bikerosity57

I need an opinion: I helped a relative out financially because they’re in a real bind, and to repay me for my help I was given this Motobecane Grand Jubilee. I always admired the black and red ones. In fact someone on this site has a similar one done up with hammered mudguards which is beautiful.
im getting to retirement age and really have to start thinking about moving most of my bikes along someday.
im interested in selling this one, but before I do I wandered if it has enough value to try to get my money back on it.
its all original except I put a NOS Wrights leather saddle on it, and it has cork tape (yuck). It’s got real 1980’s Specialized Touring Tourbos, and a Silca Impero pump with a Campy metal head like new (tires and pump).
Should I keep it in hopes of the value rising one day, or move it along now? Value?

jlaw

That is a sharp bike! It's my favorite Moto color scheme - black with dark red highlights - the gold lug lining, partially-chromed fork, and high flange front hub are very nice.

I see one recently 'completed item' on ebay matching your bike - a 23" Grand Jubilee with the same colors sold for $150 on 6-11-20. There was also a 25" Grand Jubilee (1981) frame and fork for sale recently that did not sell - asking price shows $49.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...&LH_Complete=1

There is also an active ebay auction for a 'museum quality, flawless' Grand Jubilee that looks like yours. The guy wants between $1000 and $1500! Good luck with that. No surprise he's gotten 0 bids.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Motobecane-...AAAOSwmBRe6-s-

You might be able to sell your bike on this forum - I think it's worth somewhat more than $150, but I am not a Moto aficionado.

Good luck!

bikerosity57

Thanks. I looked at the eBay ads. I never cared for the construction style of those frames myself. They (to my eye) look cheap. Mine is a standard lugged construction of course. I think $1000 plus for the other GJ is rediculous. Maybe one of the older ones with Reynolds tubes, jubilee deraileurs, 49-d crank, and fancy cut lugs.
i was thinking like $400-450 range.

bikemig 

This bike is terrific. I personally wouldn't sell it. It's worth somewhere around $300-$350 and someone might be willing to pay more given the condition. The problem is that once you get to the $400-$500 range, this bike will be competing with other bikes that have campagnolo parts, reynolds frame, etc.

I recently picked up an early 70s Motobecane Grand Record, same color scheme, for $200 but the condition is nowhere near this good. It did have all the original parts.

SurferRosa

There's a c&v valuations subforum for this kind of thing.

In the covid era, in a big market, this is easily a $400 bike all day. You need a few tweaks to the presentation and better photos to max profit.

If it fits, I would keep it. Not for financial investment value, but for a great addition to the stable.

jlaw

There is another active BF posting re: a Grand Jubilee - the poster (@jwats) just purchased one for $200 on CL. The CL ad has been deleted so no photos to compare.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ck-winner.html

bikemig 

Yeah call me skeptical. The Covid market has pushed up the prices of all sorts of ordinary bikes that people want to ride. This bike is not one of those. It has a value to someone who likes old bikes.

To be clear, I'm not skeptical of the $400 valuation. I am skeptical that the pandemic is having the same effect on the upper end of C&V bikes as it clearly has had on the regular sorts of used bikes.

Piff 

I think if you do a full overhaul of the bike, all the way down to the bearings, you'll get $400 no problem. Give it a good wash and wax when you've got it broken down to just the frame/fork.

Assuming the current wheels are 27", my personal plans would be to keep it and turn it into a randonneur with a 700c wheelset. Though, on second thought, it seems to already have pretty good tire clearance.

SurferRosa

I mentioned a big market. That's what I know. I don't know Iowa.

I wouldn't call this the "upper end." It's not a $1000 Team Champion. It's simply a really, really good mid-level touring bike that will eat up road for decades to come.

bikemig 

It's upper end compared to most of the stuff sold on CL. The pandemic has increased demand for bikes that people can use and ride but it's not so clear that it has had the same effect on anyone's desire to own a classic bike. What drives increased demand doesn't turn much on where you live even if the top amount a bike is worth tends to be location specific.

SurferRosa

You could say that about a tuned Super Mirage.

I don't understand that. I do understand all usable, ready-to-ride bikes in a big market (where there is bike infrastructure) have all increased in value to a significant extent. I know my market. I don't know yours.

You lost me again.

bikemig 

Really? I'll bet you know the difference between a bike with vitus 172 tubing and hi tensile steel. And I'll bet you understand the basic rules of supply and demand as well. But if you prefer to be argumentative, that's cool.

merziac

No real idea on value but this is a later version of the ones we covet the most, 531, Huret and TA.

These are all Japan components which we all know is not a bad thing, nothing wrong with Vitus 172 either but the cachet of these is not that.

All that being said, these are of course very nice, maybe even better, just not quite as C+V imo.

SurferRosa

I don't know what your point is. Sorry.

bikemig 

I'll move on because the mods will soon invite us to do so.

I gave some reasons for why I disagreed with your post. I could be wrong but at least I gave you some reasons. It's too bad that you are unable to give a reason for any of your posts other than to pretend you don't understand. I'm sorry as well.

SurferRosa

Your posts made little sense to me in the context of the thread. For example, asking about tubing differences after comparing a mid-level (or lower mid-level) Moto to the mass of junk on craigs.

The only thing that did make sense is the covid related markup on lower level bikes compared to mid-level bikes. Still, all mid-level bikes for sale in a big market are benefitting from the enormous rise in demand.

Salamandrine 

I'd be inclined to keep it, unless you find a buyer who just loves it and is perfect for it. Is the money you'd get for it worth as much as the bike? Usually it isn't to me. I still have my junker Masi from that era, because the few times I've considered selling it, I realized the paltry money I'd get isn't nearly as much as the bike is worth to me. OTOH, if you find the perfect person for it and it makes them happy, then it'd be worth it. OTOH, if you need the money - or the space - then you got to do what you got to do. I'm obviously not even remotely a flipper, so take that with a grain of salt. I look at bikes through a completely different value lens.

Anyhow, as best I can remember, these were about $450 in 1979 dollars. I'll let you do the inflation calculator. This would have been upper upper mid level in most shops at the time.

bikerosity57

That would be about $1650.00 in today’s money. That’d be right around mid range for normal bicycles today. My guess is $450 in today’s money would be a very good price if I could get it.
its very close to new condition in real term: the person who bought it new rode literally 15-75 miles on it tops, and it’s been hanging from a hook in the garage ever since.
I’ll figure something out. I’m not certain at my age, weight, and current state of health (no longer an athlete) that I’ll be riding touring or road racing bikes much in the future. Plus I have an Austro-Daimler Vent Noir, and a modern Aluminium road bike should I start really getting into that kind of riding again :-)
im more into DL-1’s, and other English three speeds now-a-days.
But guys, I appreciate the thoughtful comments.

bikerosity57

I see it as C+V in that it’s 40-ish years old. It’s certainly old school: 27 inch wheels, exposed brake cables butted steel tubing etc etc.
it’s not C+V compared to a 1940’s Bianchi or similar road bike. Or my 1946 Raleigh Sports. It’s definitely not as desirable as the older “real” Grand Jubilee’s are, but it’s a very fine bike. I had one myself back in the day, same bike only in blue. Actually still have it. I forgot it’s hanging in my shed partially disassembled.
This bike looks way better.

merziac

Absolutely, totally agree, didn't mean to downplay this one but make the distinction.

Kind of like period correct earlier oldschool vs later Japanese C+V.

If you've got an older one, I would get on its way back to the fold to join this one for an awesome pair.

vintagebicycle

I sold a frame and fork for one of those back in Oct. on CL, I listed it for $250, took $200 for a 25" model.
I sold the wheelset a few weeks later, which was mint, for $175 complete with minty perfect original tires.

Personally I prefer the older models with the Huret Jubile derailleurs and Stronglight cranks but that doesn't always matter to a guy who is either restoring a bike or someone who just wants to ride something vintage looking.
I sold my 1978 model, (champagne color with Suntour Cyclone but still with Stronglight cranks), for $550 cash last spring. The bike was clean, ready to ride on new rubber

I usually find its easier to sell the lesser models than top of the line bikes. Most folks don't have a problem forking over say $500 for a nice old bike but when its a high end bike that commands more cash, two things come into play, first off is that you eliminate three quarters of most buyers due to the price since they simply don't have that kind of cash lying around, and second, most guys looking for a high end classic tend to really know bikes and are far more discerning about every last detail and its size.

Another aspect is nostalgia, people often buy what they once had, in the case of vintage bikes, this usually means they're looking for a bike they had as a kid, and most kids didn't have top of the line bikes, they got what mom or dad could afford or what they could afford with money made delivering newspapers or mowing lawns back in the day, which usually wasn't very much. I remember as a teen in the mid 70's all I could muster up for a new bike was a couple a hundred bucks, which at that time bought a new Ross or Schwinn with some cash left over for maybe a saddle bag and cyclometer, or a mid grade Peugeot, or a low end Raleigh, or something used.
A couple of years ago I bought a used 1975 Grand Jubilee in gold with red accents at a yard sale, the bike was about 90% perfect. I belonged to a man who had passed away, his kids were selling off his stuff. They were asking $40 and had no takers all day. I gladly paid he $40, and with the bike I got the original owners manual and original receipt which was still stapled to the back of the old price tag. He paid $477.99 for that bike, plus $22 for a Huret Multito cyclometer. The belt was long gone but it read 239 miles on the permanent reading. It still had old school Hutchinson tires and the original Jubilee derailleurs.
I serviced that bike, listed it for sale at $800 and didn't get a single reply on CL. After a year I broke it down in parts, I sold the frame for $150, the cranks and bb for $140, the wheelset for $200, the stem for $50, the leather saddle for $90, and the derailleurs and shifters for $250. The guy who bought the derailleurs told me he saw the bike listed but only wanted the derailleurs. The headset went with the frame and fork, the red cables and brakes got used on a project bike.

What it boils down to is the general public doesn't know the difference between a Huret Jubilee or a Suntour VX or any other derailleur. Most will buy what they recognize and what they can afford right now.
I don't generally flip bikes, but when I come across a clean old Schwinn Varsity or any other run of the mill bike that people recognize, I know its a quick sell.
(I sold a late 70's Schwinn Varsity last night in what I'd call fair to good condition for $250, it wasn't listed for more than an hour, yet it took four months to sell a Gitane Tour de France. in near mint condition for $400.

Something that I've found over the years is that the best selling items are those driven by nostalgia. When we're young, we see things we like but can't afford them, when we're a little older and have a few extra bucks around we tend to look back and buy those things we either once owned and left behind or those we wanted when we were younger. What I've found is that this happens to most guys in their mid 30's to early 40's or so. They see an item they owned or wished they owned back when they were in high school or college that they couldn't afford then and since they now have the cash, they buy it now. Then as they hit their mid 50's, a lot of them tend to start letting go of the things they own and realize they don't need, only to find the next generation doesn't value the same things and the value drops.
It happened with balloon tire bikes, it happened with old road bikes too. Every so often someone younger will gain an interest in the things their parents may have had or even their grandparents but its not the driving force that nostalgia was to their parents.
I see it even today in the things that are being collected, the collectible bike market has moved over the years from balloon tire bikes, to vintage road bikes, to old BMX bikes, to old mountain bikes, to the last generation of bmx bikes from the late 90's and early 00's.
A certain few of us never forget the older bikes so they retain some value but nothing like they once did.

I also learned over the years that if something doesn't sell right away, it doesn't mean its not worth the price your asking or that your asking too much, it just means the right person hasn't seen it yet.
I don't consider 'fire sale prices' the true value of anything. I've bought items at auction, only to put them right back up for sale and double my money to the same crowd who didn't bid on it the first time around. You figure out what you want for an item and stick to it, eventually someone will come along and see the value you see in it.
If this didn't work, we wouldn't have so many antique stores in this country. What something is 'worth' , and what it sells for are often very different, and that can go in either direction.
Clean and pretty sells, shine that bike up, fix any flaws it may have and put your price on it and wait for the right buyer. If you take less than what you ask, that's up to you, but sooner or later you will find someone out there who likes it as much or more than you.I sold a frame and fork for one of those back in Oct. on CL, I listed it for $250, took $200 for a 25" model.
I sold the wheelset a few weeks later, which was mint, for $175 complete with minty perfect original tires.

Personally I prefer the older models with the Huret Jubile derailleurs and Stronglight cranks but that doesn't always matter to a guy who is either restoring a bike or someone who just wants to ride something vintage looking.
I sold my 1978 model, (champagne color with Suntour Cyclone but still with Stronglight cranks), for $550 cash last spring. The bike was clean, ready to ride on new rubber

I usually find its easier to sell the lesser models than top of the line bikes. Most folks don't have a problem forking over say $500 for a nice old bike but when its a high end bike that commands more cash, two things come into play, first off is that you eliminate three quarters of most buyers due to the price since they simply don't have that kind of cash lying around, and second, most guys looking for a high end classic tend to really know bikes and are far more discerning about every last detail and its size.

Another aspect is nostalgia, people often buy what they once had, in the case of vintage bikes, this usually means they're looking for a bike they had as a kid, and most kids didn't have top of the line bikes, they got what mom or dad could afford or what they could afford with money made delivering newspapers or mowing lawns back in the day, which usually wasn't very much. I remember as a teen in the mid 70's all I could muster up for a new bike was a couple a hundred bucks, which at that time bought a new Ross or Schwinn with some cash left over for maybe a saddle bag and cyclometer, or a mid grade Peugeot, or a low end Raleigh, or something used.
A couple of years ago I bought a used 1975 Grand Jubilee in gold with red accents at a yard sale, the bike was about 90% perfect. I belonged to a man who had passed away, his kids were selling off his stuff. They were asking $40 and had no takers all day. I gladly paid he $40, and with the bike I got the original owners manual and original receipt which was still stapled to the back of the old price tag. He paid $477.99 for that bike, plus $22 for a Huret Multito cyclometer. The belt was long gone but it read 239 miles on the permanent reading. It still had old school Hutchinson tires and the original Jubilee derailleurs.
I serviced that bike, listed it for sale at $800 and didn't get a single reply on CL. After a year I broke it down in parts, I sold the frame for $150, the cranks and bb for $140, the wheelset for $200, the stem for $50, the leather saddle for $90, and the derailleurs and shifters for $250. The guy who bought the derailleurs told me he saw the bike listed but only wanted the derailleurs. The headset went with the frame and fork, the red cables and brakes got used on a project bike.

What it boils down to is the general public doesn't know the difference between a Huret Jubilee or a Suntour VX or any other derailleur. Most will buy what they recognize and what they can afford right now.
I don't generally flip bikes, but when I come across a clean old Schwinn Varsity or any other run of the mill bike that people recognize, I know its a quick sell.
(I sold a late 70's Schwinn Varsity last night in what I'd call fair to good condition for $250, it wasn't listed for more than an hour, yet it took four months to sell a Gitane Tour de France. in near mint condition for $400.

Something that I've found over the years is that the best selling items are those driven by nostalgia and popularity and not necessarily by original price. When we're young, we see things we like but can't afford them, when we're a little older and have a few extra bucks in hand to spend, we buy those things we either once owned and let go of, or things we wanted years ago and couldn't afford..

What I've found is that this happens to most folks in their mid 30's to early 40's. They see an item they owned or wished they owned back when they were in school that they couldn't afford then and since they now that have the some cash, they buy it now. Then as they hit their mid 50's, a lot of them tend to start letting go of the things they own and realize they don't need, only to find the next generation doesn't value the same things and the value drops.
The nostalgia wears off so to speak with most items.
It happened with balloon tire bikes, it happened with old road bikes too. Every so often someone younger will gain an interest in the things their parents may have had or even their grandparents but its not the driving force that nostalgia was to their parents.
I see it even today in the things that are being collected, the collectible bike market has moved over the years from balloon tire bikes, to banana seat bikes like the Schwinn Stingray, to vintage road bikes, to old BMX bikes, to old mountain bikes, to the last generation of bmx bikes from the late 90's and early 00's.
A certain few of us never forget the older bikes so they retain some value but nothing like they once did.

I also learned over the years that if something doesn't sell right away, it doesn't mean its not worth the price your asking or that your asking too much, it just means the right person hasn't seen it yet.
I don't consider 'fire sale prices' the true value of anything. I've bought items at auction, only to put them right back up for sale and double my money to the same crowd who didn't bid on it the first time around. You figure out what you want for an item and stick to it, eventually someone will come along and see the value you see in it.
If this didn't work, we wouldn't have so many antique stores in this country. What something is 'worth' , and what it sells for are often very different, and that can go in either direction.
Clean and pretty sells, shine that bike up, fix any flaws it may have within reason and put your price on it then wait for the right buyer. If you take less than what you ask, that's up to you, but sooner or later you will find someone out there who likes it as much or more than you.

barnfind

I have to agree here, the average buyer you find on CL or FB doesn't know the difference between low, mid or high end for the most part.
About half the sellers with vintage steel bikes check off aluminum under frame material and would swear to it if you asked about it.
They have no clue as to which derailleur is entry level or which is high end.

When it comes to what a bike is worth, for me, that price is what I would want for it if it were mine. Certainly not the price I'd like to pay for it and certainly not the price it will sell quick at. The last I checked the bike dealer isn't asking any less for a bike that didn't sell today or even last week. The price is the price, take it or leave it. Its your bike, you set the price and take only what you feel is fair.

In today's market, and economy, with the thought in mind that these older bikes are getting harder to find, and even harder to find in nice condition I'd put just about any decent steel, lugged frame, adult bike at $200 minimum and the price goes up from there. You can't even guy a Walmart bike for $200 these days, why on earth would anyone sell something that's survived the last 35+ years for any less. For me, I'd certainly rather fork over a few hundred bucks for a nice older bike vs. buying some department store disaster even if it meant putting some work or money into it to make it 100%.

Narhay

It is a beautiful bike in the nicest colour and in great shape. I'd ask $450 and go from there.

USAZorro

I think the question was "now or later". Past history seems to indicate that bikes that were in comparable positions in their line-ups haven't become substantially more in demand. Overall demand for bicycles seems up, and I'd vote for "now".

Mr. 66

I sold a '78 Grand Jubilee that was not that great before the panic set. It was not as nice as the OP's it sold for $250 was on the market week on, week off, then the second posting it sold.

Had I waited a couple of months it definitely would have sold at $300. $400 for the OP's Motobecane is tad high but one that nice would sell.