Not long ago I finally picked up my Motobecane. A Grand Jubile of what looks to be 1978 vintage. The bike is the one I wanted when I bought a Nomade in 77 b/c I couldn't afford anything higher up the line.

The question is should I switch to 700C wheels from the stock 27"? I've broken the question down and still am unsure though I'm, at the moment, leaning towards swapping.

I have a wheelset so money is not an issue and my first trial shows that the brake arms have enough room for adjustment.

The stock: Rigida rims on Normandy high flange hubs. Hubs and rims are clean but the spokes aren't stainless steel and have lost their shine. They look kinda crappy to be blunt and not up to the standards of the rest of the gold and brown bike. I'm biased but vintage Motos have as nice a finish as you'll find.

The replacements: Sun rims on early 70s Campy Record hubs. Stainless steel spokes.

Weight as guessed by my calibrated right arm appears to be a wash. The stock set has a SunTour Winner 5 speed freewheel and the other has a DuraAce "ultra" 6 set up though freewheels are interchangeable.

Thoughts, advice?

Why not respoke the original rims?

Shouldn't be too much $ and will definitely add that shine to match the paint. Then, it'll appear completely stock.

Also, Can you bring your calibrated right arm up to CT so I can figure out which new raodbike I'm looking at weighs less?

PJ

LOL. I've never been farther up the East Coast than PA so this might be the opportunity I've been looking for.

Have thought of respoking and it's an option. Of course one reason for going to 700C is tire selection too.

Well, the question is do you want to make this a period piece or a rider? If you want to make it a period piece, you'd have to find some Robergel or Stella or possibly Union spokes to respoke the wheel with and you would have to keep it original, which would mean keeping the 27". Of course finding those spokes could be a hunt for a needle in a haystack. ;)

Otherwise, if you are not going to be concerned with the scrutiny of the purists at the next Classic Rendezvous get together, put 700c wheels on it and ride!

Walter, my votes for re-spoking.

robergel spokes? super old school...are those the ones with the 3 stars on the spoke head or where those torringtons?

I've never heard of Torringtons, but that's not a surprise.

Were they made in Torrington, CT? or by a company named Torrington?

PJ

Robergel were the ones with the stars.
I vote for switch to 700c.
Find period correct rims if so inclined.
reason? easier to find replacement tires.
Maybe some nice Arc En Ciel rims?

Marty

Brakes might not work.