1982 Motobecane Jubilee Sport
#26
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Beaverton, OR
Posts: 14,742
Bikes: Yes
Mentioned: 525 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3230 Post(s)
Liked 3,862 Times
in
1,439 Posts
I tried to align the bottom of the levers with the flats of the drops. I do have the entire bar rotated up/back just a bit, because I'm not much of a road rider. It could, any probably should, be rotated down some (the entire bar). To be honest, as nice as this bike is, I'll probably sell it on to help finance some of my other bike projects. My other C&V project right now is a 1960s Peugeot Mixte that I'm really enjoying. I'll have some pictures of that bike this weekend as well.
I did put a lot of elbow grease into the wheels and the crankset on this Motobecane. I think the crankset turned out beautifully. It's not a particularly "nice" or rare piece, but it really pops in the sun. Same for the Blue Line group. I like this group so much, I hate to sell it on with the bike!
I did put a lot of elbow grease into the wheels and the crankset on this Motobecane. I think the crankset turned out beautifully. It's not a particularly "nice" or rare piece, but it really pops in the sun. Same for the Blue Line group. I like this group so much, I hate to sell it on with the bike!
The bike looks fantastic. Nice work.
__________________
My Bikes
My Bikes
#27
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Northern Shenandoah Valley
Posts: 4,138
Bikes: More bikes than riders
Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1443 Post(s)
Liked 759 Times
in
568 Posts
And then I get frustrated with the bar tape and not being able to easily configure and swap things around without re-wrapping stuff all the time. I'm used to flat bars where, if you want to change a brake lever or a shifter, you just loosen the lock nut on the grip and slide it off. I haven't really gotten into the Road Thing yet. This is my second dip-my-toe-in-the-water round, and this bike feels better to me than the Schwinn, but maybe not good enough to keep long term.
I suspect that I'm not spending enough money to find a road setup that'll keep me interested. But that's probably a discussion for a different thread.
#28
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Beaverton, OR
Posts: 14,742
Bikes: Yes
Mentioned: 525 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3230 Post(s)
Liked 3,862 Times
in
1,439 Posts
BTW, I thought the Jubile/Jubilee thing was an interesting curiosity. My ‘75 Grand Jubilé has the accent mark, but just barely. In my head I pronounce it joo-bile just for fun. Alternative, grahn zhoo-bi-le ouh houh houh! (The last part is important for proper self-mocking of an American trying to use French pronunciation .)
#29
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Northern Shenandoah Valley
Posts: 4,138
Bikes: More bikes than riders
Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1443 Post(s)
Liked 759 Times
in
568 Posts
As far as the ride, it seems nice. I'm not a C&V expert, but I'd say the ride is good, even with the thinner tires. Being an '82, it may be a little past the era of bikes that really "rode French", I don't know. My other project, that Pug Mixte, definitely has a soft ride quality to it.
I briefly had a flat bar on this Motobecane while I was still tinkering with it, and it seemed to be comfortable. If I could put 35s or 40s (tires) on it, then I might have done something a little different with it (city bike with uprights, or C&V "gravel bike" with modern drops). The extant 105 brake calipers will JUST reach a 622mm wheel, so a "700c" conversion would be doable.
Last edited by hokiefyd; 06-08-18 at 01:43 PM.
#32
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Northern Shenandoah Valley
Posts: 4,138
Bikes: More bikes than riders
Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1443 Post(s)
Liked 759 Times
in
568 Posts
Thank you, though I confess that it was remarkably clean under all the dust. It didn't need a lot of mechanical restoration. It has a new owner now who was pleased to own it!
#34
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Northern Shenandoah Valley
Posts: 4,138
Bikes: More bikes than riders
Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1443 Post(s)
Liked 759 Times
in
568 Posts
It was significantly more than I paid for it, but I also put some new parts on it, or parts from my stash (new chain, new tubes I think, etc.) and I basically disassembled the entire bike for cleaning and re-lubing. I aim to at least break even with parts and I write my time off in the interest of learning and/or doing something I enjoy. I never truly make money on any of the bikes I buy and sell when factoring in personal time invested. :-)
#35
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Middle Earth (aka IA)
Posts: 20,433
Bikes: A bunch of old bikes and a few new ones
Mentioned: 178 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5887 Post(s)
Liked 3,469 Times
in
2,079 Posts
That bike looks great; new tires would help but that would make this bike cost more than $45. $10 for the bike and $35 in parts is a great deal on this bike. If you plan on flipping, there is no reason to invest in new tires.
#36
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Berkeley CA
Posts: 2,533
Bikes: 1981 Ron Cooper, 1974 Cinelli Speciale Corsa, 2000 Gary Fisher Sugar 1, 1986 Miyata 710, 1982 Raleigh "International"
Mentioned: 97 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 929 Post(s)
Liked 1,289 Times
in
486 Posts
Beautiful job! I'll happily give you $11 for it.
#37
Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 9,181
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
Mentioned: 132 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1562 Post(s)
Liked 1,285 Times
in
856 Posts
I'm late to this discussion, but would have suggested using a bench vise to clamp down on areas of the rim where the brakes grabbed. I have to do this often on certain of the early Japanese racing-style clincher rims having a tightly-fitted sleeve at the rim joint.
And as for the big chain gap, just last week I investigated improving the shifting on my Pro-Tour with it's Cyclone GT rear mech with 13-28t 6s freewheel.
What I did was to remove metal from the B-tension screw boss, allowing the derailer to swing forward enough to really improve shifting response.
I used a Dremel with a round-point carbide bit to make an indent for the derailer hanger stop to fall into. This of course after removing the B-tension screw completely.
The non-GT cage I believe has an offset pulley cage (guide pulley offset away from the pivot) which would close up the gap (when using 28t and smaller sized freewheels).
And as for the big chain gap, just last week I investigated improving the shifting on my Pro-Tour with it's Cyclone GT rear mech with 13-28t 6s freewheel.
What I did was to remove metal from the B-tension screw boss, allowing the derailer to swing forward enough to really improve shifting response.
I used a Dremel with a round-point carbide bit to make an indent for the derailer hanger stop to fall into. This of course after removing the B-tension screw completely.
The non-GT cage I believe has an offset pulley cage (guide pulley offset away from the pivot) which would close up the gap (when using 28t and smaller sized freewheels).
#39
Full Member
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Arizona
Posts: 364
Bikes: Many!
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 186 Post(s)
Liked 206 Times
in
124 Posts
Very lovely, and nearly identical to mine. I’ve enjoyed every bit of the ride quality myself!
French steel is quick and real! I hope the new owner is enjoying the ride.
e: A photo for the road
French steel is quick and real! I hope the new owner is enjoying the ride.
e: A photo for the road