praveenjay

Hello,

I am new to these forums and very new to bicycle builds though I have been cycling for ages.
I got this project to build a gravel bike using a vintage frame. I saw an ad on leboncoin (French craigslist) and on an impulse bought a frame for 20€. Bare bones frame, I would say.
It says Motobécane Super Champion, Reynolds 531 Steel, size 56. (I am 183cms tall, don't think its ideal for me. As I said, impulse buy )
Since I am new to all this, I did a lot of reading on Motobécane and tried to find answers to my questions. But some questions, I could not find answers to.

Some problems I encountered :
- It came with a broken front derailleur, this I removed.
- The rear derailleur was a no-name one. on searching I found out that this is a HURET and I figured how to remove it.
- The seat post and stem were stuck. Had no luck even to getting them to turn with WD-40. But with some advice from Sheldon Brown (not Cooper) and RJ The Bike Guy, I managed to get them off. I couldn't identify the seat post, but the stem is a PIVO.
- Missing ball bearing in head post. Planning to get caged bearing to replace.

Questions (Help !!) -
- On intensive searching, I could not find a Motobécane Super Champion in Silver Colour, with RED Lettering. I could find them in racing orange with Black Lettering.
- Is this bike even real ? Did it really exist ?
There are some reference numbers :
-- on the bottom, I could see 5304
-- on the drop outs, it says HURET with 3093493 on the left and & 80116 on the right.

Next steps:
- Measure and search for ideal bottom brackets and check if I need to replace Stem and Seat Post.
- If this bike did exist then it would make it rare, so will hold out the gravel build and try to source vintage parts to keep this as original as possible. But for that I need to know what parts this originally came with.

Unfortunately, I can't upload pics as this is my first post (second after the introduction post)

Thanks,

praveenjay

For the stuck seat post and stem I used WD-40's new 'Specialist Super Dégrippant' (its in french) that was recommended by my LBS.
Sprayed this for " days and let it sit and soak.

Andy_K 

It's definitely a Motobecane with those numbers stamped on it. The 80116 is some kind of manufacturing code and isn't unique across bikes, but I couldn't tell you what it means. The 3093493 is the serial number. I'd say it's probably around a 1976 model.

due ruote 

Sounds like you got a great deal on the frame.
If I'm not mistaken, you should be able to upload pics to your album (part of your profile) even if you have <10 posts. Then others can still view them by looking at your profile; or someone with posting rights can copy and post your picture.

merziac

Add some pics to an album on your profile page, then we can move them here.

praveenjay

I have the pictures in an album on my profile for now. WAiting for 10 posts to move them over here

merziac

Huh, don't see them so I guess we'll just have to wait, standing by.

Pretty easy to get the posts, just keep commenting.

Lots of threads on these and similar, quite awhile back there was a very good one that compared Super Champs, TC's and CT's.

All very close depending on where and when they came from and all orange, one of my favorite bike boom bikes of all time.

Have one frame and need to get it together.

Insidious C. 

praveenjay's album. That style of headbadge was used only 73 and perhaps 72 (in the US at least). I beleive the Reynolds sticker indicates a tre tubi frame. IMO you have a perfect vintage frame for gravel. Keep us updated on your progress please!

VintageSteelEU

Very nice. Huret derailleur hanger might be a bit of an issue, though there are posts on the forum with instructions how to make an adapter to Campagnolo standards.

awac

FYI. One of the best penetrants I know is a 50/50 mix of Acetone and ATF (automatic transmission fluid), this will loosen nearly anything…..but be careful of any paint you might want to keep….a last resort before heat!

bikemig 

Given that the bike is a bit on the small side for you, you might want to run a little taller stem. The go to stem for that is the Nitto technomic. It's not available in 22.0 in the US but it might well be in France. Even if you can only find it in 22.2, Nittos tend to be a shade undersized and sometimes they slip right in on a French bike. The Huret drop out should not be that much of a challenge since you are in France. Alternatively the drop out can be modded.

Early 70s bikes can make fine gravel grinders as they typically have clearance for wider tires. I'm running 700 x 35c tires on my 70s (I think it's a 73) Motobecane Grand Record and there might be clearance for 38c tire. A little lower gearing is helpful as well. I'm running 50/36 rings and a 14-28 5 speed freewheel on this bike. I built it up for riding on rough roads and gravel.

praveenjay

Why do you guys think the HURET dropouts will be a problem ?

merziac

I believe they may have different threading and or a different stop screw position.

due ruote 

My 1978 Team Champion has Huret dropouts and an original Campagnolo NR rd.

merziac

By 78, they were standardized I think.

praveenjay

Ah !! Ok .. I had never given those stop screws second thought .. Gotta read about them and figure out how to use them.

merziac

The clocking can be different, there are workarounds but you do need to fully understand them.

due ruote 

Sorry for the double post - for some reason I am unable to edit the previous one.

To clarify, some Huret dropouts have the RD stop in the wrong orientation to work with Campagnolo etc. In this situation, a simple solution is to drill/tap the edge of the derailleur hanger, and insert a small cap screw to serve as the stop. A bit of Loctite would probably be in order.

I can't speak to the OP's frame, but given that it's pretty close to mine in terms of date, I wouldn't be surprised if it accepted Campy.

bikemig 

https://www.redclovercomponents.com/blog/1

SunTour derailleur on Huret dropout?

praveenjay

I will upload some close up pics of the hanger.
I am not going planning to use Campy .. too expensive to source them .. I have been thinking about this build and might not go for a gravel with this frame.
I feel its difficult to get this one. So, I have another vintage one that I use for daily commute.
Its a Raymond Poulidar bike made in Saint-Etienne. Its a Vitus 999 Frame. The size is also 59.
Its got Shimano 105 and RSX components on that.
I was planning to shift those to this bike and build my gravel on that frame.
The only concern is I do not want to run a Freewheel and want to move to a cassette. The place I live in is very hilly and I have to do steep climbs.
Its not easy with a 7 speed 14-28 Freewheel with a Mavic 52/?? Crank (I have to find the lower teeth number on that crank)

hopefully this is my 10th post and I can upload some pics tomorrow yay !!

What would be your suggestion ?

merziac

First of all congrats on a Pou Pou, very cool.

This may be a challenging endeavor with a classic frame, lots involved with adding capacity and more with the constraints that can be very challenging.

It may not be that hard to do but may not produce the results you want without a lot of futzing and massaging that can only come from substantial experience.

A lot of tools, know how, patience, elbow grease, cussing, blood, sweat, tears, $$$$$$, time and luck can be expended to get there.

Plenty of folks here can and will help but only so much from the other side of the keyboard, you will have to dig in and be prepared for a lot of trial and error, hunt and peck, etc.

VintageSteelEU

Not a problem. Obstacle. Huret used different position for the tension (B) screw in their dropout in the early 70's. In short, there were 3 main standards: Simplex, Huret and Campagnolo. Simplex was all round and with no thread. Huret had a stop for B screw at 4 o'clock. Campagnolo one had B screw stop at 7 o'clock. Campagnolo standard prevailed and that's what all (?) derailleurs today (or from the late 70's / early 80's) are compatible with. So if you want to install any derailleur that's not early 70's Huret one on that dropout you will need a solution. The simpliest and one you can prepare yourself is an adapter.
More about the subject here. And here you have a solution. Not the most elegant looking one, but you'd get a gist. I remember another solution. much more elegant and equally simple has been mentioned in the forums recently, I believe in the mechanics forum. I'll try to find a link, but I think someone made a pretty good looking adapter using a copper pipe or something.

Mike_Kelly

In your research be aware that in that era there were MB that were imported into the US spec'ed by the US importer. So you will find bikes that are European and those sold in the US with different spec's. The Super Champion was a racing bike, the orange color the team bike of Luis Ocana. It may not be the best candidate or a gravel conversion because it was a racing bike as opposed to the a Motoebcane Jubilee that was a rando bike. The workmanship on the brazing was exceptionally good in my opinion for a production bike at the time. The work on my 75 Jubilee is very good. The Huret Jubilee derailleurs on mine are very good sought after equipment.
Good Luck and enjoy your adventure

3alarmer 

...for widening the gear range on bikes of this vintage, the usual solution is to find a freewheel with a larger rear cog (like a 32), search out the smallest chainring your crank will accept, and then use a rear derailleur that will handle all the extra chain slack. On French bikes in particular, TA touring cranks seem to have offered the widest chainwheel range in a double. There are also workarounds that allow making a triple crank out of a double, by adding a small inner ring. But the more stuff you modify, the more expensive and complicated it becomes. So it's best to progress in stages, until you get something you feel will handle your hills to your satisfaction.

Normally, people trying for the widest gear range on this era bicycle just find a triple crank somewhere, and use that with a smaller inner ring.

3alarmer 

.
...Huret made the Duopar and the Ecopar rear derailleurs specificaly to handle a wide gearing range, but there are many others from different manufacturers that were made over the years.