non-fixie 

Good-looking bike, dveneman! One question, however: are my eyes fooling me, or aren't those cranks at 180?

jimmuller 

Yeah, those cranks don't look quite lined up. When you install the cotter pins you must (a) make sure they are filed to the same angle, and (2) have them pointing the same way, i.e. both forward on top or backward on top.

dveneman

Now this is humbling. Thanks for pointing this out guys. You are right and I will correct.

non-fixie 

Not to worry, it's all part of growing up . Did I already mention that bike looks very good? I'm sure you'll please some woman with it ...

dveneman

Thanks, I like it too. Heaven knows I didn't need a Mixte, but even with some of the junky parts that were surrounding it, I couldn't leave it at the local flipper. I had him remove the saddle and wheels and handed him $30 for it. The rear dropouts are 100 I think. The front fork spacing is unknown. a normal wheel would not fit without removing spacers and a shorter axle. I hung the chrome extra things on there just for the vintage town cruiser effect. Considering the lower end nature of the bike and the fragile paint, it is a survivor I think. But those cranks! After the embarrassment, I had to laugh.

VintageGitane

Hereby some pics of my Gitanes. The first two are from 1978 and I bought them just two months ago as NOS. The white one is a NATION 1849 and the silver one a SPRINT 1837. The frame is from a 1980 TROPHEE which originally was equiped with Shimano Dura Ace EX.

mobilemail

Moto Grand Jubilee, '77 I think. Photos at https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=c5295...673790E%215870

gaucho777 

Really nice Mercier mixte, in terrific condition. I've casually had my eye out for a vintage mixte to build up for the wife. One other nit-picking comment: the front tire saver is mounted backward. It should be mounted to the rear brake nut behind the fork (like you have it), but it should go under the fork crown so the front of the tire saver is forward of the front brake. As it is now, you run the risk it will actually catch on the tire and bend under the fork crown.

dveneman

Ahaa! another correction to make. Thank you Gaucho!

Maver71

'77-'79?? Moto Grand Touring. I just spent the last week kleaning it up. Sat in someone's garage sine the '90's. Has all original stuff. Suntour front derailleur. Rear derailler is Suntour V-GT Lue. Seat, Avenir toe klips and tires may not be? Sorry 2 keys on my laptop are not working lol

eschlwc

'80 moto grand jubilé

mobilemail

If I ever decide to ditch the stitched bar wrap on my Grand Jubilee I'm going with the red. That's sharp!

eschlwc

it's the first time i've used newbaum's cloth. i'd like to find a darker red in a thicker cloth for next time.

if you notice in the moto catalogs, the jubilé finally got the black traditional paint when the grand record moved on from the traditional look altogether ('78). but unlike the record model, the jubilé never got the red tape; it was always shown with black faux leather wrap.

silver tape might look pretty good too. one doesn't see silver tape very often.

'78 also seems to be the year the bikes got top tube cable guide brazes.

mobilemail

Good catch! And upon closer observation, I discovered the crappy suede saddle that came on it was apparently original as well. I thought someone over the years had robbed the bike of the Ideale and replaced it with a lower quality Nomade saddle (it does bear the Motobecane marking). Zut alors! I wouldn't ride that inferior suede saddle around the block! (I hope I used "Zut alors" correctly, it's about all I remember from French class 30+ years ago...)

loose spoke

Beautiful Le Champion! Original pump?

classic8tubes

Reynolds 753 frame with "christian blain" decals. there is a bikestore called "cycles Blain" in Vienne/France. framebuilder is unknown.
Frame is from 1993 and has been built super short.
Dura Ace 74xx and 7410 parts and Mavic SSC brakes and hubs (571/HG).

rootboy 

No. I painted that to match the bike. Sort of .....

Italuminium

Eau my, that's a beauty and I bet it rides as fast as it looks.

Catnap

I built up Whatwolf's Bertin frame as a 3-speed 650B this weekend. fun times!

sokito

I like it.

papik

My 1981 BLONDIN.....a 3 reynolds tubes frame built in Strasbourg

Catnap

your Blondin has the same brake levers as my Bertin.

scozim 

Last November, Roger M was nice enough to give me this PX10 frame that was too small for him. The original parts went on his PKN10 build. The goal for this bike was to build it for the Cino Heroica ride in September in Montana - lots of gravel and mountain roads. As always I try to build my bikes with what I have on hand which means they are not "concourse" level. I ended up springing for the 700X28 Pasela Tourguards and some of the casing and the shifter/brake cables. Other than that I had everything on hand.

I have dubbed the bike FrankenPug or F'Pug for short. Originally I was planning on using a Rigida 700c clincher set with Campagnolo hubs but I determined the axle to be a little long and also bent. The next best thing became the Module E wheelset from the '84 Peugeot PSV I have hanging in the shop because it's too tall for me to ride. The hubs are Helicomatic with 6 spd 14-28 gearing - I know, I'll take my chances but these hubs have a lot of miles on them with no problems so I'm crossing my fingers they'll be good for this ride. Still need to repack and grease the bearings.

Handlebars are CTA with a Phillippe stem and Campagnolo levers (there's a rattle in the right lever I need to figure out). Unknown seatpost with white Turbo saddle. The handlebar water bottle bracket is from Velo Orange and works pretty good. Shifters and front derailleur are Simplex and rear derailleur is a Suntour VX-GT. Crankset is a Sakae CR (definitely not period correct) but it was the only one of the three I had on hand (Sugino Mighty Competition and a Mavic) that worked with the taper on the new Velo Orange French thread cartridge bottom bracket.

Still need to do a decent shakedown ride and fine tune the brakes, especially the rear ones but it seems to ride quite nice on my gravel driveway.

kroozer 

This is my early 70’s Motobecane Le Champion, which I restored a few months ago. I really like the racing bikes of this era because of their versatility. They can be built up as classic racers and are quite light and fast. But with their laid-back geometry, eyelets, and large clearances they also make nice sport tourers, with smooth riding qualities and good load-carrying capability. And while not ideal for the role, many of us have done fully-laden touring on these bikes as well. So here is the Moto in two modes:

The first is a racing set-up, very similar to the original with a Stronglight/ Campagnolo/ Lyotard drivetrain and Campagnolo/ Mavic tubular wheels. It also has a Brooks Pro saddle, Ideale seat clamp, Belleri bars and stem, Universal 61 brakes, and Modolo levers.
[IMG][IMG]


Here is the same bike in a sport touring configuration. The wheels are the original Campagnolo Tipo hubs laced to Rigida 1622 rims, with Origin8 27x1¼ tires. The hammered alloy fenders are off a Schwinn hybrid. I have had the Kirtland handlebar bag since the 70’s.

[IMG][IMG]


More photos on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/4764636...7629900829179/

Roypercy

Beautiful! One of those early Le Champions is definitely on my bucket list...