VonCarlos

Well, just as I said, "Salt Lake City, useless for finding vintage bikes" up pops this 1972 Motobecane Grand Record. I don't think anythings been changed on it except maybe the seat and tape. The catalog shows them coming with Universal 61 brakes but these are Mafac Racer with Dia-Compe hangers and Mafac levers. ??? Anyone know for sure ? Although the paint isn't too bad, it is terribly cracked in areas, very similar to a Renaissance painting. I'm wondering if that's a result of our incredibly scorching summer heat. It has the "Motobecane Pantin" head decal that I think only came on the 1972 models. Anyone know? And the Campy derailleur is "PATENT-72". I really like the black/red paint combo of the next and later years, so if I decide to repaint it I would like to do it in black/red. Anyone know if black/red was available in 1972 ? Would it be a terrible thing to not repaint it the original yellow/black ? See more here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/5714857...7626955107604/

mkeller234

Personally I think the crazing on the head tube looks really cool. It reminds me of stained glass, or a road map. I would just leave it as is.

kroozer 

The finish on that bike looks pretty good. That spiderweb cracking actually looks kind of cool, and gives it some character. I would just leave it as is, at least for a while. I would only repaint if I was definitely going to keep it. But if you do, the black/red is a great scheme.

knoregs

+1

~kn

auchencrow

+10 !

randyjawa 

Repainting the bicycle would be a major mistake, in my opinion. Doing so will significantly diminish value. As for the crazed paint, just think of the bicycle as antique pottery, and the crazed or cracked look it gets. Beautiful.

Many people seem to think a bicycle must be all shiny and new but there is something to be said for a well earned patina, such as the one the OP has presented.

Again, resist the urge to paint the bicycle. The first thing you need to do is ensure the bike is road worthy and safe to ride. Then ride it, for a season, and get to know the bike. Then, decide if you still want to destroy the original paint and art. And destroy is the operative word, should you repaint.

Just an old guy's opinion but I would hate to see such a nice looking bike repainted. And, for what this is worth, I loved my Grand Record and the absolutely incredible ride quality it offered. One of the nicest vintage bicycles I have ridden.

elguicho 

If you want to keep the bike go ahead and paint it anyway you want. I actually like what's happened to the paint, it looks like a vintage guitar. However, I do not like yellow bikes. Nice find!

DavidW56

I'm for yellow bikes and keeping it original. Not that the black and red don't sound great, they do. But I like it original.

SteveSGP

One more vote for keeping it as is, it's gorgeous and the cracking of the paint just adds to the patina of the bike.

big chainring 

I've seen that crackling on other yellow motos of that vintage. But only on the yellow ones. Something in the paint process or the yellow paint?, dont really know. And some yellow Motos have a blackish discoloration to them. Its a very vivid yellow, perhaps something to do with the yellow pigments in the paint.

Bikedued

Another vote for leaving it as is! It will never be the same, no matter how good it looks afterwards.,,,,BD

MrEss

I think it's gorgeous and recommend you try to learn to love it. If you just can't, then think about painting or rehoming it.

frantik

do no repaint that.. the cracked paint looks awesome!

unworthy1

Did you see the (similar) old yellow Moto that Frank the Welder hand-rubbed? It came out looking great, and I also vote you keep it as-is or try to copy the "minimal" restoration that Frank did. This is coming from an owner of a black/red Moto GR...but if I didn't own that I'd sure like one of these yellow/black GRs! And no, I don't think the black/red was available until about '74.

rootboy 

PAINT THAT !? please don't .......

I've got to add; Salt Lake City useless for finding vintage bikes? SLC is useless for any number of things, but I love it, having spent over forty years there. Salt Lake is a "small town" compared with the major metropolitan cities but, what with the University, etc., I can imagine there must be a number of bikes from the 70's lurking in basements behind the Zion Curtain. I know of three I left there. Bikes of that vintage are tough to find just about everywhere. As for re-painting that bike, you said it yourself; "Renaissance painting". A bit of a stretch metaphorically but, you wouldn't paint over a Titian, would you? I think it would be a shame to paint that bike, not to mention seriously de-valuing it. Very nice bike.

randyjawa 

I am not sure why this happens, either, but I have seen it on LeJunes also...





And, as one member mentioned, to paint or not to paint is completely up to you, but my guess is you will regret it. I certainly did when I built my first vintage road bicycle, which I named Big Green. I made all the major mistakes, with that build, and reading about it just might prove very helpful to the OP.

sonatageek

Of course you may do as you like with your own bike, but I too would keep the original paint if it were mine. It looks good and I am not seeing any rust, which in my book would be the one big reason to do a re-paint on a bike.

Have you had time to re-pack the bearings yet? The real question is, how does she ride?

wrk101

SLC worthless for vintage bikes? I picked up my beloved 87 Prologue from Logan, UT.


+10 million, do not repaint, that crazing is way cool and is part of the patina of that bike!

mudboy

Beautiful as-is. Ride it, hang it on a wall and stare at it, but don't change it!

Daveyates

Don't repaint it!

canyoneagle

Wow! Nice find!
I'm with the "don't paint it" crowd. Looks fantastic as is, and the overall condition of the bike does not warrant it.

I've found SLC to be no better or worse for C&V than other areas I've lived and in my somewhat frequent Craigslist searches in primary urban areas around the country.

If you want some C&V bike lust, head to Contender Bicycles at 9th and 9th - they display bikes from private owners in the city. At the moment they have a Gios Torino Super Record fully drilled, and a pristine Masi Gran Criterium with the 50th anniversary SR grouppo. Granted, these aren't for sale, but there are folks here who know C&V bikes.
Guthrie Cycles in Sugarhouse has been in business since 1888, within the same family. The owner has a collection of bikes in back ranging from turn of the century "safety bicycles" to a couple of chromed Paramounts (he has a '70's 61cm with NR that he wants to sell).

randyjawa 

Incredibly nice! I truly loved the ride quality on my Grand Record. Sadly, the bicycle, at 58cm, was just too big...

Night Tiger

I've got a '71 Grand Record with a similar paint problem. Mine is silver with the black panels and seems to have a clear coat over it that looks more like shattered safety glass, very fine cracks all over it but you cannot feel it with your fingernail. I'm assuming this was the clear because it is everywhere on the paint (even the underside of the tubes) and is also evident on the coating they put over the chrome on the fork "socks".

It's annoying, because otherwise the bike is in great condition. I plan to try and polish it out, but I wouldn't dream of repainting it.

I'll try and post some pics later today if the weather cooperates.

At any rate, my vote is for keeping the paint as it is. I think it actually looks really cool!

Grand Bois

My PX10 had that crazed paint before I had it painted. It had been subjected to years of excessive heat in the San Joaquin Valley in California.

VonCarlos

Okay Okay! :-) I won't repaint it.
I really didn't like the yellow color, but it's quickly growing on me. I do like the patina of the old cracked paint and I very much like the thought of keeping the bike in it's original condition. And actually, I never thought otherwise. My wife and I are both lovers of history, science and Art and my only thought was to keep this Motobecane, original.

I brought up the paint question because the cracking appears to make the paint easily chip off, and I think this will just get worst as it's ridden more. As seen on the chain-stay. This bike will be ridden and not hung-on-a-wall. Maybe it would be a good idea to apply a clear coat over the yellow and/or just a clear chain-stay protector.

I just got it last week, took it for a little parking-lot spin, and have not spent much time with it except to check the frame for accuracy. Amazingly it checks out perfect, not a single measurement is off! My plan is to disassemble most of it, clean, repack, re-tune, polish and adjust.

Hey, I respect an old-guy's opinion, since I is one.

Yes, thanks for that info, it was something I was wondering about myself. Since I've only had one bike, the SiNGER, up until now for most of my adult life, I don't have the experience of seeing so many bikes.

randyjawa, a big thanks-very-much for your website "MY TEN SPEEDS. That is quite an effort! I have been making my way through it slowly and it has proven to be a great learning tool. Thanks again!

I'm only buying bikes for myself to ride, hence they are all my size +/-, and have no intentions of selling them in the future. I now have two complete bikes, a 1974 Alex SiNGER, 1972 Motobecane Grand Record, and one 1973 Legnano frame/fork. As I line-up the frames I can see there's quite a difference in the geometry and I'm really looking forward to riding these new (to me) bikes.

Thanks to everyone for your help and comments.
A few more pics.