bikemig 

I've been looking for an older road bike to turn into a one speed commuter for a while. This recently popped up on the local CL:

https://desmoines.craigslist.org/bik/3047016655.html

I'm thinking of offering $75 for the bike; it needs work and parts. That said, my guess is that it might be one of the nicer Motobecanes since it has what appears to be a campy nuovo record rear derailleur and it has forged dropouts which, on an older bike, is generally the sign of a quality frame. I'm hoping the bike is a 23 inch (my size) but it may well be a 24 inch. It's hard to tell from the pics but that may be a TA crank. In any case, any advice and/or educated guesses as to what the bike is and what it's worth would be appreciated.

randyjawa 

The Grand Record Motobecane is a wonderful bicycle! Seventy five dollars would be a steal. I would not hesitate to pay several hundred, were the bicycle in good condition and a decent fit. My guess is that if you don't move fast, you will miss the opportunity to purchase.

bikemig 

Is the bike a grand record? Is that based on the parts? I'm trying to buy it but the Seller is using CL to run an auction.

auchencrow

$75 would be an incredible deal.
I'm always looking for deals like that! - If I could find one though I would not be turning it into my daily ss beater:

The last one I saw went locally for $700, even though it was in an undesirable (very large) size.

There are a couple on eBay now of similar vintage for $1950 and $1250. Both overpriced IMO, but then again, if the seller is patient, I would not be surprised if the latter one at least finds a buyer.

bikemig 

Well the bike looks like a 24 inch which is too big for me so it won't be turned into a daily ss beater. In any case, the bike won't take much of a beating on the commute since it stays in my office which is why I am willing to use an old pro bike as a commuter if I can find the right bike.

tmh657

I stay away from CL auctions or just flag them. It can turn into the seller saying, "well Jimmy offered me $90 will you pay $100?" and we don't know if Jimmy exists. It's a waste of time IMO.
I might send the seller a low ball offer and when he says, are you kidding? I will suggest he put a price on it.

DsmBerg

Haha. Imagine finding this here. I am in on this "auction". Sounds like this thing is pretty rough but I am going to go over and check it out. Lady is selling it after her ex left it at the house so spite is driving her to get as much cash as possible.

bikemig 

Funny, well good pick then. The bike is obviously rough from the pics.

tmh657

Could be a good buy then. Even if she is trying to get as much as possible when you show up with some bills in your hand she may just want it to go away. I have bought bikes from sellers who said, "I know I could get more for it but I want it gone now. This Craig's list selling is too much work."

DsmBerg

I went for it. Probably over paid at $160. The CL "auction" BS was flowing fully. The cranks and DRs seem to be in ok condition. The paint is pretty much destroyed on the top tube and the decals are shot. Not much rust surprisingly but lots of dirt and scuffs. I fear what's lurking in the bearings.... Campy DRs, dropouts and fork ends. TA crank. Stronglight headset. Weinmann levers and 1.5 weinmann centerpull brake calipers. It's a project, to be sure.

No sign of the original seat or the campy frame pump to match the hangers that are on there. Since the seller informed me the "true" owner/ex-husband was court ordered to get out of the house, I probably won't be calling him to track them down....

bikemig 

Cool beans; I don't think you overpaid for it but I agree with you that the CL auction is completely BS. If the frame is straight and true, then you did good at $160 even if many of the other parts are shot and the frame may need paint work. I had my doubts or reservations about the CL auction (how the heck do you know what someone else offered?) and I really, really, really don't need another bike in the stable! Enjoy the bike and don't forget to put up some pics when you start to restore it. Looking forward to seeing the bike I didn't buy,

DsmBerg

That was my thinking on the price. She started giving me this thing about someone who offered $220 sight unseen and I just said, look here's what that person is going to tell you when they show up, and here's the most I will give you. I also got the "a bike like this went for $700 on ebay" to which I said " it might have been a bike, but it was not like this bike."

I will surely be putting up some photos. I need some advice on the paint. I would like to finesse it but its probably a blast-and-coat job. The top tube (maybe sweat?) is just peeled like you wouldn't believe. The bottle cage hangers tore the paint up and the prior owner randomly put a few loops of gaff tape around the downtube which yellowed the paint.

Here's a crappy cell pic with all the cages and pump posts torn off. You can see the yellow stripe on the DT:

bikemig 

nice, heck the parts and the frame are worth what you paid. Is this a bike you plan to ride or to sell? If it's your size and you plan to ride it, I'd think about getting it powder coated. I know that's heresy in the C&V forum but who cares? It's your bike and you want to look good when you ride it. I have an older Trek 720 that I'm thinking of getting powder coated locally cuz the paint job is in such bad shape (apparently one of the local auto places has a fair amount of experience with bikes as it does work for ichi bikes). You want to get on top of that rust fast. That has to be a 24 inch frame right? You did good on this (esp. talking some sense into the seller who was clearly trying to play the field); have fun with the bike.

DsmBerg

I am going to keep it and rehab it for my wife, who is pretty tall. She rode it last night and I think it will be a winner.

I feel like powdercoating has got to happen. It's just too messed up and I really like the lines of the frame. Did you get any idea of what price Ichi gets it done for? The guy at the DMBC told me he knew a place to get it for $120 but I never followed up.

bikemig 

If you can find a place that does it for under $100, let me know! Ask the guys at Ichi; at least the place they use knows how to paint a bike frame.

repechage

Powdercoating will turn it into a $160. bicycle.
If the top tube is really shot, consider just painting it if you must, the balance of it looks presentable, the two tone lugs and lug lining along with the seat tube bands are classic.

bikemig 

I haven't seen too many Reynolds 531 bikes with a real nice new paint job going for $160. . . . There is a time when the paint job gets so bad that repaint becomes a viable option.

1 Lugnut

Good Score. You did OK.

I like my GR Moto...alot. I believe it's a '74? Had it since '79. Bought it as a frame only & built it up w/ campy SR components. Very comfortable ride. It's 24" also. Probably a tad big for me, but I didn't know any better at the time. I wouldn't even think of selling it.

Restore yours. Decals are still available for Grand Records...

DsmBerg

That's a beaut. Have you done any repaint or touch up? I am wondering about color matching with the silver. I think mine is a couple years earlier by the plastic head badge and pat 71 RD but it seems like the exact color as yours. After staring at it for awhile I think I could just paint the top and down tubes, clean it up and get new decals. The seat tube, strangely, is pristine as are the black lugs and pin striping.

1 Lugnut

Thx..!

I think I spray-painted the forks only? I might have scratched them working on the bike...I forget. The color match was good. I bought little can of Silver metallic spray paint at hobby/bike shop. It was a long time ago. The rest of the bike hasn't been touched. It's in great shape for it's age...save for a few nicks. Unless you're painting a whole section, Silver is one of the hardest colors to match! Pin-striping would be another issue....

The brake hoods have been replaced w/ Modolo anatomic's & I have the Campy pedals/clips stashed away in favor of the Look pedals pictured.

A little better Pic:

bikemig 

It does look good; very nice job.