Hey everyone. I found what I think is an '82 Motobecane at a thrift store yesterday. Any bike is worth 10 dollars, right? So I brought it home. Regardless of what plans I have with a bike, I'm terrible at taking "before" pictures, prior to even touching it. So I post those here for your viewing pleasure.
IMG_20180422_132949382 by
jnjadcock, on Flickr
IMG_20180422_132956788 by
jnjadcock, on Flickr
IMG_20180422_133001944 by
jnjadcock, on Flickr
IMG_20180422_133023318 by
jnjadcock, on Flickr
IMG_20180422_133105417 by
jnjadcock, on Flickr
IMG_20180422_133115570 by
jnjadcock, on Flickr
IMG_20180422_133124972 by
jnjadcock, on Flickr
IMG_20180422_133312675_HDR by
jnjadcock, on Flickr
IMG_20180422_140547320 by
jnjadcock, on Flickr
It has a lot of "garage grunge" on it, probably from hanging upside down in someone's garage for years. There's no real rust on it. I believe this to be a 23" 1982 model, in the Gunmetal Grey color. The bottom bracket shell and the inside of one of the dropouts has a "1978" stamp, but I don't think they made a Jubilee Sport in 1978.
Actually, the name is curious to me. The bike says "Jubile Sport", but the catalog says "Jubilee Sport" (with two "e"s). Does anyone know why the bike has just one "e" in "Jubile"? It doesn't even have an accent mark on the "e".
It's mostly unmolested. It has the Suntour BL series derailleurs and down tube shifters, and an SR Custom crank set (42/52 I believe). The rear hub is a Shimano (should be a 400), and the front hub should be also according to the catalog, but it's a Maillard (probably an inexpensive one). The rims are Rigida, which matches the catalog spec. It has Michelin Select tires (25-630), and the originals were Michelin Elan. Nearly everything on this thing is made in France, including the Maillard hub, the Michelin tires, and the frame (though it uses the Japanese style bottom bracket threading -- edit: it actually uses
Swiss threading).
The most obvious upgrade is the Shimano 105 brakes. They're 1050 calipers and 1051 brake levers as I recall. Everything is cleaning up very nicely. The brakes show as new, and the front wheel cleaned up very nice. The rear wheel has a bunch of black splatters on it that look similar to paint, but they do rub off with some elbow grease. The rear derailleur was about frozen in place, and I have lubed that up and have gotten it working better. The front derailleur is lazy, but it's working. The shifters seem fine. The rear cassette is a Shimano Uniglide, 6 speed. The chain is a Sedis of unknown age. Is that likely original?
I will likely have some more questions about this bike as I go, but am I on the right track so far? Looks like an '82 model? Any ideas about the Jubile/Jubilee marking?
Thanks all.