Willhaap

I recently bought a silver motobecane nomade and i am not sure what year it is. It has a generator light on the fron and a rack on the back. The serial number is 4250504-800. Any details and value would be greatly appreciated.

T-Mar

Welcome to the forums. Motobecane does not appear to have coded a year indicator into their serial numbers. They appear to have been purely sequential. Based on samples in my database, yours would appear to be circa 1978, however you should post pictures so it can be verified. Regardless, photos will be req'd to determine the condition and establish a value.

Willhaap

Got looking more and saw that it has all French components even the kick stand.

Willhaap

I am not sure how to post images. I have them on my phone ut it says i need to upload them via URL. How do you do this?

CuttersRidge

My Motobecane Mirage is silver and we've dated it as 1975. Often the Mirage and Nomade were similar except for possibly the wheels and some of the components. I thought there was an extensive collection of Motobecane catalogs online (not Equus but some other website). I can't find it now. That made it a lot easier. With the French components, yours definitely sounds like '75 or earlier.

Mine looks like this:






Does yours have a chrome tipped fork? Here is an ad from the '75 catalog apparently:


Motobecane Mirage

https://roberttayloronline.com/Rec/Bi...talog-1975.pdf

Apparently he has info.

I have a quick release skewer in front, a hub with nuts on the back.

Nomades are fine bikes. As said, the main difference between them and the Mirage might have been aluminum wheels and a few tweaks like that.

CuttersRidge

Motobecane

This looks like it has alot of those catalogs for Motobecane if one can decipher it, specfications, etc. Early catalogs may be black and white copies.

I also have a yellow Nomade, it even has some number stamps on the seat tube. The one on the seat tube does say something like 73.

We've been through some of this before. One might read the related Nomade threads in Classic and Vintage.

There are even a few lavender-tinted silver Nomades around. I won't forget that one I saw.

1978 per catalog: https://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?g...geViewsIndex=1

CuttersRidge

Nice lime-green tinted Nomade but still with the silver sheen. See this one has no chrome tipped fork blades, hence it is probably late '70s,

https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bik/6157243187.html

Honestly, the frame could have been made one year and used a few years later. I've dealt with that with the Motobecanes.



Lovely bike.

francophile 

I recommend using Bulgier's catalogs and look at 1978, work back and forth 3-4 years: bulgier.net/pics/bike/catalogs/motobecane/

If the generators are clamp-on, probably not OEM so don't use those when comparing. Compare colors, parts in the "specs" section etc.

ryansu

+1 on the www.bulgier.net - /pics/bike/Catalogs/ its were I do all my MB research

AlexCyclistRoch

Well, if it has a kickstand, then it ain't worth squat......

CuttersRidge

Yes, try touring with no kickstand or one's usual grocery shopping.



Anyway, pletscher kickstands are Swiss, Greenfields are? Well, they aren't French so I have some questions about saying a French kickstand.

Kickstands have proper purposes, more bikesnobbery nonsense.

CuttersRidge

+1

A chrome tipped fork or not will end the discussion pretty quickly as to narrowing down the time period.

Willhaap

The fork is not chrome tipped.

francophile 

For race bikes I'd agree. Touring bikes are another story.