1980 Motobecane Grand Record
 

Do you ever just pick up a bike for no particularly great reason? I couldn't resist this Motobecane Grand Record when it popped up on my radar screen recently at a price I couldn't say no to.

I think it's from 1980. It is in immaculate condition. The paint job is a bit dirty but it has no scratches. It is primarily shimano 600 arabesque but the rear derailleur is a superbe pro and I also picked up 2 sets of wheels with the bike, both the original wheels (shimano 600 hubs, rigida rims) and a really nice set of replacement wheels (specialized sealed hubs, ambrosio elite durex rims, and fairly new continental tires).

I don't have any idea what I'm going to do with it. I've always liked the ride qualities, though, of vitus 172 tubing. I'll bet @verktyg can help me pin down the date on this bike:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=502823http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=502824

^Pretty sweet. :)

Awesome bike! I have an arabesque 600 rear derailleur kicking around if you want it to match, however that superbe pro is some awesome kit!

Thanks; yeah this was too good a deal to pass up. I'll keep the RD in mind if I decide to go all arabesque.

last fall, i saw a couple of these in perfect condition pop up on ebay for around $300 plus shipping. i almost pulled the trigger.

i'd love to ride a vitus 172 bike with a shorter wheelbase than my g.jubilé. that vitus tubing seemed lighter than my 531 g.record.

I always thought that vitus 172 was roughly the same quality as Reynolds 531. This online article seems to suggest this:

*Vitus history by Norris Lockley

But then there is this post by Chas on gitaneusa where he writes that it is not quite as strong as reynolds or columbus tubing,

gitaneusa.com :: View topic - Vitus brochure, including Durifort

I'm excited by the bike; it will be a fun project to fix it up. My build queue runneth over though as I have 3 other bikes to get ready for the summer.

It also has that shimano 600 headset with the odd starfish design and I don't have the tool for it.

http://www.bikehugger.com/post/view/...-the-obscure-h

^ i've never run into a problem using a standard adjustable wrench with that headset nut. maybe put a little washrag (or thin rubber coaster) around it if it's perfect, and you're worried about botching it.

@bikemig Sweet ride... is it a 60cm?

No, it's a 57 cm C t C or a 58 center to top. It's your size; you need a non-paint challenged French bike, don't you, :)?