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Show your French bikes!

Old 02-17-20, 06:26 PM
  #3151  
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Motobecane Le Champion

I bought this frame at Eroica last year. I checked out the Saturday flea market, left without buying anything and rode back to il Palazzo where @Andy_K asked why I didn't buy the Le Champion frame that was in my size. I raised my hand, Andy threw me his keys, and I went back to pick it up. This 3 day weekend I decided to put it together. The wheel didn't sit centered in the fork, a bit of massaging with the standard tools of persuasion fixed that. I pulled and cleaned the BB, then welded locktited the fixed cup, as I'd seen Andy unwind a couple french BB's in the past couple of years. The frame came with Campy BB and HS, which made life a bit easier. I bought a 7 speed IRD freewheel and new tires, other than that it was a parts bin build. First ride today with Andy, needs a small tweak in the front derailleur, reused chain needs some oil, but other than that it's a quick handling, swift climber. Some particulars: VO 50.4 BCD crankset, 46-30, SunTour barcons, SunTour Cyclone first gen GT rear derailleur, Gen 2 front derailleur. Mavic MA40 rims, Rene Herse 700c x 32mm tires. Nitto 44mm wide bars, Technomic stem that fit into the metric steerer without mod. Brooks Imperial saddle.



First ride today was with Andy up our Bald Peak route. Andy brought his 7 iron.

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Old 02-17-20, 06:35 PM
  #3152  
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@gugie, nice Moto! I envy your parts bin.

Originally Posted by bertinjim
BFisher-

Lovely bikes, those Grand Sprints. Had one identical to the photo but without the dog.
I agree. There is something about this bike - size, geometry, magic voodoo - that is as right for me as I have encountered. I am very fond of it. Here it is sans pooch:

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Old 02-17-20, 06:42 PM
  #3153  
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BFisher-

Thank you for the drive side profile. They are light for being a Vitus 888 main frame with hi-tensile elsewhere but, like Super Courses, they ride beyond their spec point.
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Old 02-17-20, 09:01 PM
  #3154  
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Originally Posted by gugie
I bought this frame at Eroica last year. I checked out the Saturday flea market, left without buying anything and rode back to il Palazzo where @Andy_K asked why I didn't buy the Le Champion frame that was in my side. I raised my hand, Andy threw me his keys, and I went back to pick it up. This 3 day weekend I decided to put it together. The wheel didn't sit centered in the fork, a bit of massaging with the standard tools of persuasion fixed that. I pulled and cleaned the BB, then welded locktited the fixed cup, as I'd seen Andy unwind a couple french BB's in the past couple of years. The frame came with Campy BB and HS, which made life a bit easier. I bought a 7 speed IRD freewheel and new tires, other than that it was a parts bin build. First ride today with Andy, needs a small tweak in the front derailleur, reused chain needs some oil, but other than that it's a quick handling, swift climber. Some particulars: VO 50.4 BCD crankset, 46-30, SunTour barcons, SunTour Cyclone first gen GT rear derailleur, Gen 2 front derailleur. Mavic G40 rims, Rene Herse 700c x 32mm tires. Nitto 44mm wide bars, Technomic stem that fit into the metric steerer without mod. Brooks Imperial saddle.



First ride today was with Andy up our Bald Peak route. Andy brought his 7 iron.
That's a good looking bike. What kind of loctite did you use for the fixed cup?
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Old 02-17-20, 10:05 PM
  #3155  
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Originally Posted by bikemig
That's a good looking bike. What kind of loctite did you use for the fixed cup?
Locktite 222, cause that's what I had.
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Old 02-17-20, 11:38 PM
  #3156  
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Originally Posted by PilotFishBob
Curious - is this it? I got this with a batch of pumps from a shop closing here in Memphis a few years back. Useless to me but I never tossed it.
there was a pump in the 70’s called the No.1 pump? The pump USA? I forget. I won one at a race- double action, “o” ring seal- clear barrel
this reminds me of it.
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Old 02-18-20, 07:24 PM
  #3157  
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Originally Posted by repechage
there was a pump in the 70’s called the No.1 pump? The pump USA? I forget. I won one at a race- double action, “o” ring seal- clear barrel
this reminds me of it.
That is a #1 pump. I had one. It broke like that on its 2nd or 3rd use. But for being a #1-time-only pump it worked great.

Speaking of French bikes, I did my first non-commute ride of the year on this lovely piece of French steel, '83 (IIRC) PF10, nee PFN10. (The N signified clincher tires but this machine rides on sew-ups.

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Old 02-18-20, 11:08 PM
  #3158  
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The No.1 pump one could say was a CONcept.
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Old 02-19-20, 12:43 PM
  #3159  
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Going to put detailed shots of this one on the PX10 thread:
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Old 02-19-20, 10:06 PM
  #3160  
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Originally Posted by KenNC
Going to put detailed shots of this one on the PX10 thread:
Gorgeous! Is it a repaint?
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Old 02-20-20, 09:23 PM
  #3161  
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My 1987 Mécacycle «Chrono» (posted here before but now with revised stem and brakeset). Fillet brazed Reynolds 753. 20.1 lbs

Full details and more pix here:

ipernity: c. 1987 Mécacycle «Chrono» by Peter Kohler



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Old 02-21-20, 05:52 AM
  #3162  
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Originally Posted by mountaindave
Gorgeous! Is it a repaint?
Thank you! It is not a repaint, and all decals except the Nervex and Reynolds decals are original. Lots of small touch-ups to both black and white. I put more pics on the PX10 thread (and a couple of the frrame alone on the before and after thread) and you can see small scratches, etc., that I did not polish out because I did not want to risk removing too much original paint!
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Old 02-23-20, 09:46 PM
  #3163  
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Mecacycle

Originally Posted by kohl57
My 1987 Mécacycle «Chrono» (posted here before but now with revised stem and brakeset). Fillet brazed Reynolds 753. 20.1 lbs

Full details and more pix here:

ipernity: c. 1987 Mécacycle «Chrono» by Peter Kohler



Peter Kohler
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Just a beautiful bike, thanks for the story, purchase, restoration ,and history, Bravo!
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Old 02-23-20, 10:54 PM
  #3164  
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Here's a bike that sort of fell into my lap from CL. It had been advertised as a "Record du Monde" (don't they all say that?) and I had thought of just buying it for parts. But when I looked at the decal indicating Super Competition, my eyebrow raised.

Met the guy and it turned out to be his father's bike and he had been a local racer/club organizer back in the 80's or something. The first thing I noticed was that he had switched the brakes to be right/front - not something the average Joe does - so that gave me some hope of the bike being in decent condition. However, it had been hanging for quite some time and has some rust issues on the tubes, but everything looks very serviceable - even the 23mm tires stayed pumped up when I got it home.

Looks like only the saddle was changed out to an Avocet Touring I. Thank god they spec'ed a Laprade seat post as it was the only thing with a date code: I-79. Best I can tell, based on brochures and the late 1979 date code, is that it is in fact a 1980 model PXN10E "Super Competition" - my first complete, rideable PX-10 And I guess I won't be trying to put fenders on this sexy lady...

Seller's pics, not mine:



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Old 03-03-20, 09:30 AM
  #3165  
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Originally Posted by kohl57
My 1987 Mécacycle «Chrono» (posted here before but now with revised stem and brakeset). Fillet brazed Reynolds 753. 20.1 lbs

Full details and more pix here:

ipernity: c. 1987 Mécacycle «Chrono» by Peter Kohler



Peter Kohler
Washington DC USA

Peter, Only to repeat: What an incredibly fine machine you've found. I also appreciate your detailed write-up. That said, this does look a tad small for you. ; -)
Thanks, again, for posting this.
Owen
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Old 03-08-20, 10:32 PM
  #3166  
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Gitane TDF Upgrade! (...my surprise garage find...)

Last week, while scouring Craigslist for appropriate parts and additions for my ’73 Gitane Tour de France, I spotted this Peugeot PX-10 mixed in with a number of other frames being sold off.


The Stronglight 93 crankset, and unusual seatpost caught my attention, even though the frame was too large for me. I bought it for $20, mainly because the bottom bracket and headset were smooth as new, despite the “ridden hard, and put up wet” appearance of the crank/chain rings.


The rear derailleur also caught my attention - maybe a Simplex SX410? But I didn’t pay too much attention to it at first, as is was covered in decades of grease and probably was about as shot as the chain rings. My bike has a Simplex Criterium rear that is virtually new and shifts just fine, thank you…and anything even approaching later Simplex models, particularly SLJs, are pretty much overkill.


But then the grease and grit came off. Whaaa...an SLJ 5500.
Is it functional? Yes! A little scraped up, but wow!



So I decided to install it and give it a test drive before putting it up for sale...big mistake!


So now I’m on a new quest to find a front SLJ…it never ends. But I love these moments!
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Old 03-08-20, 10:37 PM
  #3167  
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Gitane TDF Upgrade (...last shot...)

...oh and here's my '73 Gitane Tour de France...for some reason I couldn't add it to the end of the last post...

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Old 03-09-20, 12:13 PM
  #3168  
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Guess I haven't posted in here yet.

1976 Motobecane Grand Jubile

Lambert crank, VO 44 tooth ring, 17t fixed cog.

I've got a set of Huret Jubile derailleurs and shift levers, but didn't happen to have a freewheel that the RD could handle, so I decided to make it a fixed gear.

It will likely be getting a set of porteur bars and flat pedals soon for some bike pathing expeditions now that the trail is clear of snow.

Lovely riding bike.

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Old 03-09-20, 06:27 PM
  #3169  
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Originally Posted by NOLA Sekai 4K
Last week, while scouring Craigslist for appropriate parts and additions for my ’73 Gitane Tour de France, I spotted this Peugeot PX-10 mixed in with a number of other frames being sold off.


The Stronglight 93 crankset, and unusual seatpost caught my attention, even though the frame was too large for me. I bought it for $20, mainly because the bottom bracket and headset were smooth as new, despite the “ridden hard, and put up wet” appearance of the crank/chain rings.


The rear derailleur also caught my attention - maybe a Simplex SX410? But I didn’t pay too much attention to it at first, as is was covered in decades of grease and probably was about as shot as the chain rings. My bike has a Simplex Criterium rear that is virtually new and shifts just fine, thank you…and anything even approaching later Simplex models, particularly SLJs, are pretty much overkill.


But then the grease and grit came off. Whaaa...an SLJ 5500.
Is it functional? Yes! A little scraped up, but wow!



So I decided to install it and give it a test drive before putting it up for sale...big mistake!


So now I’m on a new quest to find a front SLJ…it never ends. But I love these moments!
Congrats on your amazing find! In my town the flippers scoop up all the good deals like this and resell at big markups. It's cause for celebration on the rare occasions I get there first.
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Old 03-09-20, 06:34 PM
  #3170  
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Originally Posted by abshipp
Guess I haven't posted in here yet.

1976 Motobecane Grand Jubile

Lambert crank, VO 44 tooth ring, 17t fixed cog.

I've got a set of Huret Jubile derailleurs and shift levers, but didn't happen to have a freewheel that the RD could handle, so I decided to make it a fixed gear.

It will likely be getting a set of porteur bars and flat pedals soon for some bike pathing expeditions now that the trail is clear of snow.

Lovely riding bike.

That's a beautiful GJ. I'm working on a similar one (I think a bit older) right now. May I ask what clues point to yours being a 76 model year?
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Old 03-10-20, 02:27 AM
  #3171  
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Hi,
some updated pictures of my Mercier after cleaning, polishing, .....
(just need to purchase two new tubulars





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Old 03-10-20, 06:15 AM
  #3172  
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Originally Posted by Insidious C.
That's a beautiful GJ. I'm working on a similar one (I think a bit older) right now. May I ask what clues point to yours being a 76 model year?
Thanks!

I can't remember exactly what it is, but there is a serial number stamped into the bottom bracket that includes a "76" in a format that seems to imply that number is part of a date code. That's honestly my best guess, as I bought it as a frameset plus a few extra parts that did not appear to be original.

I know it's not a really early one due to the relatively low offset fork, but from what I've seen in the catalogs it could be anywhere from a 1974-1976.

Also, it's rather curious to me that the seatstay caps are not painted. Every catalog picture of a GJ I've seen has seatstay caps that match the headtube, but this one doesn't have it. The only other picture I've seen of one without paint was from someone here on BF who identified theirs as a 1976.

So, I don't really know, but that's my best guess.
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Old 03-10-20, 02:11 PM
  #3173  
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Here is the Motobecane Grand Record 650b, gussied up for commuting. I overcame my aesthetic resistance and mounted the Planet Bike rack for panniers. I thought I would reconfigure this bike again, but I remembered how much I like it as is, so it will stay this way for a while.



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Old 03-12-20, 01:36 AM
  #3174  
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Nice bike !
It must be very comfortable for commuting.

I have the same bag as you . Very robust and convenient too, and 100% waterproof (tested and approved )
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Old 03-12-20, 08:20 AM
  #3175  
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Originally Posted by Manu431
Hi,
some updated pictures of my Mercier after cleaning, polishing, .....
(just need to purchase two new tubulars
Love that color!
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