Motobecane Grand Record, time to learn about French bikes I guess! its pretty rough, but I think it can be cleaned up. It is a little too big for me, but I think it may be ok with some 700s or 650bs on it. I always saw it sitting on a porch rusting away for the past few months, and for some reason I just recently recognized the color scheme as a motobecane. I finally got around to stopping and asking aout it, and saw it was a renyolds 531 with Nuovo record drivetrain, and Universal calipers and Weinmann levers, cinelli bars and stem and TA everything else. Serial # 2959013 with 503 below that on the bottom bracket. I offered the guy $25 to get it off his porch, he said he would only take $20 since it was rusted! :thumb:

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Incredible!

+1 Super find on the Motobecane! Really odd to see nutted rear axle with Nuevo Record RD. I would assume rear wheel is a replacement. Great deal regardless.


Just picked up a Nishiki Prestige today. 1986 model, Suntour Cyclone components, and real nice Tange 2 Infinity frame.

Bike is in or very close to ready to ride condition, tires, cables all look good. Might need to do a little basic cleaning.

Not sure why this bike lasted two days on Craigs List. Bike is dying for yellow bar tape (yes, I know, not very practical, but would look good on this one).

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Picked up Phil Wood Waterproof Grease (3 oz. tube)...unopened...at a tag sale today for 25 cents. No bicycles there...just the bicycle grease! http://www.treefortbikes.com/imgDsp....philgrease.jpg

rear wheel is deffintly a replacement, it a steel rimmed and hubbed POS, the front is an alloy weinmann concave laced to a normandy hub. anyone know what year this thing is?

Probably 73-76. Bike looks like it's in pretty good condition despite the rust. Time to break out the OA and get that baby back on the road. I've got a 76 that I wouldnt trade for the world.:love:

I really like the patina on the frame, I'll just try and get the rust off, maybe clean up some of the lug lining and replace the 531 decals then give it a coat of clear, and probably run it as a fixed gear until I get all the bits polished up.

and throw on some neon green deep v's!!!!



...just kidding

Best bet is to look up the date codes on any components you think are most likely original: crank arms, derailleur (front or rear), seat post, handlebars and stem. Also if you rebuild the headset (and you should) the fork will often have a date there as well.

its going to get completely stripped so I'll check the dates then, I don't know the brand well, so I didnt know if there was a simple way to get the build date out of the SN.

The headset will likely need to be replaced, the cups and top race look to be pretty badly pitted, at least on the outside.

I just felt bad. This is a low end Miyata, but it was kep in very good condition and was pretty much ready to ride off the rack, just needed some air. I'm sure he could have gotten at least $100 for it so I split the difference. It just didn't feel honorable. Now if he had taken poor care of the bike I'd have felt like I was rescuing it for 60$.

Here's a picture one of the two Trek 520 frames that I pulled out of the scrap pile a couple of months ago. Finally have it most of the way complete. Will be selling it to my nieces boyfriend in a little while.

I finished up last week's Schwinn Voyageur 11.8 find. I think it turned out nice. The red bar tape really finished it off nicely. I wish I could keep this one, but I have too many bikes already. Now its time to rebuild the Tempo. I suddenly have a lot of Schwinns right now: Suburban, Tempo, Prelude, Racer, Super Sport, Criss Cross, World Sport, and the Voyageur!

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A beauty! :thumb:

Bob

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My father in law does trash pickup for fun and profit. He always gives me dibs on any bikes he picks up. These matching Sting Rays were found sitting at the curb side by side on trash day!

The Midget is a 68 model. It needed the rear wheel rebuilt, and a new (repo) gripper slik, so it got a complete tear down. The Fastback is a 67 model, and hasn't been torn down (yet), as it needed nothing but air and a quickie clean up. Thanks dad!

Man, some guys on the Schwinn board would drop their jaws to see that duo. I know I did! Did you post them over there yet? I know they're ubercorporate, but those have to be seen in that forum. Guaranteed 5 page thread at the least:D.,,,,,BD



Better pictures to come tomorrow!! I promise. My light was running out by the time I got the rims cleaned up. Still need to relube the front hub, the only thing left to do on it. I am tempted to swap
on a set of arabesque derailleurs, but it rides fine. I also need bigger tires. I bought them for another
bike, and they're not quite large enough to fill out on the rim. I had the graphics done for another Le Tour project that didn't happen. The black and silver really pops on the chrome.,,,,BD

My new custom 1977 Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.2. Update of the frame find last weekend.

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Nice Sting Rays. Its amazing what people put in the trash! About half the trash days around my neighborhood, I will pick up good items on the curb and take them directly to my favorite thrift store, that is less than a mile from the house. People are so lazy. I need to take some of my neighbors to the landfill sometime, maybe they would be a little more thoughtful about what they put in the garbage.

Now, if I saw a couple of bikes like those, I would take them right to the house!

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I was working the change machine at the local car wash when the owner noticed me staring at a beat up Orange Krate that was sitting in the corner. Seeing this, he walks over and asks me if I would be interested in buying it, since a deadbeat renter left it in one of his storage units. I offered him $20 and he quickly accepted. I didn't even have the 20 on me, so I had to run home to get the money!

The bike is a 68 model and needed paint badly. I sandblasted the frame and sprayed it with rattle can Chevy engine enamel. I also needed to add reproduction tires, chainguard and saddle, because those parts were missing or trashed. A guy who was buying another bike from me, made me an offer of $600 for this, but I turned it down. I don't need the money, and I like to ride it! It's pretty hard to take this out without being stopped by someone.

I love the Midget Stingray! Like many here, that was my first bike...same color & everything...learned to ride on it. In theory, my nephew in Indy learned to ride on it a few years ago.....hope so, 'cause it was my brother's first bike too.....guess I've never had many 'brand new' bikes! Great catch & thanks for the pics!

Those Stik-Shifts are just the coolest things ever.
I dont care how they perform
or if they'd gore me upon falling.

Finished the Fuji Project
 

I finally finished the $5 Garage Sale Fuji America Touring Series V that I posted the before photo of a couple of weeks ago. I kept it almost completely stock (everything but the seat and Handlebars which were just too narrow for me). I have to say I'm really happy about how it turned out and a ride I did along the coast in La Jolla today convinced me that I'd done the right thing. I don't even mind the bar-end shifters, which I'd never previously experienced.

Here it is, in all its glory. The photos don't do it justice. If I can I'll put "before" and "after" pictures up.

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I think this whole experience has given me a greater appreciation for old bikes, and certainly taught me a lot about fixing them. I'm looking for my next project now.

CMC

Well done, CMC!

Very nice, CMC!

Puch Pacific (late 80´s?). Literally saved from the dump and I got it for free! The positron rear derailleur is totally smashed so I will concentrate on taking care of the frame and re-cloth the awesome seat!

Well, I had a good week finishing up prior catches. Three were finds from the last two weeks. I finished the Trek 412 (garage sale find), the Nishiki Prestige (Craigs List), the Schwinn Tempo (thrift store, I've had it unfinished for a while) and the Schwinn Voyageur (different thrift store). I have a couple more simple projects, then I have several tough ones. That should slow down the pace dramatically. The first two are 23 inch frames, the last two are both 21 inch frames.

The Trek has now moved on to its new home. It was a nice one!

My advice to anyone seeking bikes is that you really have to try several outlets and methods. I used to just focus on thrift stores. That has really dried up.

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