reluctantsuburb

Cruising Facebook for a casual commuter that I can convert to a more upright cockpit but something with a reputable steal frame (mostly have been on the lookout for 80s Japanese sport touring frames) and came across this 58cm GJ. Poster says it has Reynolds 531 tubing, which I believe makes it early 70s. Any thoughts on this bike? Price is listed at $325

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...2143803535233/






Their description:
• Shimano 600 170mm double cranks. • Shimano 600 alloy headset. • Suntour Cyclone rear derailleur. • Suntour Superbe front derailleur. • Campagnolo brake cable clips. • Campagnolo Record downtube shifters. • Weinmann 610 center pull brakes with Weinmann brake levers. • SR alloy seat pillar. • Avocet seat. • Weinmann alloy 27in rims with Normandy high flange quick release hubs. • French made Pivo 110mm alloy quill stem with 39cm, center to center, Pivo alloy drop bars.

I saw a few conversions of this frame to 650b, which interested me, as I think ideally I would like a wider tire for our crappy city roads, but that may mean the frame is too small for me at 6'1", 89PBH.

Classtime 

I can't see the add and additional pictures. The fork doesn't look original what are they asking? I'm currently making my 50 dollar '74 G.J. Rideable and it looks like 35s will fit with 700c wheels.

3alarmer 

...here's one of mine that is more or less stock as it was originally sold. That one looks like a frame that had been stripped of components and rebuilt from someone's parts box.







There are some issues with replacing a Jubilee rear derailleur with a Suntour, but it might work OK anyway. The stop is in a different place on a Huret original dropout. I can't see the fork well enough to make out the quality of it. Generally, something like this that has been cobbled together from random components and does not have the original fork will not bring $300 here where I live. Slso, I'm pretty sure therrre is a French threading issue with the BB shell, which you might want to avoid. But it can be dealt with if you have some knowledge and patience. Lastly, the frame tubing diameters are metric 531, which is different (smaller)than regular 531. This can make finding and fitting some of the components that strap to the frame harder. Again, not impossible, just harder.

...it's priced at $325. Yeah, the fork looks like a replacement to me, too.

bikemig 

The bike would be great for your purposes (some sort of retro neo Riv tribute) but the price is too high even if the bike had the original fork. Personally I avoid bikes with replacement forks unless I know the history of the bike.

reluctantsuburb

Yeesh, sorry y'all. I really goofed up the original post. Priced at $325, and was having a hard time getting pictures to upload. Will revisit the OP to update.

3alarmer, as always, thanks for the pics. It's really helpful to see the side by side comparison

Thanks for the tire estimate!

reluctantsuburb

Thanks bikemig, appreciate you continuing to provide advice across threads. Agreed on price. Seems like I come across a lot of bikes that are already flipped OR too small. This one I was mostly drawn to by the 531 frame and (if I'm being honest) lugs.

bikemig 

Sometimes you have to be patient to find the right bike at the right price.

Old Motobecanes are really nice. They have good looking lug work and if you get one that originally came with center pulls brakes (like the Grand Jubilee, Grand Record, or Grand Touring), they will tend to have generous tire clearance. Certainly my 1974 Motobecane Grand Record fits a 27 x 1 and 1/4 with no problem and were I to switch to 700c, I know it could take a 35c.

Classtime 

$325 is high for a cobbled together G.J. Today. An original '74 with great paint went for 250 here recently. However, I do see Campagnolo dropouts on yours (like mine) which is attractive but I would wait for a "nicer" one

reluctantsuburb

Great, thanks for the input

reluctantsuburb

Too true...I'll continue surfing and watching

bikemig 

One thing you could try is to post a WTB ad in the C&V for sale forum. I believe you need to be a paid member to to this but that's cheap and gets rid of ads. The members of this list are sitting on a lot of inventory and the prices tend to be better than eBay but not as good as facebook/craigslist once you throw in shipping. Still at least you get a bike that someone has looked over and so they are likely in better shape than the bikes you find locally.

reluctantsuburb

I know it's too much $ ($270), but this Schwinn Voyageur at 58cm caught my eye. I think it may be slightly too small? Seems to be an '86 from what I can tell.

Think I can talk the guy down?

3alarmer 

.
...if someone is asking $280 for what I see in the pictures, I wouldn't bother. When stuff is obviously overpriced on CL, the guy who has overpriced it is usually not all that much fun to deal with. He has some idea based on what he read somewhere that what he has is valuable, and it's a fool's errand to attempt to open a sensible dialogue. There are a lot of people in used bike world who have unrealistic expectations. I try like hell to avoid them, because life is short. Then you die.

Insidious C. 

I usually pass by any ad with pic of bike on stand or asking price of $2xx or S3xx. Those are flippers. You are competing with them for the nice $50 -$100 bike that regularly pop up. They don't last long so you have to act fast. Or pay the flipper 3x (or more) what he paid.

Mr. 66

Here's the forks lightened up the best I could. They look like the paint has been taken off half way down.

reluctantsuburb

Thanks for taking the time to do that--interesting to see!

hwheel72 

I saw the same bike and like others, I think it is way too high priced. This has been listed for about 3 weeks now and no movement on price. As for the forks, it does look like the paint was removed for a full chrome look. Components are spotty and looks like it was thrown together for a quick sell. $150 sounds more appealing.

Noschwinns

The Motobacane Grand Record was supplied with a full 531 tubeset including fork blades. The Grand Jubile was the model below it and came with only butted 531 main tubes (and possibly fork blades, I don't recall). You may want to take this information into consideration in deciding whether it's a bike you want. As I recall, the early Grand Records sold for about $275; the Grand Jubile $230-240. The Huret/Stronglight 49W drive train was it's main component appeal.

Correction! I went out for a run and to clear my head, and realized I'm wrong. Take two:
The Motobecane Grand Record was supplied with butted 531 main tubes and fork blades, as I recall. The Grand Jubile was the model below it and came with only butted 531 main tubes. You may want to take this information into consideration in deciding whether it's a bike you want. I think the early Grand Records sold for about $275; the Grand Jubile $230-240. The Huret/Stronglight 49W drive train was its main component appeal.