BikePower

Hello I received a 1981 Motobecane Nomade 1 today for free. I determined the dates by looking at the date codes on the front and rear deraliers. They are WI and WH respectively. According to the internet W is 1980.

I then looked in the catalog for 1981 and found the Nomade 1 was equipped with Suntour Honor rear DR and Suntour Spirt front DR. This was the only year those deraliers were offered on Nomade 1. Apparently it was the cheapest bike they made in 1981.

I was wondering where it was made and if it is worth putting $100 of work and parts into it. It is mostly complete.

Flamboyant Red and Silver were are the only colors listed in the catalog but mine is dark orange so kind of confused about that. The paint is is in decent shape.

The cluster indicated in the catalog is a Sun Tour 5 cogs 14 to 28, so I guess I can check to see if that is original.

Stronglight Crank is whats on there, the catalog says SR Cotterless, SNS 5C 40x52

Chrome plated Cheng Sing 27" wheels with spoke protector

The front wheel is Aluminum and the back wheel is steel so I dont think the back wheel is original or vice versa.

he seat is not original either (Schwinn). Everything else looks stock. Where could I get an original seat? (not that important). and ..

Can someone please advise on this restoration?
Heres a link to the catalog.
CATALOGUES MOTOBECANE: MOTOBECANE 1981 (labibleduvelocataloguesmotobecane.blogspot.com)

If anyone is interested I would be happy to take photos and document the restoration. Thanks.

SurferRosa

You will get more and better help if you post photos.

Here's a better catalog resource for US market Motobécanes (from France):

https://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Motobecane/

BTinNYC 

I have a 82 Nomade, bought it in college because it was cheap and sturdy. It's retained both attributes over 4 decades. If you're interested and close to NYC I can check my garage stash for the original wheelset and saddle, pretty sure I have them.

Putting $100 into the bike is probably not a good investment, yet I put about $200 into my resto-mod, so...yeah. 😜

BikePower

This poor bike.

BikePower

Sad. Crying out for love

BikePower

BikePower

BikePower

BTinNYC 

Maybe it's the photo angles but the handlebars look like they've been bent. A common sense bit of advice I got here was "no compromises from the front wheel to the handlebars". Wheel, fork, headset, stem and handlebars have to be 100% functional, mechanical mishaps in these parts can be horrible-to-fatal. Other mech problems are only annoying in comparison.

I think a good cleaning and new cables, cable shrouds, brake pads, tires, tubes and chain will make it a bike!

Park Tools has excellent bike repair tutorials online

SurferRosa

It's not worth it. Toss the bars, pedals and chain. Keep the crankset, stem and rear derailleur. Donate the rest to a co-op ... if they'll take it.

It would be different if this were a Grand Jubile, Grand Record ... even a Grand Touring. But to spend any money on a low level bike like this that has no sentimental value isn't smart.

BikePower

i dont see anything bent. Maybe it was an optical illusion

BikePower

Then again, the front stock chrome steel wheel has been replaced with a raleigh allow wheel. So maybe it did crash.

Sedgemop 

Motobecane's whole line around this time are great riders. I had a similar vintage Nomade years ago and enjoyed it as a commuter. There's no shortage of these bikes. Moto sold a ton of their entry level models. Where I am, there's typically a few of these in good shape for sale in the surrounding area at any given time for around $100. May not be the same where you are, but they're around. A little searching will probably net you a better example that's ready to ride. If you like the bike though, and it fits, by all means spend $100 to get it rolling. I'd say most of us are losing money on this hobby.

BikePower

how do i get the crank arms off the shaft? I have removed the nuts and lightly tapped with a hammer but they dont move. Thanks.

BikePower

do you think its a better bike than the 72 Schwinn Continental? Also its 25.5" from crank center to top of seat tube

Sedgemop 

Those bikes are going to be fairly similar with the same intended uses, more or less. If I was choosing, I'd pick the Moto. It's probably a handful of pounds lighter with a little better components and a little sportier geometry. Schwinn definitely wins in the paint category, though. They had some of the most durable paint jobs around. "Better" is very subjective. If you're enjoying your Schwinn, keep on riding that thing.

Sedgemop 

You'll need a specific crank extractor fitting to remove the crank. If you don't feel like buying one right now, some bike shops will remove the crank for < $10, or free.

SurferRosa

That's the wrong way to do it.

Most square taper cranks use the same standard crank puller tool. But if you have a Stronglight ot TA crankset, you will instead need a proprietary tool, which is different for each one (TA vs Stronglight). If you use a standard puller on one of those two brands, you will strip the threads and then be s.o.l.

BikePower

mine is stronglite

Sedgemop 

The Stronglight crank pullers aren't cheap. Unless you think you'll be doing more of this, I'd let a bike shop pull the crank. Before I got tools, shops would do it for free or less than ten dollars at the most.