Tomm Willians

The gf thought it would be fun if we purchased a used bike and refurbish it together as a project. Tonight she picked up a ‘73? Motobecane Nomad in fair cosmetic shape but good running order as she wanted something completely different than her 9-10 other bikes.
Advice, suggestions?

Bill Kapaun

Enjoy French threading & cottered cranks-

dsbrantjr

And oddball stem sizes, probably. The suicide levers are a nice style touch.

kyguy

Hang on to her. She did not want a new diamond.

Kovkov

What i would do:

- New tires and tubes
- new brake pads
- new cables and housings
- new balls and fresh grease in all bearings.
- if elongated: new chain
- if used for longer rides: brooks saddle

If you are lucky all the bearing races and cones will still be ok, if not it might be trickier to find replacements because of french threads and sizes.

The removal and installation of the cranks might be problematic since it’s cottered and a cotter press is needed to make the process easy without damaging the bottom bracket. Don’t let this discourage You. Properly installed cottered cranks hold a long time since the only part that wears over time is the small cheap cotter pin.

With all that done and a proper service after every now and then that bike should
outlive You.

Iride01 

What needs fixing?

Don't fix what ain't broke.

Bill Kapaun

Old French bikes are like a can of worms hidden in a can of worms.
IF you are going THAT OLD, stick with an an Asian/US built bike.
Better yet don't go older than later 80's.

Mr. 66

That looks great, I would just clean and service. Find some one with a cotter pin press, make your own.

If if you think it's heavy you could swap out the steel parts for lighter alloy, and shave off about ten or more pounds. I think I got one of those down to about 25 pounds, many moons ago.

Note the stem on those have historic stress issue at the expander that can eliminated by drilling a round at the top.

bikemig 

There is a lot of unnecessary negativity on this thread. French bikes are different but parts, if you need them, are available. The folks in C&V can tell you how to get what you need. Cottered cranks are different but there are ways of working on them without a cotter press.

Basically with a bike this old, you want to overhaul it and replace the consumables. You might as well first strip it to the frame so that you can clean it off and deal with any rust. Second step is to build it back up and have some fun.

HillRider

It can be a fun project as long as you don't try to "modernize" it too much and turn it into a money pit.

As noted the threading (bottom bracket and steerer) will be French and there will be other idiosyncratic differences. Do a search for "cottered crank removal" on this forum and on Google for ideas for home made cotter pin removal tools and the techniques for removal and installation without damaging the cotter pins, crank or frame.

berner

My advice, as suggested above, it to hang on to that woman if she will have you.

Bill Kapaun

IF you decide to tackle the cottered crank, here's my home made tool.
Apply the penetrating oil SEVERAL DAYS before attempting and reapply every so often.
You need all the help you can get-
The "receiver" is just a NDS axle spacer from the junk box. A socket would probably work.
Cranks off a 2X5 Japanese "money pit" bike. French will cost you more. BTDT.

kyguy

Thanks for being here. Bikes can save the USA. Think about it.