NS600 with 600A wheels

On ebay.fr I see this, asking 140 euros:

Sheldon Brown's site says 24 x 1&3/8 used on wheelchairs is 540mm,

"French 600A is actually 541 mm, close enough".

I notice the frame (just behind the head) has a hole or lug to take a cable, I guess some of these had gears. I assume the rear brake cable is in through the other side. Yes indeed, it is a tres beau velo, solide...

Vélo Peugeot NS600 motobécane 1970 pneu neuf non pliant

Bonjour, voici ce vélo mini vélo vintage PEUGEOT NS600 pour adulte, avec panier, (grande roues de 600a) en très bon état. Pneu NEUF Michelin. Livraison possible Paris . Très beau vélo solide.

Test ride with 24" front wheel.

This seems OK, the steering feels a little different to how I remember it, it is nearly a year since I last used this bike. It does not actively seek to turn left or right all by itself, but doesn't seem like riding no-hands would be very easy, it seems about neutral. It is certainly nothing like the 26" mountain bike wheel and forks I tried, then it immediately wanted to turn away from straight ahead.

Both handbrake levers were broken in the crash.

The front wheel axle is about 15mm higher off the ground than is the rear axle. This could be reduced by using a 1.5" tyre instead of the 1.95" now fitted. I even think the front mudguard might be persuaded to fit with a narrower tyre on the 24" wheel.

With the 26" wheel, it had excessive "wheel flop":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_(bicycles)#Wheel_flop

Wheel flop refers to steering behavior in which a bicycle or motorcycle tends to turn more than expected due to the front wheel "flopping" over when the handlebars are rotated. Wheel flop is caused by the lowering of the front end of a bicycle or motorcycle as the handlebars are rotated away from the "straight ahead" position. This lowering phenomenon occurs according to the following equation:

Because wheel flop involves the lowering of the front end of a bicycle or motorcycle, the force due to gravity will tend to cause handlebar rotation to continue with increasing rotational velocity and without additional rider input on the handlebars. Once the handlebars are turned, the rider needs to apply torque to the handlebars to bring them back to the straight ahead position and bring the front end of the bicycle or motorcycle back up to the original height.

Forks looking good.

I fine tuned the fork bending today, they seem OK. I think I will just put a bit of packing, 1 or 2mm or so, in above one axle to straighten the wheel a little, will hold off on any filing for the moment.

If I stick with this 24x1.95 knobby tyre, I will trim the outermost knobbly bits, they barely clear the forks and the wheel is not perfect, neither is the tyre.

I need to enlarge the holes for the rack to go over the axles, not much in it, they'll still have enough meat on them.

Fork repair

I've made a start at straightening the forks. I held various parts in a wood-working vice and bent carefully.

At present, the 24 x 1.95 tyre is about 4mm off-centre, the knobbly bits on one side hit the fork.

 The wheel also tilts to one side, the head stem tube does not follow the same line as the tyre tread centre.

And the top part, whatever it is called, is not perpendicular to the wheel.

I will do a few more adjustments, and see how it goes.  I see 24 x 1.5" slick tyres are available, they will be the go if this works out.

I needed to file the drop-outs a little wider to take the wheel axle.

Black racks and other bits and pieces

I saw this on ebay.com.au. Note the black seat pole clamp, black handlebar clamp, black racks. Is the bell black? The handlebars look different to most also, less swept back.

Bent forks

I am thinking to try bending my forks back into shape and then using 24" mountain bike wheels, only slightly larger than the originals. I have not been able to find replacement forks and a front wheel without sacrificing an entire bike.

Here are the forks, photographed today:

I will seek the opinion of a fitter and turner I know. As I see it, in regular use, they are mostly required to resist flexing in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which they have been bent, so perhaps a slight weakening can be lived with. I guess I'll have to keep my eye on them.

Another restoration in Melbourne

I only just found out about this. Where have I seen something like this before?

http://slow-rpm.blogspot.com/p/peugeot-nouveau-style-rebuild-project.html

Above becomes this:

Note the single speed back-pedal brake. I have not seen one of these on an NS-22 before. I wonder where the stickers came from? I must ask....