I’m in…
In May last year I bought this Motobecane Grand Record for $80.
I had actually posted it in the “eBay / craigslist finds” thread (
see original post #61303 on page 2453) when it was listed for sale at $150. I thought it was neat, and it was my size, but I was about to go to Europe for work for a few months and didn’t need another project sitting in the garage while I was overseas. A few days later the seller dropped the price the price to $80 and I couldn’t resist.
I bought some parts for it while I was away including a Stronglight 105 crank and Cinelli bar and stem but I will leave them off for now and rebuild it in accordance with the rules.
One thing I bought that I will use are the Kool Stop Weinmann X pads. To save cap space I am only going to replace the fronts. I paid $24 for the 4-pack, so $12 for a pair.
I have brake and shift cables bought in bulk at some point in the past. I’ll say they were $1 each because I don’t remember. I saved the original cable housings when I disassembled the bike and will try to reuse them.
The bike came with the original Motobecane saddle, but I don’t know where I put it, maybe the garbage. The Charge saddle in the pictures came from my parts bin and is too expensive for the challenge. I have a castoff from my ‘87 High Sierra (not pictured) worth $5 tops that I will use instead.
Complete bike $80
2 brake pads $12
4 cables $4
Saddle $5
Total cost so far = $101
Wheelset, Rigida 27” aluminum rims, 1 original Michelin Elan tire, 1 Spesh Armadillo.
Maillard 700 hubs. I don’t know yet if they are French thread.
SR Apex crankset with non-original 54t big ring.
First gen Cyclone GT derailleurs.
Suntour Power ratcheting DT shifters and Motobecane (Stronglight?) headset.
Original bars showing holes for brake lever mounting as found on many Motos of this era. The levers themselves have been retrofitted with normal clamps. Kool Stop Weinmann pads. Philippe stem, 25.4 clamp, marked 110 but measured differently than Cinelli and noticeably longer. Maybe too big for me to use long term.
SR bottom bracket with 35x1 cup and nutted spindle, yuck.
Vitus 172 fork blades. Steerer is Nervor gas pipe 🙄
Remnants of Vitus seat tube decal. Chain stays are stamped V. 172.