jdawginsc 

I have been digging and digging to no avail. I got sucked in because I thought it was sort of cool; canti bosses, odd color scheme and graphics, . Hoping it sizes out okay...it looked like a great opportunity to build a beater gravel bike type thingy so I took the $115 plunge (with shipping).

My questions:
1. Anyone have any information about what the tubing might be? It seems early 90s to me. My first glance was thin alloy, then I saw rusty-ness.
2. Has anyone ever seen one before?
3. It was difficult to converse in French, so I will have to wait until it arrives, but the French has gone to English threading by then, right? But the Miche is Italian?
4. When did MBK start going back to Motobecane badging? Decal says Saint Quentin France, but it would seem they farmed out frames to Taiwan by then, right?
5. Is this a European model that would not have been sold in the US?

Pictures...and I'll keep it for the build.


Hoping it measures 60 to the top...if not, someone will have the opportunity to buy an MBK. Fillet brazed thingy?

Carbon fiber graphics...couldn't find ANYTHING about it...interesting color combination drew me in a bit. Front rack braze-ons.

Seem structurally sound, and roughly 130 OLD...I hope.

The reason I dipped my toes in. Cantilever and rack bosses and a built in center bracket.

Um. Miche cartridge? Italian BB?

dddd

Where did it ship from? Looks like a Euro model to me.

The tire clearances and the HT angle will be the tell as far as whether this was a tourer or a hybrid. Either will make a fine gravel bike imo.

The Miche bb should be English-threaded and the taper has the look of JIS to me. Even if the bb is still smooth, you will want to re-grease the cups, using a Campagnolo lockring tool (do not use a Shimano bb or cassette tool or it will likely strip the splines imo).
The taper can be measured as shown, with the jaws measuring the spindle thickness at a point on the spindle that is at 1/8" (the jaw's width) from the end of the spindle. JIS will be about 12.9mm and ISO will be about 12.7mm.

machinist42

I suspect your new frame is "Inexternally Brazed," rather then hand Fillet Brazed.

Congratulations on your new acquisition!

rustystrings61 

Miche cartridge BBS are very good- I’ve been using them in my all-roads fixed-gear for 15 years or more now with excellent results!

Looks like the internal brazed construction to me! Cool bike!

unworthy1

Cool find, you'll have the only one on your block, for sure. I may be misled but supposedly the Miche (Primato model?) BB has the unique combo of BSC/ISO threading with a spindle taper that fits Campy cranks, and at a bargain price, plus you can do some minor chain-line fine tuning with these BBs, sometimes. I have used several in builds that needed such a combo, they also install with a Campy BB tool IIRC.

3speedslow

Is the sticker down by the BB some kind of EU thing? Stars around it look like their calling card.

Very nice frame and good attachment points for many types of riding.

Boris Dog

Yes, the stars replicate those on the European flag.

jdawginsc 

Great info! It definitely is not something you see every day. Buying from France was a challenge as google translate does better in Italian not French. The brand is rarely seen/unseen, by me at least, in the US.

it checked off a few boxes...cantilevers, hopefully lots of clearance and a no nonsense construction with shifter bosses for brifter adapters...dropouts and unicrowns look pretty durable.

Dings and rust spots just add to the charm! Doubt I’ll repaint.

...wondering if it was a triple crank BB.

and wondering if it Vitus steel or something of the like...

jdawginsc 

I was thinking Miche and Campy used the same tool...actually hoping. I have the official Campy made tool. Perfect fit and exceptional quality.

jdawginsc 

Thanks! I look forward to it’s arrival in November...

at first I thought it had eccentric shaped tubes with large tube top and ovalized seat tube. I’ll have to see and get more pics when it arrives.

jdawginsc 

I think so. I’ve seen others with similar for more generic brands.

jdawginsc 

That makes sense since Motobecane and Peugeot were doing that in the late 80s-90s I think?

...should be reasonably easy to keep from rusting at the lugs!

Hopefully the colors are easy to replicate for touch up.

rustystrings61 

It is indeed the same tool! My Miche experience has primarily been with the Primato series BB from c. 2000 for the earlier Primato track crankset with the 135 mm bcd. Both units have given good service on a bike that has traveled many gravel roads and served as a commuting mule during the years my children were tiny and there was no time for maintenance.

jdawginsc 

My original plan was to use Shimano tri-color crank and stuff but I think where I’m heading now it will more likely be a Frankenbike build...just have to find the right crank to go with the Miche if it is still good.

tombc

Quoting T-Mar from the other thread linked here:

Anyone know if these MBKs were Canadian made at this one Quebec factory? I heard a whiff, probably on here, that that was the only place that did it but someone else probably knows better.

ShannonM

I'm pretty sure my '87 Peugeot Ventoux had a "Made in France" sticker on it. Fuzzy 30-year-old memory says it was on the NDS chainstay, and had a little French flag and white lettering.

But that was a US-market Peugeot, not a Euro-market Motobecane, so maybe not relevant... plus I could, well, just be wrong,

--Shannon

jdawginsc 

I will see if it has any markings when it arrives some weeks from now. It was a leap of faith, or curiosity...

ShannonM

Oh, I wasn't thinking about the presence or absence of a decal on your bike, just responding to the question of whether or not all of the internally-lugged Peugeot / MBK frames were made in Canada. If my sticker-memory is right, they weren't. Given that yours comes from France, it seems more likely to me that it was built there than in Canada, but I'm guessing.

--Shannon

T-Mar

Procycle in Canada didn't start using internal brazing until 1988, several years after it already been in use by Peugeot in France. Motobecane and Gitane were also producing their own internally brazed frames prior to Procycle.

jdawginsc 

so probably made in France...?

unworthy1

Motobecane catalogs from the '80s showed a range of models that were "inexternally" brazed, the tubing used ranged from plain-gage steel to Columbus. I would guess the specs will correspond to MBK models, too but there was nothing in the Moto range in USA catalogs that had canti bosses and unicrown fork, so it's open to speculation (unless you can fine a Euro catalog scan).

3speedslow

“Arriving in November”? I hope that is on the very outside of the expected arrival date.

Hope it fits you after all the waiting! It will probably become one of your favorite bikes. Versatile ones do.

jdawginsc 

If my Poland odyssey is any rule of thumb, yep November! Hopefully a few weeks though...

it gives me time to see what I have around as far as outfitting it...headset might be tricky and need to wait.

I have tri-color 700c Sun Venus rims I might use...or a pair of Dura Ace/Mavic MA 40s. Will probably have cantilevers, bars, stem, brifters, saddle and pedals ready to go. Might need to decide on RD/FD depending on the BB.

who knows, maybe even a set of fenders!

tombc

cool, always wondered about this.

T-Mar

I can't say, as I know little about the bicycles after they abandoned the USA market in the mid-1980s. As previously mentioned, it's possible that it was contract built in Taiwan or someplace else and that the MBK sticker was applied for internal tracking.