VegBiker

I found it in the trash with a missing cottered crank arm (the biggest head ache ) and two rusty steel wheels...



$150 later (which is probably more than the bike is worth)...





Components I added: 27" Rigida Aluminum Wheels with a 5 speed Suntour rear casette, 27x1" Carlyle Performance Gumwall Tires (NOS), Mafac Racer Brakes, Tektro Brake Levers (Aero), Suntour Stem Shifters (NOS), Suntour Sprit Front Derailleur (reverse action, NOS), Shimano Tourney Rear Derailleur (new), Bontrager Race Seat (new), I forget what brand suspension seat post, ESGE fenders, and fancy semi perforated leather bar tape.

Fore more pics...
https://picasaweb.google.com/Alberto....eat=directlink

Doohickie

Lookin' good. There's a lot of room between the rear tire and the seat tube... what's the wheelbase on that bike?

Panthers007

Magnifique! Nice job! That's what I call 'vintage'. I'll bet it rides nice and smooth with that wheelbase. I remember riding a couple Nomades back in the day - they convinced me to buy one, but I bought a Grand Touring. Later murdered by a pinhead in her car.

wahoonc

I have one about the same age as that and one a few years newer. The old one is yellow just like yours. Mine has seen a few upgrades over the years, currently it is in parts waiting on moi to decide what to do with it. I have been leaning towards making a Velo-Orange style city bike out of it.

Aaron

banjo_mole 

Nice restoration!
The bar tape is garish, though.
Do those fenders work?

I dig the brake levers, good call. Nice and shiny.

Panthers007

I think the bar tape renders it a customized/personalized look. Cool.

VegBiker

Haha the bar tape is a bit flashy... its Stella Azzurra Eleganza bar tape, which was on sale at my LBS for $10. I'm convinced it looks cool

I actually haven't ridden it yet, since I just finished it an the weather has been bitterly cold and snowy for the past month, and looks like it will stay that way for a while (I live in New Hampshire). I feel like the fenders should work, but to a very limited extent obviously. I'm definitely not going to ride it to work on a wet day, I think they're just for the occasional and inevitable puddle.

VegBiker

Thanks! It's my first build, so it took me a while. I actually have yet to ride it, but I'm looking forward to it once all the snow melts! At least it was only the bike that was murdered

VegBiker

Check this out...

https://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2007...tobecanes.html

cycleheimer

My 1981 Trek 412 has the Rigida 27" x 1" rims. Not a bad choice at all.

mkeller234

Nothing wrong with a little flash in your bar tape! Was it difficult to mix the colors, I have trouble just doing one color. Looks like you did a nice job of cleaning it up, congrats on your first build. You may as well throw out all of your possessions now to clear space for the zillions of other bikes that find their way into your home.

-Matt

banjo_mole 

After my first vintage bike, the fellow C&V ers told me that, I shrugged.

"Whatever."


A few months later, I have three C&V bikes and LOTS of parts piled up in the garage.

How true.

It's fun though, enjoy!

mkeller234

This summer will be my first full garage sale season.... I am churning inside with anticipation and also renting every available storage unit in the Canton/Akron metro area

sonatageek

Yeah I can't wait for the warm weather either. I hope I get to make it to a few of the community wide sales like last year. The most fun one was where I bought a bike that was ridable and I used it to zip through the rest of the streets having the sale. Found one more, paid for it and came back with the truck.

Having a bike to quickly zip up and down the drives makes it very efficient.

VegBiker

Hi Matt, it was a bit difficult to mix the colors, especially since the bar tape did not stretch at all, so I had to figure out a way to eliminate all the creases and slack, but in the end it looks alright.

Unfortunately I already have a "zillion" other bikes (in all I've got 7 complete bikes, 3 incomplete bikes), and I'm moving in May, so I'm trying to figure out which "one" to keep. Even though I have a nice cannondale hybrid bike that I use to commute, I'm leaning towards keeping my 1985 Dahon folder, mostly because it's easy to travel with, and this Motobecane (due to my emotional attachment).

BinkyTurtle

Ah, she's a thing of beauty! She reminds me of my old beater Motobecane, love of my life though she is slightly too large for me (they tell me though I have never noticed). I still ride her occasionally but she got rear-ended on my bike rack last fall and though they "fixed" her, she is not the same. The crank (they had to put is some sort of a sleeve to make it fit) has just enough give that it bothers me. Friends who don't know the bike don't notice. She can't take much of a hill, yet I love her still.

Panthers007

You should sing this as a serenade to the Motobecane accompanied by a guitar. Put it on U-Tube!

Wino Ryder

Interesting that I just got in from a ride wearing blue shorts with an orange tee shirt. That bar tape would've been a perfect match.


You done a good job on that old 'becane. It looks good and I even like the bar tape.


Take care of it, ride it, and never let it out of your sight.

Skylar

Nice bike homes. $150 well spent, like you said you resurrected someone else's trash, respectable.

rotharpunc

I really like it!