Tag: Sophie

One thing I’ve learned while restoring my Peugeot bicycle is that the cast alloy stems used on many of the bicycles of that era are prone to catastrophic failure. In fact, they have the nickname “death stems”! With that in mind, I ordered a modern quill stem to replace my old one.

The old stem has a 22 mm diameter, but modern bicycles are 22.2 mm diameter so the new stem requires a little modification to make it work. Basically, you have to shave off that .2 mm using sandpaper or a file. I opted to use the file to quickly take off the extra width, then sandpaper to clean it up a bit.

Before putting the stem in the fork, I put a light coat of marine grease on it to prevent corrosion and make it easier to remove later.

The new stem has a handlebar clamp that will accommodate the common 25.4 mm handlebar size but my old handlebars are about 23 mm, so I thought about buying some new handlebars. For now, I will try these shims to fit the original bars to the new stem. I might buy wider bars in the future, but I’d also like to keep Sophie as close to original as possible.

Another advantage of the new stem is that it is a bit longer and I can position the handlebars a little higher making for a slightly more upright riding position.

I’m excited to ride with the new set up (as soon as the shims arrive)! It will be nice to be able to ride in the drops without the nagging thought of the stem breaking and crashing the bike.

And soon I’ll be adding new bar tape and brake lever hoods. Sophie is looking better and better! 💜

Yesterday I reattached Sophie’s broken chain and it looked good as new (as good as a 50-year-old chain can look) so today I went for a ride. When the chain broke, I was shifting into the lowest gear while applying a good amount of pressure. I think that stress caused the chain link to pop out, so with that in mind, I was shifting very gently today. I’m happy to say that the chain was fine, and the shifting was almost flawless. 😀

I should probably replace the chain, as well as all the spokes, but I’m in no rush. The next thing on my list of to-dos for Sophie is to get some new handlebar tape. I’m just pleased that Sophie is back in action and performing nicely. I love that bike!

One thing that I am not in love with, but is a necessary evil, is the frame bag. It’s super convenient to carry my cellphone and camera, but it’s a huge eyesore, isn’t it? Maybe a nice vintage-looking chrome rack is in order. Hmmm…

In a previous post, I mentioned how the Mafac Racer brakes on Sophie, my Peugeot bicycle, were really loud. Well, I dedicated some time to remedy the problem, with some good results! Instead of a loud screech, the brake now emits a low groan. It’s not silent, but “good enough”. 😁

Using a piece of tape, I determined that the right rear brake pad was the one causing the noise, so I went to work adjusting the angle of that block so that there was more toe-in. This was more difficult than it should have been because the washer that allows you to adjust the angle does not turn easily, but I was able to add a little more toe-in, just not as much as the other pads.

Hitting the rear brakes will work to alert pedestrians that I am approaching which is fine since I don’t have a bell for Sophie. 🤣

Also, I got a frame bag which is nice because I can put my camera and phone in it. And I also found my handlebar GoPro mount, which gives me a good option for filming when out with Sophie. She’s such a fun bicycle!