I got an old Motobecane from some friends for free. It seems to have top of the line (for that time) componentry and seems to be a nice frame. It has Dura Ace brakes and levers, Rigida Wheels with Normandy racing hubs, and campy record drivetrain with TA cranks. They aren't cotter pin cranks, they have the tapering four sided design. Here are some pics.
Is this bike worth the time it would take to restore the components and frame? The frame is in good shape but the components are a little rusted. Moto GRs were high line bikes in the 1970s/early 1980s. That Reynolds decal is a sure sign of a winner.
I got my Grand Record a week ago, 3 days after I ordered it from sportymamabikes.com.It arrived in good shape.The seat post clamp had been over tightened and chipped a little paint under it. The wheels were true, The gears well adjusted. Quality components.Assembly was simple. The bike is light, fast, and handles well. At Auction is a vintage Motobecane Grand Record bike made of Reynolds 531 Steel Tubing. This rare, 1977 vintage Motobecane Sales Brochure features the full line-up of exports for the US market. With such bikes as the Nomade, the Mirage, the Super Mirage, Le Champion, the Grand Touring, the Team Champion and the Grand Jubile, this this 10.
You have a bike many vintage enthusiasts would love to have. Enjoy it.I'd guess the DA brakes/levers to not be OEM.
Bike probably had Campy or Universal calipers originally. DA stuff probably works better. (Apologies to my fellow VLW lovers but old Campy calipers were pretty mediocre).The bike's a winner.
You got lucky.Agree with your entire post.I sold these bikes when I got my first job at a bike shop in 1974 and worked for Ben Lawee (who distributed and designed these bikes for the U.S.) several years later. If you look on the Nuovo Record rear derailleur, there will be a date (last two numbers of the year) stamped on the derailleur body. This will pinpoint the year of manufacture. I'd say 1973-75. I wish I could remember what brakes came O.E.M.
I'm tempted to say Weinmann center pulls since more than a few of these bikes ended up with fenders on them. I agree with your view on the old Campy Record brakes. It took a lot of leverage to work those suckers. If you had small hands or limited strength in your grip, better put your feet down to stop the beast.would comment however that the Dura-Ace brakes on this bike were of a vintage when Shimano was copying Campagnolo rather than being the innovative company that has Campagnolo following them today. As I remember, the Dura-Ace brakes worked about the same. Parts at the time were more difficult to obtain for Shimano. One item that Shimano did improve on was the brake hoods.
Campy hoods started rotting within a few days of being put on the levers. I remember we kept these hoods in the shop refrigerator, lest like meat they went bad. Agree with your entire post.I sold these bikes when I got my first job at a bike shop in 1974 and worked for Ben Lawee (who distributed and designed these bikes for the U.S.) several years later. If you look on the Nuovo Record rear derailleur, there will be a date (last two numbers of the year) stamped on the derailleur body. This will pinpoint the year of manufacture. I'd say 1973-75. I wish I could remember what brakes came O.E.M.
I'm tempted to say Weinmann center pulls since more than a few of these bikes ended up with fenders on them. I agree with your view on the old Campy Record brakes.
It took a lot of leverage to work those suckers. If you had small hands or limited strength in your grip, better put your feet down to stop the beast.would comment however that the Dura-Ace brakes on this bike were of a vintage when Shimano was copying Campagnolo rather than being the innovative company that has Campagnolo following them today.
As I remember, the Dura-Ace brakes worked about the same. Parts at the time were more difficult to obtain for Shimano. One item that Shimano did improve on was the brake hoods. Campy hoods started rotting within a few days of being put on the levers. I remember we kept these hoods in the shop refrigerator, lest like meat they went bad. Just checked original specs on this bike.it came with Weinmann center pull brakes.
Okay, I looked on the Dereilluer body and stamped on the uppersurface close to where it mounts is written 'Patent-77' so that should be the year, 1977. This bike was given to me by a friend of ours who got it when she was young.
She said that they bought it used from a bike shop. The shop said that it was returned by a man who wanted to race. In his first race he got in a bad accident and decided not to race. This may explain the Dura Ace brakes instead of the stock ones.Yup.1977 would be the year.
Motobecane Grand Record Vintage Brochure Template
As far as the brakes, the Dura-Ace sidepulls are far superior to the Weinmann's it originally came with. Also, if the original owner raced the bike, this would explain the different brakeset. On the race circuit, it's a sidepull world. Don't know of a site per se but there's info out there.
BikeForums.net has an active discussion area for vintage roadies as does OldRoads.com. Both free sites like this. Before the change to the new boards I used to post here alot (I was just 'Walter' back then) and there was a lot of knowledgeable people around. They're probably still here so ask some specific 'How To' questions and I'm sure you'll get some advice.Most current bike maintenance books include info on the oldies.
In most ways they're alot easier than current STI/Ergo. Hunt eBay for a bike book from the 70s (I've done that) if you want info from when your bike was current.