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1980 Motobecane Team Champion saved from from the dumpster

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1980 Motobecane Team Champion saved from from the dumpster

Old 02-02-23, 12:07 AM
  #26  
chain_whipped
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^ From the link it appears that lucky find was from two years ago. Regardless... dang!

Anyways, my find story isn't quite as exciting but was found in a massive hoard mess August '22. Ironic its sort of a cousin to the OPs bike. Similar color, possibly same age and made in the same factory. Motoconfort Super Champion with Reynolds 531. Not many stateside.

Found as a single speed, garbage wheelset, crank, bottom bracket, just about everything junk, including a girvin flex stem, straight bar, big butt saddle with two inch thick foam, rusted solid chain.

Stripped, cleaned and wax, tossed almost all the parts as it was found, with exception to the Stronglight headset. Didn't go nutz chasing for components and just went simple built with decent Japanese goods- SR triple crankset, Sugino bottom bracket, SR La prade seatpost, SR forged stem, SR fancy marked bar, Regal saddle, ARX shift group. Had to retain some French so now has CLB brakeset (incl. CLB blue hoods) Miche hubs, Miche pedals, Mavic 700c clinchers, fresh cables, pads Tressostar wrap, Velox. That's a wrap. Ciao


Motoconfort Super Champion

Last edited by chain_whipped; 02-02-23 at 12:16 AM.
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Old 02-02-23, 12:04 PM
  #27  
3speedslow
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Sweet!
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Old 02-02-23, 07:54 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by jonwvara
Is the OP saying that he found that bike in a dumpster?
Yup this bike was found at the curb leaning against a garbage can in Redbank NJ.
It needed pedals, hoods, bartape, tires were dry and it had the wrong Selle RS saddle on it that was torn. Everything else was there.


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Old 02-02-23, 07:54 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by jonwvara
Is the OP saying that he found that bike in a dumpster?
Yup this bike was found at the curb leaning against a garbage can in Redbank NJ.
It needed pedals, hoods, bartape, tires were dry and it had the wrong Selle RS saddle on it that was torn. Everything else was there.


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Old 02-02-23, 08:08 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by squirtdad
the whole story please....these are always fun

if this is how it was found....wow
The tires and hoods and bartape were bad and need replacement, it had the wrong saddle and pedals but everything else was there. Just needed the drivetrain cleaned and the frame washed and waxed. Found in Redbank NJ
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Old 02-02-23, 08:17 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by curbtender
I'm guessing these are the after pictures. Sweet bike.
Here's a before pic
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Old 02-02-23, 10:10 PM
  #32  
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I have a lesser French bike I saved from a dumpster. No, it wasn't there yet. At an "as is" sale at the community shop I'd been volunteering at. They set bikes they couldn't sell or re-use that might interest someone outside for one day. $20-40. No test ride. No returns. I went looking for a frame for a fun, light summer fix gear. I'd been riding fixed forever but on bikes set up as winter/rain/city bikes after I stopped racing. Brought a tape measure.

Well, $20 would get me a sport ~1990 Peugeot with internal lugs. Been hit from the side by presumably an SUV. Trashed fork. Dent in top tube, Didn't know it then but both chainstays were about to break. Tape measure said "yeah!". Knew walking up to the cash register that if the bike worked out, it was getting "TEAM DUMPSTER" on the down tube if it ever got painted because without my $20, that's were it was going that evening.

I spent another $85 on a French sized seatpost, brakes, a velodrome worthy 1/8" TA chainring (110 BCD) and a used, probably Bridgestone, fork. Seat, wheels, pedals and cockpit I had. Two weeks later I saw the chainstay cracks. I had some CF on hand, boatbuilder epoxy and old fiberglassing skills. (Used to build racing sailboats.) Fixed. Several months later I doubled the entire investment with a nice seat; the bike was that much fun. A couple of months later I learned this bike (already very much a she!) was named Jessica. Year later I again doubled the entire when my first TiCycles was built and Jessica got painted at the same time. The team on the DT and Jessica hiding the top tube dent.

Jessica served me well for 8,000 miles but I wouldn't ride her into the hills because of the known and unknown car damage. At that point, she served me again as the model for Jessica J, same overall geometry except much higher BB, slightly more trail (Jessica was quick!), titanium because why not and super custom horizontal road style with a twist dropouts for massive chain take-up and instant off with the wheel slid forward to the seat tube. Jessica J hit 20,000 miles a while ago and is my all time favorite ride. All thanks to TEAM DUMPSTER!

Edit: I forgot to say - Jessica's first ride around the neighborhood - more fun than anything I'd ridden since my racing bike in the '70s. Felt that instantly! Very, very quick "all hands on deck" steering, but absolutely perfect. Once I was trained, rode no-hands like a dream. Yeah, I dragged a pedal every time I even just looked at a corner (23c 700c tires and the low "slinky" Peugeot frame), but still - fun! (BB went up 5/8" on Jessica J. Now I rarely touch with 175 cranks.)

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Old 02-03-23, 06:05 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by romanlotus
Blimey! I need to find better dumpsters in my area! The only thing I found was a Peugeot (nothing special) with a cracked seat tube, and a crankset with stripped threads (someone tried standard crank bolt remover on a Stronglight / Spidel crankset) and a few usable parts. I've seen some bicycles that have been abandoned and with notes from the binmen warning about planned removal, but these are usually nothing special and still locked to something.
Beautiful Moto. I have one in exactly the same colour (brilliant blue, I think), but the paint isn't in such a nice condition.

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Old 02-04-23, 05:00 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by VintageSteelEU
Blimey! I need to find better dumpsters in my area! snip . . .
We all need to find better dumpsters.
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Old 02-05-23, 07:11 AM
  #35  
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I just want to point out how nicely assembled this bike is…and presents so well as a result. Great bike. There is not a better category of bike than a French “Campagnolo” bike IMHO…
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