eschlwc

my '81 had an accent on the "é."

looks like they added an "e" in '82.

errantlinguist

Your Google-fu is awe-inspiring; I kneel before thee.

errantlinguist

$215 is overpriced for NY?-- You guys in the US must be spoiled: In many parts of Europe, I would expect something like that to be listed for €400+.

BigChief 

Except for the Vitus 172 frames on 1976 to 1980 models, Moto GTs had Hi Ten frames, so all GTs tend to get lumped into the Hi Ten category. Except for a handful of vintage collectibles, it's hard to get more than 200 dollars for a Hi Ten bike in the US.

rootboy 

I never used that term. But then, I'm outa touch.
If a bicycle didn't look like the "ten speed" road bikes I like,
I paid them no mind.

CuttersRidge

Just saw this on CL, so, perhaps the member is in Europe but thought I'd put this up. Sure, Grand Tours in green are very nice bikes as are Mirages such as this:


VINTAGE 1970's MOTOBECANE MIRAGE TEN SPEED

This next one is a Mixte, awfully nice.



Light Weight: 53cm Motobecane road bike

verktyg 

@eschlwc "motobécane (and maybe ben lawee) spelled "jubilé" a couple different ways over the years."

My 1980 bike is a Grand Jubile.



The 1982 Moto catalog calls it a Grand Jubilee...


The very early Motobecane models were called the Grand Jubilee to go along with Huret Jubilee derailleurs.

Jubilee derailleurs were introduced in 1973 to celebrate Huret's 50th (Jubilee) anniversary in 1970! DOH!

The first Motobecane Grand Jubilee model came out in late 1973 with short cage Jubilee rear derailleurs. The 1974 bike became the Grand Jubile. It originally came with the short Jubilee derailleurs. Those bikes were billed as a "club touring" models. By mid 1974 Grand Jubile model started coming equipped with the long arm touring model Jubilee rear derailleurs.

In mid 1975 Motobecane switched to Suntour Cyclone derailleurs with the long arm touring rear cage.

I suspect that Ben Lawee the US importer was responsible for the change. The Jubilee derailleurs while ultra light were very fragile. They probably had a lot of complaints about derailleur problems especially when sold to inexperienced riders.

verktyg

Chas.

eschlwc

my 1980 bike had an accent on the 'e' (jubilé) as written in gold on the top tube. it had 126mm spacing and no on-frame bosses for a bottle cage nor dt shifters.

verktyg 

Nice bike!

Mine has brazed on lever bosses and bottle cage mounts...



Motobecane had so many undocumented variances...

verktyg

Chas.

eschlwc

verktyg, i think you're right about the wheelbase getting longer for the 1980 year, at least from what i've seen of the earlier jubilés.

errantlinguist

Regardless of what it's called, that's a gorgeous color; I am a bit envious.

bikemig 

We try to avoid sexist language like that in describing bikes,

To the OP: old Motos are out there but you may have to give up on the color that can be very tough to find. If that color really speaks to you, you can always find a paint challenged Moto and have it repainted like your old bike.

I just found a 1980 motobecane grand record in my size totally by accident on CL; you just have to be persistent.

bikemig 

That bike doesn't seem overpriced particularly for NYC. That is a Grand Touring so it's a pretty decent frameset. Heck I could sell that bike to a college student in the fall here in the midwest at that price without too much difficulty esp. with those hideous wheels.

verktyg 

It appears that the 1980 Grand Turing and Grand Jubile frames are the same except the GJ had Vitus 172 forks and stays. This was a common practice among many bike makers to justify a higher price for an upscale model.

The actual cost difference between standard carbon steel (gas pipe) tubing and say Durifort or Vitus 172 was very small.

When we were importing Andre Bertins in the 1970's we started specifying Durifort forks and stays with light weight carbon steel main tubes on the entry level C28 models. The next model up, the C32 had a full Durifort frame with butted main tubes. The up grades only cost us a few dollars per bike! (The C28's had steel cranks, rims and bars. The C32 bikes had aluminum rims, cranks and bars. They were about 3 Lbs. lighter)

A frame with better quality main tubes and standard carbon steel forks and stays may have taken some weight off of the bike but did little for ride quality! Making a frame with only the 3 main tubes Reynolds, Durifort, Vitus, Columbus, Tange or whatever was mostly an advertising ploy! By the mid 70's, customers had been brainwashed into looking at the fame stickers!


verktyg

Chas.

redneckwes

I was under the belief that in 1980 the Grand Touring was a lower level Vitus tubing and the Super Touring was 172.

The old decal on my Super Touring


Motobecane catalog (1980)

CuttersRidge

And the Mirage Sport got shorter chainstays, that seems to be its thing and one year, '83 or '84, Motobecane had 3 Mirages, Mirage, Super Mirage and Mirage Sport. So, that's a bit off-topic but had to add that. A great line up.

errantlinguist

Is that really (easily) doable?-- I keep getting the impression from people I interact with that people just don't "do" that kind of finish anymore (whatever that exactly means, but certainly something other than a modern powder coating), and so I'll "never be able to get it to look like an original". On the other hand, I still have the old frame and so I can easily get a sample of the old paint, so getting the same "color" could theoretically be easy... so what is the truth???

bikemig 

You can get a wet paint that will look very close to the original. You will have to pick out the color. Or you can get a powder coat that looks pretty similar as well. In either case, I'd find someone who specializes in painting bikes.

errantlinguist

Does anyone know what the dimensions are like for different Motobecane/Motoconfort models?-- I keep seeing a few nice bikes on eBay, but I'm afraid that, even if I find a bike with a frame that has "identical" dimensions to my old Motobecane randonneur (56cm seat tube length, 56cm top tube length, center to center), the ride will not fit me (i.e. frame dimensions combined with seat/handlebar type, chainstay length, bottom bracket height, etc.).

For example, these frames are pretty sweet IMHO:

Motoconfort Le Champion 1976 Vitus 172 Parfait Huret Rigida Normandy Ava Atom | eBay
Motobecane Reynolds 531 Stronglight Huret CA 1975 Vintage | eBay

Also, with old Motobecanes which don't have eyelets or braze-ons for racks (like those in the links), is it somehow possible (and safe) to "randonneurize" them so they have the usefulness of my previous ride?

bikemig 

I wouldn't buy the blue bike; that has a replacement fork with eyelets (note the rear drop outs don't have eyelets). The bike may be fine or it may have been crashed.

I wouldn't sweat the exact dimensions too much. You may be able to find old frame geometry by looking at catalogs but what you should mainly focus on is the top tube and seat tube lengths (which you know) and then the brake reach. A longer reach brake will allow you to run a bit fatter tire; a short reach brake means more of a racing bike. A bike without eyelets is also a sign of a racing bike. Is that what you want? If you are looking for something to ride long distances when the weather can be uncertain, I'd want a bike with a longer reach brake and eyelets so it can easily take fenders. In any case if you get a bike without eyelets, it is possible to add a rack but it may be difficult to get full fenders to work.

oddjob2

At the risk of sounding repetitive to certain avid c&v fans @bikemig by saying, "I may have what you want", I think I have a blue Motobecane Grand Touring in 56cm, Vitus 172 frame and fork, that could be made available. If you have the parts off your old Moto, you could just move them over.

Let me know via PM if you have any interest.

bikemig 

The OP is in Europe; those shipping costs are going to be tough, .

errantlinguist

Shipping costs would indeed be tough but I may be willing to pay them if I get desperate enough and the bike in question is nice enough; My green Motobecane-obsessed brain is still trying to process the possibilities at the moment.

CliffordK

If you have the budget, get whatever bike frame you like, and get it painted to your specs. (or paint it yourself).

I wouldn't limit yourself to Motobecane. They did do a nice job of outlining lugs, but that can be done with other bikes, or perhaps you'll choose chrome/stainless lugs.

Gitane also used green on some of their bikes.

With steel, if it can be broken, it can be repaired... more or less.
You can get main tubes replaced and alignment fixed.
Unfortunately, if you have a $200 frame, it doesn't make any sense to pay $500 to fix it (probably).

Rocky Gravol

What I'm looking for is a Grand Jubilee, with a 24" frame.
They were only produced in three years, 75, 76, and 77.

Can anyone help me out?