jyl

You may remember that I am trying to help my friends find used road bikes on CL.

The husband is 6' 0" and ideally needs a 58 cm. A couple weeks ago, I found him a Gitane for $250 (IIRC) that slipped away between my test ride at noon and my friend's call to the seller a couple hours later. The fault was mine - I should have bought it on the spot and then offered it to him at cost. He's a bike newbie and works long hours, so he can't really "jump on" good CL deals. So I've decided that the next good bike I see, I'm going to buy it and then offer it to him, re-sell it, or keep it; it will just be my job to make sure the price is low enough that I can resell it at breakeven if need be. I'll do any needed work for him, charging just cost of parts.

(Why am I going to this trouble? Because he mentioned that he didn't want a "new bike", but would prefer something like "an old Peugeot" - ah ha, thought I, this one can be steered to the Dark Side.)

So, here is a possibility: an alleged Motobecane Grand Record for $225. Described as "early 1980s motobecane road bike. This was a high-end racing bike at the time, with a great lightweight steel lugged frame, Vitus 172 tubing, 58 cm measured center-center. It has the shimano 600 "arabesque" group, from about 1984. One break is currently out of commission but would be an easy fix. More difficult is the crank which makes some distressing clicking noises, but I think someone who knows what they are doing could handle it without too much trouble." Picture is attached - sorry, just the one.

What can you tell about this bike and what do you think about the price? I've read some Motobecane love-in threads here, this is not one of those red-and-black beauties, and I don't know enough to even say if it is a Grand Record. The components are intriguing.

P.S. The CL ad is 4 days old yet the seller says the bike is still available. Which makes me a bit cautious.

The other friend is tougher, by the way. She, the wife, has a 30" bike inseam and the supply of vintage 49 cm and 50 cm bikes on CL is thin. Plus she has certain fashion requirements that are proving inscrutable. I'm looking for her too, but am less hopeful of finding anything suitable.

zukahn1 

Very nice bike and worth the price or more if in good working order. I would probably pass though BB troubles on a early 80's Moto are not good news. A lot of these had a none standard BB crank setup that used a Swiss BB which is nearly impossible to find. Plus the bike looks like it needs a lot of work in general bar wrap, cables and housing, tires, seat and full service on bearings.

auchencrow

You can get a Velo Orange Grand Cru BB for a Swiss threaded bike, but it is expensive. Alternatively, you could buy a Phil Wood Swiss cartridge BB, but they are REALLY expensive and personally I would not want to cough up that much money .

All that assumes there is something wrong with the stock BB. IME, that almost NEVER happens if isn't already making some awful noise when you turn the crank.

Ball and shaft BBs tend to be very reliable and most will outlast you with just minimal maintenance. Swiss BBs offer an advantage too, because like ISO BBs, they have a more sensible left-hand thread on the fixed cup to prevent loosening due to precession.

jyl

I've been looking through the Motobecane catalogs at https://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Motobecane/ and the claimed Vitus 172 tubing and Shimano 600 seems to match up with a 1980 Grand Record, however that model is described in the 1980 catalog as "ivory" color. I'm not sure how definitive the catalogs are?

Clicking - would that mean a bad BB (fix with $66 VO threadless BB?), or a loose crankarm (fix with tightening, unless hole is deformed, in which case need a new crankarm?), or something else?

mparker326

Arabesque cranks alone sell for $70 to $100 on the bay.

Bike looks big for a 6' footer. Especially, if he rounds up to 6' as some 5'11" folks do.

brian3069

Clicking could be a pedal, loose fixed cup, there are a number of causes. You'll never know until it's taken apart.

Phil_gretz

I steer clear of French bikes as a general practice, despite having ridden two of them in the 1970s and early 1980s. Why not off-brand Japanese from the same period? The english threading and general quality across the board should give you more options. Kabuki, Fuji, Univega, Nishiki... Then there's lower-mid Centurions, Schwinns of the same era...

jyl

My friend is specifically interested in a vintage French bike. Not to say he couldn't be talked out of it, but if I can find him a good Frenchie, why not? Anyway, if he decides not to take the bike I find for him, I'd rather take the risk of being stuck with a French bike than a Japanese bike. I'm more familiar with the French stuff. Contacted the seller, going to see it as soon as he gets off work.

wrk101

Not any more. There are two cost effective choices: the IRD cartridge (they sell the cups separately), cups and cartridge will set you back $40 to $45. Or a "repair" bb, which are threadless. They are readily available for around $25. VO options cost quite a bit more.

+1 As long as the bottom bracket is OK, no need to buy either of course.

Motobecane "loved" Swiss bottom brackets, technically, they are a lot better than the French bb, but replacement wise, more challenging.

As for the small bike, good luck. As you know, 49cm road bikes are on the rare side, and with special requirements, even harder to find. I typically charge at least 20% more for an XS sized vintage bike. They are hard to find, I pay more to get them, and demand exceeds supply.


https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...s.php?id=48421
https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...s.php?id=48420

https://www.amazon.com/Bottom-Bracket.../dp/B001642Y1C

oddjob2

Not the same model, but pretty clean. What's the Campy water bottle worth?

https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/bik/3132529673.html

jyl

Thanks for pointing those out! I didn't know there were options cheaper than the VO threadless BB.

jyl

I saw the one in Beaverton. Decided to pass on it because - well, its in Beaverton, I'm leaving tomorrow for the weekend (riding the STP), and I have no car (wife took the car to visit her family in Washington) which makes the hassle and timing obstacles high. Also I don't like brown. Petty, huh? At $150, I figure if it is a really good deal, it will be gone before I can find time to pedal and tram my way out to the 'burbs.

The one I posted is about 1 mile from my house. I can ride there and walk both bikes home if need be. Or, hmm, can I carry a bicycle on the wife's Extracycle? The ad was posted Jul 8 and the bike is still here, so something is scaring people off. I have my caution flag ready.

jyl

Okay, picked it up for a bit of a haircut. Brought it home on the Xtracycle, rode it to VeloCult to watch the TdF. [Will anything ruffle Wiggins? The man is a cyborg!]

I speculate the BB is okay, the crunchy sound (when pedaling under load, but not without load) is something else. We'll see. Paint is scarred up but not rusty. Motobecane headset is rusty, wheelset is modern no-name hubs and period Wolber rims and looks newer (nipples and eyelets not corroded), drivetrain and brakes are all Arabesque and save lots of scarring on the brake levers, is pretty decent, should polish up well. Stem is ATAX and not original. Bars are "BF" (Belleri). Saddle is some modern thing. Tires are okay. Front brake non-op for lack of a bolt. Housings are newer and look fine. Brake pads are new. Bike is light - spec was 22 lb I think. All in all, I think for $300 all in, this will be a very fine rider with so-so cosmetics. [$300 because] I think I'll try to talk my friend into splurging for a set of Retroshifts and a 7 speed freewheel.

Thanks everyone for the help. I'm sorry I blew it on the Gitane.

zukahn1 

Good to read you got the bike and seem to like it. Vintgae French bikes are a aquired taste. Realy great riding frames with so-so components seem to be the norm. With a few well chosen component upgrades bikes like this are some of the all time best riding bikes. As for the Retroshifts I would seriously consider going with a set of Suntour power shifters they work as well and are a hell of a lot cheaper.

jyl

Just closing the circle. Bike is ready to pass on to my friend, for $238.

It was more of a PITA to fix up than I expected. Hopelessly rusty headset, stuck adjustable cup, bent fork, stripped pedal threads. But in the end, while it consumed a fair bit of time and hunting through co-op parts bins, it didn't cost much. Overhauled bearings, polished what could be, replaced nasty headset with a used French one, helicoiled pedal threads, new cables, worked around the frozen cup, straightened fork, it rides very nicely.

I've been commuting on it for a week to make sure everything is okay, and if it were an inch smaller I'd want to keep it.

He, or rather his wife, is going to select and buy the bar tape (silver perforated?) and decal set (no complete '80s sets available, so she's thinking about mongrelizing the bike with a '70s set with the cool script) then I'll apply it. He'd also going to try to get used to the downtube shifters - this is his first "ten speed" - otherwise we'll think about bar ends or alternatives. Personally I think he'll want to swap out the stem (existing one is rather short), which will only cost $10 for a used French stem, which is another reason we're leaving the bars bare for now.



Another old Frenchie back on the road. Thanks everyone for your help and advice.

auchencrow

Looks great jyl - your pal will fall in love with it.
+1 to the 70's lettering.
- And don't let him give up on DT shifters too soon.