Originally Posted by
T-Mar
It's definitely not a 1977 model, as the Superbe was introduced for the 1978 model year. While some 1978 models would have been manufactured and sold in late 1977, this one was actually built in 1978 based on the serial number and would be a 1978 or 1979 model. The serial number also indicates it's a USA market model, so it's curious that you bough it in Canada, as Canadian market models with their unique serial number format go back to at least 1977.
I appreciate your comments regarding the gearing. That 54T is OEM and was paired with a 46T inner chainring. The stock freewheel was 13-21T, so it's definitely tall, competition gearing. However, it's not as bad as the CCM Tour du Canada, which came stock with a low gear of only 46T-18T Thxs for posting.
Ok now that makes sense. I thought I purchased it in the summer of '78 but then transcribed your s/n guide in post
#1 and counted incorrectly and came up with 7 for the letter "H"....duh.
The guy I purchased it from was an acquaintance that was a bit sketchy. For some reason, can't remember why, he had a wholesale license but didn't own a shop or sell bikes. It took a few weeks to show up so he might of brought it across the border. It was brand new.
Regarding the gearing...I knew nothing about gearing or cassettes back then, and me and a buddy took our bikes on a camping trip to the gulf islands, with racks and panniers. We were both sprinters on our university track team but I couldn't get up any hills and he left me in the dust on every climb. I was so mad, thinking he was stronger than me. Ha ha!