A year on from buying the Peugeot I thought I'd better update my blog! Having bought the replacement wheels from the Sheffield Cycle Jumble I purchased a 9 speed Miche/Campagnolo freewheel to fit the Campag Daytona hub. The original chain was swopped for a KMC 9-speed compatible one.
On the original set up the rear wheel had only a 5 speed block and it was obvious the Simplex derailleur didn't have the reach, so a....ahem....Shimano 9 speed Ultegra RD 6500 was donated and fitted with a new compatable hanger plate. A new inner cable was fitted and the gears work a treat. I think the limit screws will have to be adjusted as the chain rubs the diagonal stays when in top gear (smallest sprocket) ....but hey 8 gears are better than 5!
As mentioned previously the original Mafac brakes had been replaced with some new Tektro V-brakes. Unfortunately these just don't work with the existing Mafac levers...no matter how much you try to adjust them. (basically there's more movement in the callipers than in the levers)
So back to EBay for a set of Tektro cantilevers complete with straddle wires etc. Naturally I would prefer Mafac items....but I wasn't prepared to pay the prices! They now work beautifully and at some time I will adjust the tension screws to centre up the cable, but at the moment they work just fine.
The handlebar stem has been replaced with a 3 ttt item and the heavy steel bars replaced with some alloy Ambrosio ones...again helping with the weight loss! I decided to fit a modern cork bar tape as the period cloth tape is very unforgiving!
So with very little cost the tandem looks the part and is a lot lighter....saving over 4.5 kg and now weighing in at about 18kg. I just need to take it for a test run to see how it performs against the other Peugeot tandem.