the hub. Again, don't over-tighten the bearing cone, the bearings need to roll within the cup. Since the freewheel is on one side of the hub, while the other is bare, you'll have to guess a little to make sure the axle is properly centered, and to do this, set the wheel back in the frame dropouts. The axle should protrude just a couple of millimeters from the frame on each side and the wheel should be centered in the frame. The new axle is a bit longer than the old one, so I added a couple of spacer washers between the bearing cone and the locknut on each side so that the quick-release could be tightened enough to firmly hold the wheel in the frame.

So, that's what I did and it seems to work just fine. For reference, the replacement axle was ordered from Harris Cyclery and has the following specs: Diameter: 10 mm; Thread: 1 mm; Length: 137 mm; Spacing: 126 mm.

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San Diego to National City

So, I took this ride last weekend, and have just now gotten around to posting about it. I've never really taken the Peugeot for a real ride, so I took advantage of a cool, cloudy Sunday and took a spin down to National City (about 20 miles round trip from North Park). I wanted to check out a cemetery down there to see if I could find the headstone of a Civil War veteran I've been researching, so off I went at about 1pm.

I biked down along the east side of Balboa Park, through Golden Hill and South Park on 30th Street/Fern Street. I passed a huge Cinco de Mayo celebration somewhere along in there, and was tempted to stop, but pressed on for the sake of time. I kept going on 30th Street, which zigs and zags a bit, to where there is a pedestrian bridge over I-5. I crossed the bridge, kept going on 30th for a block, then turned west on Main Street for two blocks to 28th Street, turned south on 28th, then southeast on Harbor Drive. To my surprise, there is a bike lane on Harbor, but in places it's kind of like riding on a washboard. I was passed here by a spandex-clad older man on a very slick-looking new road bike. "Go get 'em, chief!" I thought, but didn't yell.

I took Harbor Drive all the way down through the Naval Base to National City, where I hung a right on Civic Center Drive, which turns into Tidelands Avenue. Tidelands runs south through warehouses, shipping depots, and giant manufacturing yards. It was completely deserted on a Sunday, except for the strange wind-and-percussion ensemble of about a dozen people that was standing conspicuously on a sidewalk, playing (quite loudly) apparently for no one. I guess they were practicing, but it was kind of surreal. The railroad tracks that criss-cross that part of town are a little rough to cross, but the streets are nice and wide.

I stayed on Tidelands all the way down to 32nd Street, where it ends, and took a left. In a couple of blocks, I came to the north entrance to the Sweetwater Bikeway (see photo), a paved path that runs along the Sweetwater River for a ways before turning south down through Chula Vista. I stayed on the path until 2nd Avenue, then turned north to Sweetwater Road, then east to get to La Vista Cemetery. Turns out, I didn't find the grave site I was looking for, but it was a really great ride, and fully worth the three hours (round trip, including time spent at the cemetery; about an hour, one way). In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make this ride, which I had expected to be a real challenge. Mind you, I'm not in great shape--decent, but not great. The take-home message is: getting around by bike doesn't have to be hell-raising, butt-busting, sweat-fest if you don't want it to be. If you live in San Diego, and want to check out my route, see my Google map.

I did notice a few funky problems with the Peugeot once I got going, but I'll save these for later posts. Hopefully things I can fix.

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Weekend Blowout

No, neither a party nor a clearance sale, but the kind that goes thup-thup-thup-pow! and leaves you stranded on the other side of town. I took the Peugeot on a little jaunt over to the Spruce Street suspension bridge, hoping to snap some pictures. I took the Upas Street trail, and had a nice ride/hike over there, but not long after I arrived on the west side of Balboa Park, this happened:

I guess the culprit was probably over-inflation, aggravated by the air in the tube warming and expanding as I rode. This is incentive to buy either a non-crappy bike pump with a decent pressure gauge or one of those handy pen-sized pressure checkers. Fortunately, I wasn't going very fast, so it only took me about ten feet to stop, and the tire and rim were undamaged. It was mostly just a pain in the ass, as I had to hoof it back home to North Park with an injured bike and didn't get to take the pictures I wanted.

I did snap a few before the blowout, including a neat one of a dead on/off-ramp on Richmond Street over the 163. I wanted to jump the barricade and get some better pics, but there was a cop right there, so next time. Get used to scenes like this, what with gas prices rising, infrastructure crumbling, and the end of the world fast approaching. Seriously.

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Retro Peugeot Site

I know I haven't been so much with the blogging lately, but here's a very cool site for all those old Poo-show lovers out there: www.retropeugeot.com. They've got galleries, old brochures and catalogs, and lots of info to help with dating your bike (that is, establishing the date of manufacture, nothing kinky). Looks like mine is definitely a UO-8 model and it falls in the 1974-1977 range, based on the chunky plastic headbadge. My favorite lines from the 1977 Owner's Manual:

"We hope we have caught your attention on the importance concerning careful maintenance of your machine for both your safety and pleasure. But we must remind you that your dealer is at your service, to advise you and to perform all the repairs requiring a certain technical competency and special equipment."

Seeing as how my "dealer" was a second-hand store down the street, I really doubt it. More posting soon, I hope.

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Upas Street Trail

So, I've heard tell of a trail that links the various parts of Upas Street from the northeastern corner of Balboa Park to the northwestern corner. If you're traveling west on Upas, the paved street stops at Alabama Street, then picks up again at Florida Street, then runs all the way to Vermont Street, where it dead-ends again, then picks up again at the northwestern corner of Balboa Park. Well, the dead ends are all connected by trails, so I decided to set out with the Peugeot and the camera on a little expedition today to see if there was, in fact, a good way to get from one side of Balboa Park to the other without a car. You may remember that I bemoaned the lack of such in an earlier post. Well, the answer is yes and no. You can get from one side of the park to the other without a car, but it's not really a trail for the faint of heart or weak of knee.

I started from the corner of Pershing Street and Wightman Street, rode down Wightman to Arnold Street, then turned south to Upas. At Upas and Alabama, Upas dead-ends, but if you cross Alabama to the dead-end turnout, you find the entrance to the first leg of the trail.

The first section of the trail between Alabama and Florida Streets is too steep and narrow to ride comfortably, so I walked down. At the base of the hill, you're in Florida Canyon and at Florida Street. Cross Florida, and continue up Upas. The climb up is formidable, and also not ridable for most. There are no sidewalks, however, so keep an eye out for cars coming down/up the hill.

At the top of the hill, the street levels-out for few blocks and you can ride all the way from Park Boulevard to the next part of the trail, where Upas ends at Vermont. The trail entrance is on your left, marked by a gate to keep cars out, and a helpful sign informing you of the "HILL".

There is a hill, and it is substantial, so most riders will be dismounting again. The trail is also pretty rough, and probably not the best for road bikes (it would be fun on a mountain bike). But, man, is it beautiful. I'm always amazed by Balboa Park, there are so many beautiful places tucked away.

The trail then crosses the 163 on a pedestrian bridge.

On the other side of the freeway, take the trail to the right, which is another steep climb, and not exactly bicycle friendly.

At the top, you come out in the northwestern part of the park, near the Marston House mansion, and here Upas Street picks up again.

By this time, though, I had abandoned Upas Street for a ride through the park. You can either get on Balboa Drive, which runs south down the western side of the park (and which is an obstacle course of bad pavement, car doors, and drivers pulling in/out of parking spaces), or you can toodle along on one of the paved paths. I did the latter, and eventually ended up at the lawn bowling greens for a few minutes. Then, I got on Balboa Drive for a ride down to the far southern boundary of the park, overlooking I-5 and part of downtown.

Where Balboa ends, or rather where it turns back and loops north, there's a really wicked hairpin turn at the base of a gentle (but velocity-building) downhill grade, which is really fun to whip around at top speed, if you're comfortable with that kind of thing. Then, I toodled back up through the park on the trails, and picked up the Upas Street trail again and headed home. It was a beautiful ride and hike, but in terms of ease and convenience, I would say that it is not an especially practical way to get from one side of the park to the other without a car.

For a few more pics, see my Picassa album, and for a map of my route, see my Google map.

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More Photos of the Peugeot

I took my customary before photos today, as much to show what needs work as to document where everything goes when I put it back together. Some of the photos here show the dirt, rust, and wear on the bike, others just turned out looking neat, so I put them up. I'll probably get started dismantling and cleaning this weekend.

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A New Old Bike

Hmmm, well, I bought another bike (yeah, I know, this is how it starts). Actually, my father bought me an early Christmas present from 1,000 miles away. See, I was at a thrift store with my wife on Saturday (our version of Black Friday shopping), and I saw the bike sittin' there for $99, and it was on sale. I'd been wanting a road bike to use for exercise, since my Columbia is more for getting around town and less for longer-distance rides. I didn't buy it then, I just figured it was an unnecessary expense. But, I kept thinking about it, talked to my dad, and today went back and bought the darn thing for $69.99. My dad said it was the easiest Christmas shopping he'd ever done.

Here's the deal: from what I've been able to gather from the pundits on the web, it's a Peugeot UO-8, probably from the 1970s, although there seems to be some discrepancy with the serial number, which indicates it's from the 1980s. I guess Peugeot serial numbers can be a bit funky, and not always reliable to date the bike. This model was apparently imported into the U.S. in mass quantities during the 10-speed craze of the 1970s. It's not especially special, but it will get the job done. It's a steel frame, which I like, but it's still relatively light compared to my Columbia. I think it's a very nice-looking bike, although these pictures don't do it justice. I'll try to get some more up soon, but I ran out of batteries for the camera.

It needs to be cleaned up, the derailer needs to be adjusted, and the bearings might need grease. The cables look to be in good shape, but the brakes could be tightened up a bit and the shoes replaced. At some point the saddle and handlebar tape could also be upgraded, and the tires aren't in great shape, but they're fine for now. I'm NOT doing any painting on this one, but I'll chronicle my cleanup and have some "after" pictures.

Okay, Internet, I swear I'll only buy one more bike (for my wife), then I'll stop. Probably. Not. Oh, man...

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