Purchasing a Grand Jubile
 

Hey everyone, I am pretty new to the forums but I think this is a great collection of info and knowledgeable people. I am planning on buying a 1974 Motobecane Grand Jubile from a local bike store for $250. The bike seems to be in decent shape, the frame has no scratches/marks, the brakes are still thick and working, and the stem shifters work well, but I might change the shifters to the kind that are at the bottom of the handle instead. The wheels are good, but the top bracket might need to be adjusted and the bottom one might need to be changed within a year or 2. - Said the guy that was helping me. The seat is terrible, going to replace it with a modern thin seat, or leather one if I really want to invest into it, but I heard leather is kinda pricey.

I was just curious if this purchase is worth it because the kid said the bike normally goes for 400 easily.

The purpose I will be using the bike for is just general riding in the city, and I am planning to go on this 75 mile ride for raising funds for people with MS.

Thanks for all your help and I will try to get pictures of it and post it up here.

For now this is a pretty good reference of what the bike looks like:

http://bit.ly/d2uGdv

Same color scheme but this bike is more clean.

Hi. The information you're looking for will be most easily attainable in The Classics & Vintage Appraisals forum, here. Those guys know all that good stuff. Good luck. :)

I don't think it's the deal of the century, but I think it represents very solid value, especially coming out of a bike shop.

Yeah, you could probably get a bike cheaper off of craigslist, but then it would probably need maintenance that the bike shop probably provided. If you are wanting a bike that is ready to go, I wouldn't complain about that price too much. I'd talk to them and make sure they worked on it and if so, it should get you around just fine.

For me, I prefer finding a bike that needs work, cleaning it up, and putting it back together. It is fun and since I did the work, I appreciate it more. However, you would need some specialized tools for that and the savings would disappear.

If you want a leather saddle, just get an old used one off Ebay. They can be had for $30-40 pretty easily and as long as the leather isn't cracking or pulling away from the rivets, they can be brought back to life.

Note: If you are wanting to upgrade anything that is threaded, you may run into problems. French stuff is basically obsolete and hard to find parts for. Bar end shifters shouldn't be a problem though.(This is not a bash against French bikes. I really like some of them)

You may also want to clarify what was meant by the "top bracket and bottom one".

I think it's a very good price in my town, but don't know where you are located. FR parts aren't all that hard to locate, and this forum is a good place to ask, once you know what you need...most LBS don't have anything vintage, let alone anything FR and vintage. The only real sticking point I could see is that it should have a Huret Jubilee RD and that RD has a special notch location in the rear dropout. If the RD has been replaced with anything else, make sure your shop has confirmed that it's been done right and works. Also Huret Jubilees are very pretty and super lightweight, but not known for their good shifting.

One question:

If the shop guy said it would sell easily for $400 then why do they have it priced at $250. I'm not sure where you're at but my gut would have me looking elsewhere based solely upon my reaction to the salesguy's comment. And for $250 it probably should not need the bottom bracket replaced in the near future.

Sorry if I'm being Mr.Negative today, probably something I ate.

Edit; having re-read your post (and interpreting what some of it might mean)I'm a bit concerned that the "guy helping" says the bottom bracket will need replacing in a year or 2...that's suspicious: why does he say it? Is the guy a mechanic (who knows old FR bikes) or just a salesman?
Also, it shouldn't have stem shifters...should be DT shifters.

If it really IS a Grand Jubile in good condition, $250 is a really good deal at a bike store: It's hard to find a 24lb Reynolds double butted frame with Nervex fancy lugs, and EITHER Jubile Derailleurs, or Suntour cyclones, with a nice Stronglite / SR crank for a whole lot less. It is a very nice riding bike BTW.

I am totally confused by the stem shifters and the remarks about a bottom bracket that "needs to be changed in a year or two" as well as the "top bracket(?)" that needed "adjusting... None of that makes sense and certainly would cause suspicion.

Anyway, your query gives me an excuse to re-post a couple pics of my '76: It has the optional Cyclone -SR setup, in the optional silver color.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...biledrivea.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...ubilesidea.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...ubilebarsa.jpg

I didn't know they switched to a SunTour drivetrain in '76 (but kept the Jubile name, huh? ;)) that's a friendlier gruppo for a newbie and better to have on a long ride, too.

+1 Stem shifters are dead give-away that bike is likely low end, or someone really did some stupid changes to it.

I would look elsewhere.

I someone in a shop told me they could sell a bike for $400 but would offer it to me for $250, bells and whistles would be going off to me. W*T*F? What kind of business would knowingly sell something for 40% less than they could get for it? Was his nose growing while he was talking?

Hi again Unworthy1 -
It was an OPTION like the color. Here is the spec sheet.
I suspect at that time it would have been the less popular choice and most people would have opted for the version in the catalog photo.

...You could not have gone wrong either way -( both are good drive trains and both the silver and the red are really beautiful in person. )