big chainring 

I took delivery of this bike last Friday, ebay purchase. My original thought when I bought it was to part it out. It has a full Shimano 600EX Arabesque group.

The Fork on the bike was all buggered up. I sorted that out with the help of my weight bench. And now after a weekend of fettling it sure is a nice ride.

I took it out Saturday, dang cold, and pedaled maybe 15 miles. It really has a smooth ride. Glides over bumps. The frame is Vitus tubing and the 1980 catalog lists it at just over 22 pounds. Compared to what I normally ride it is super light. And it fits me really well.

I had a '72 Grand Record when I was a teenager. The black and red classic. This is just 8 years newer and a totally different machine. A nice bit of bicycle evolution in those 8 years.

big chainring 

This was the condition of the fork when I got it. Like someone was popping wheelies and landing them hard. I took one and a half inches of curve out of the fork, shortened the wheelbase from over 41" to just under 40"

koolerb

Very nice, your going to enjoy it. As soon as the weather warms up anyway.

big chainring 

I think this bike needs aero brake levers. What do you think?

billnuke1 

What! And lose that snappy, molded handlebar covering?! Pure Moto class! Maybe split and reseal over the cables!

Grand Bois

It looks very nice, but the classic black and red was the best looking bike ever made, in my opinion.

Chicago Al 

One of them, for sure.

Had mine out for the first time this year today! Hopefully many hundreds of miles to come.

Anyway, Big Chainring, sure, aero levers are nice. That's what I put on mine, as my hands appreciate them, the ubiquitous Tektro fat ones. The bikes are not new anymore and neither are we, so a bit of adjustment and extra care is needed sometimes.

big chainring 

The black and red was nice. I bought mine the first year it was available. Prior ti that the GR was available in silver/black and yellow/black. The bike shop had both of those in stock, but I waited for the black/red ones to come in. I think I paid $15 more for the new model year.

I always liked the Le Champion, before it was Campy equipped, with blue with white headlugs. That was such a nice French combo.

Grand Bois

The black and red was the best looking bike ever made. Bar none. Case closed.

Bandera

They were very pretty, a guy that I worked w/ had one when new, a proper gentleman's machine.
Not interested in the rough & tumble of the rowdy racing crowd he rode his miles & we'd meet him by chance here & there way the hell out.
A class guy, a classy machine.

PS
The last time we chatted 20 years ago he still was riding it, probably was today.

-Bandera

Grand Bois

Bandera gets it!

That's it exactly, classy.

I've seen Austro Daimlers that come close.

Bandera

Close only counts w/ hand grenades, A-D did not quite get it in my opinion.

Not to my taste but Motobecane had it going for sheer class, good looks & a fine ride over nasty surfaces in the early '70's on their best machines.
I preferred the Brit designs destined to be enthusiastically destroyed in road races or used for decades by discriminating gents, a fine duality of purpose. Not perfect, but well rendered.

-Bandera

Grand Bois

I'm partial to black and gold bikes, obviously.

Chicago Al 

Don't forget that for the first year or two of the black/red GR there was the reverse version! This was similar to the earlier years with the black/yellow. The elegant Nervex lugs are definitely part of the appeal.

Grand Bois

That's a new one on me. The yoke is backwards

rootboy 

I wonder how you would feel about black and green?

Chicago Al 

Pic is not mine, was part of a CL ad I think. Looking at the full picture of the bike I couldn't figure out what was 'wrong' with it at first. This was probably a 1971 or 72 bike? Awesome 'craquelure' patina as well.

Grand Bois

"Any color as long as it's black".

big chainring 

Boy that 1980 GR is sweet. How the heck did you straighten the fork? Looks like original. 22 pounds is light for a bike outfitted like that. Must be the Vitus tubing? In 1980 were they using 700c or 27" wheels?

big chainring 

Thanks. The fork was a beeatch. I used my weight bench in all sorts of configurations and brute force to take that huge bend out of the fork. I think I have it close to original.

Yes, I have not encountered a Vitus tubed bike before. Lightweight indeed.

The wheels are 700c Rigida rims. Narrow ones at that. I have Vredstien(something like that) 23mm tires on it.

Chicago Al 

You are the OP, with the 1980 GR! Are you asking yourself about it? Or is there something else going on that I'm missing?

big chainring 

No one else is asking about it. So I'm keeping my two selves entertained. Otherwise its black, red, green, bikes come in all kinds of pretty colors. Except GB, all bikes should be black. I like black. Black is good.

big chainring 

OK we get the point now BC. Chill would ya.

Chicago Al 

Nah, it's cool. BC, the GR looks awesome! And I'd ask you how you bent the fork back but you told us in your first post--with a weight bench. (Still not completely sure how that worked but can imagine.) Was this issue something you knew about when you bought it? I hope so and that it got you a bargain.

Isn't this bike a little 'new' for you though? I mean, it's from 1980 and has neither a cottered crank nor a hi-ten frame!

big chainring 

No I had no idea about the fork when I bought it. A lot of brute force to bend it. Used the weight bench, as well, weight and an aluminum baseball bat for leverage. Kinda crazy, but it worked.

Yeah 1980 is too new for me. Sounds funny. I'll ride it for a while. Its so different from anything else I ride. More of a race bike than anything I actually raced on back in the day.