Hi! I don't know much about bikes. I inherited an old Motobecane Super Mirage from a former roommate and finally began commuting (2.8 miles each way) to work in Boston about two weeks ago. I probably haven't ridden this much since I was a teenager and I'm 30 now. I forgot how much fun riding bikes was!
I've looked around the internet a bit and found one (as a fixie) with similar coloring but not much information on it. It has 2040 tubing, ten speeds, SunTour Vx, Weinmann Vainqueur 610, etc., with everything all original when I got it (I think? except maybe the tires?). From what I've found, it sounds like this is late 70s, maybe?
Some things I've done so far:
The faux leather handlebars were rubbing off and making everything black so I removed those and replaced with shellac'd cotton grips. I took off the horizontal levers (are these what people call suicide levers?) and tried to squeeze some Dia-Compe non-aero hoods on, but the fit isn't that great. Any advice for the hoods? There was a lot of friction in the rear brake so I replaced the brake cables with VO metallic ones. The original saddle was looking a bit worse for the wear (and not super comfy anyway) so I switched that out. The pedals had weird plastic toe-holds so I removed those. I replaced the rear brake pads with salmon Kool-Stops, which squeaked like hell for the first week but seem OK now. And I replaced the chain.
Problems?
I'm still not in love with the rear brake. I tend to ride on the hoods and I feel like I have to press a bit too hard. Maybe changing the angle would correct this? Probably replacing the brake levers entirely would be a good option at some point.
Shifting is OK. The first time I got on the bike, the chain popped off right off and the derailleur was bent. So I bent this back and it seems OK now. I'm not sure if all the angles are perfectly ideal though.
There is also a bit of play in the wheels. Would replacing the wheels be a good idea at some point? This seems like it might be the most expensive upgrade but also potentially have the most impact on the ride.
What should I do with this old fellow? What would you do?
Cheers!