My Motobecane Grand Record yardsale find!
 

Hello All my name is Ryan, This might be my first post but not my last!

I was yardsaling a few weeks ago and locked eyes with this Motobecane Grand Record! I immediately asked the owner how much, and asked me "do you even know what this is" I said yes I do, he said make an offer, then he told me 40 bucks and that is a steal, he shouted humorously, I agreed to both and couldn't pay him fast enough! When I first saw it it had a film of very old gritty and silty grease over much of the bike, both tires were flat, i got home, put air in the tires, gave it a brief check up and rode it a few miles! best money I ever spent.

It isn't all original, the original parts I believe based on the catalog photos I saw on the net are the Philippe stem and bars, Brooks Professional saddle, SR seat post, weinmann 610 brakes and the Campagnolo front derailleur.

Non original are the Campagnolo Record large flange hubs, Weinmann Concave 700c wheels, Sugino crank, not sure which model, it is stamped behind the arms with the S logo but its small, no large marking on the arms like I seen on many on the net but looks like a Campagnolo copy or something. Suntour GT-V Raleigh rear derailleur (which isn't moving to the smallest cog right now). Tires were continental sport 1000 with a mocha side wall (23c) and a orange kenda.

I was riding a Panasonic Sport-DX before this (lowest tier bike) and what a difference in riding comparing a budget bike to a much higher quality frame/component bike.

In the few weeks I owned it, I put my 27inch wheels from the panasonic since it had better tires for now and put 125 miles on that set up, then ordered some Pasela PT 700 -38c skinwalls for it and have been riding that way since, I'ts a great match.

The only downfall right now is the reach is just a bit much after a 20 mile ride, and the seat post is froze, luckily its nearly where I need it however it could be moved down a little for comfort reasons on longer rides.

I'm leaving the patina, the paint has been chipped, cracked and the clear coat yellowing and flaking. While cleaning the grease off it some of the patina came off sadly but I waxed over it a bit with the good stuff and preserved most of it.

I bought a SOMA mini front rack and moved the satchel to the top tube, it works fine but I will try the rear saddle attachment points tomorrow. My front bag is simply a Ozark Trail cooler bag from walmart that I waxed and gutted for my camera and snacks.

For many more photos https://www.flickr.com/photos/ryansi...57658568446605

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5667/...f68b86c3_c.jpgThe latest look by Ryan Silva, on Flickr

They say ride it like you stole it; you did great. This is a heck of a good looking bike.

Nice. Try realigning your handlebars so the ends point at the rear wheel hubs, that will shorten brake reach and allow you to ride the hoods more easily.

+1

Search for 'frozen seatpost' and you will find some informative threads.

Oh, Welcome to C&V - you'll fit right in.

edit - Less Meatloafovadose and you can enjoy a great ride with 32s. :rolleyes:

I'll try that, the position you see is something I just adopted on my other bikes which is very comfortable for me, however on this bike it isnt the case, but I'm always willing to listen and try new things, I'll do that tomorrow.

it will shorten the reach to the hoods, which you complained about. and if the bars seem too high there is room to drop the stem a bit.

Beautiful bike and one heck of a deal. Congrats.

Don't give up on the seatpost. A bike that nice deserves to fit correctly.

Nothing better than snagging a classic for a song. Beautiful bike.

Wow! $40 bucks? I hate you!


...and I mean that in the nicest way possible.n

nice find, great first post, and excellent photo.

the bars aren't taped, so you can move the levers anywhere you want.

catalogs always show these mid '70s g.records with french cranks and nuovo record rear derailleurs. but the univega guy who imported them was known to put suntour on them too (not just the g.jubilés). my '76 came to me with a sugino mighty competition crank and suntour cyclone derailleurs. i kept the crank and added lots of nuovo record.

good luck on the seatpost and bike.

Wow, there's a lot to like about that bike. It should be great once you've got it set.

The mid '70s Grand Records were really nice riding bikes. $40 is a heckova deal, even though some of the original parts are changed. Previous posters are correct ... rotate your handlebar back upward and the brake levers will come closer to you, increasing your comfort level. Won't looks so geeky, either :) Nice catch!

Any evidence the bearings have been serviced?

I checked the bearings and greased the wheels, bottom bracket and headset the day I got it, It has about 300 miles on it since. About 100mi on the paselas.

I was doing some routine maintenance on her today and figured I'd tear open the bottom bracket again, the one thing I overlooked is the bottom bracket threading, it's actually English 1.37x24t. non drive side is Sugino, the square taper axle is Campagnolo 68 SS g. Im shocked to find its ISO instead of the swiss threading I kept reading about.

I applaud your instructive approach to maintenance, I remember peeling apart freshly-regreased bottom brackets merely to check for the possible intrusion of water.

I found a surprise when I rebuilt my Jamis Dakar's bottom bracket last week. It had the shorter 117mm spindle with the original Shimano M730 cranks, which explained why the chainline was so favorable to staying in the bigger rings instead of dropping down to a smaller ring. It was a thoughtful touch on the part of Jamis for their top-of-line racing bike from 1987, and I am impressed.

From today's perspective, it seems like there is some randomness as to whether a French production bike's bb threading will be French, Swiss or English. I've rebuilt many French bb's where their left-hand cup threading had me assuming English, but I've also had to deal with replacements where it turned out to be Swiss or French-threaded.

As for your saddle height, until you are able to free the post, there are shorter and taller saddles available to allow some "adjustment"!

If it is a steel post, it should not require much torque to remove if a penetrant has been allowed to soak in for a few days. A stuck alloy post may require you to first figure out how to safely maximize the torque that can be applied to the post, perhaps after really freezing the post thoroughly beyond the frost stage, using a block of dry ice pressed and held against the post with some force. Beware of any contact with skin(!).