A couple of years ago I bought quite impulsively off Ebay this fine ride. I paid too much for it but maybe inflation will help me catch up, someday. ;-)

The story I got from the seller is that it was set up to sell/ride by a bike shop in the midwest. It was ridden briefly and then hung up, where it apparently remained all these years. Nothing about its condition contradicts that. I did clean some dark smudges off the underside of top tube where the dark rubber/plastic hanger arms left their impression.

It is near mint. Even the tires are still good. I will have to replace the brake pull gum covers as they have disintegrated since these pictures were taken, just at the time of purchase.

It seems incongruous that a French bike would be so completely fitted with Japanese components. Still, it was the era of Japan on the economic and technological rise in the West. Makes sense in that context. And as I understand, Bertin was a modern man, a good businessman.

This bike today sets just as I bought it. I gauge it to be about a !979-80 model, based on the component group. I know the date is on the bits somewhere, and I'll get around to pinning it down someday. Any educated guesses?

My son, who knows even less about bikes than I do, studied it one day and then proclaimed, "it's a Cadillac". LOL. I'm sure when I get it refreshed that's how it will ride............spirited and a bit plush. Sporty, Citroen-like.

The Shimano 600 Arabesque group is not that highly regarded, I know, but say what you will about it, it is mighty pretty in a decadent kind of way. I think opinion will improve over time.

As for value, I sometimes think that parting it out would be the only way to recoup my initial outlay, if I ever sell it. Is it of such pedigree that it should be saved intact as a document of the times, no matter how minor or schizophrenic?

Cheers.