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You probably understate the case, if anything. Motobecane was especially inconsistent in this respect--even frame parts were substituted on the basis of availability, and component choices changed mid-year--or more often. Then there were customer requests and those gifts you mentioned. The...

Yes, I'm learning how great this forum is. The level of friendliness and civility is especially encouraging. I can't add very much about later MBK products, except that they co-sponsored other teams after 1985 and supplied bikes. Whether they built those frames or not--no idea. I probably know...

Right: Teams had to have extra bikes in reserve, probably for each rider, or at least in different sizes. My guess is that yours was one of those "reserve" bikes, as it showed no signs of use when sold to you. I still have that auction description--I know the history! You didn't upset me at...

As a corallary, I would also state that in 1985, the nominal year of this team bike, MBK may not have had sufficient parts or personnel to outfit a team with all new bikes, nor should it have been necessary. I see absolutely no difference between the frames of these MBK team bikes and ones made...

Whoa! If you are referring to any of my comments you have this completely backwards. Your bike is definitely, without any doubt, a genuine team bike, or an exact replica sold by MBK, and is rare and (in my view) highly desirable--and someone should buy it. (I almost bought it myself, before you...

OK, but this is the 1984 Motobecane catalogue. What do you mean by "confirmed by MBK"? 1984 is the final year of bikes carrying the Motobecane name and colors. The La Redoute team, and thus the team replica bike, existed for only one more year, carrying the MBK name and colors. I've seen no...

Is appreciation of a fine bottom end restricted to the French?

Not seeing objections, I am posting three photos only (apologies for the poor quality), just to give an indication of what seems to have been going on at Motobecane just before that MBK racer was produced. Just assume that the top-end componentry is identical right down to the titanium BB...

Absolutely. This one might go either way, as a data point in the conversation about the 1984-86 period at Motobecane/MBK, when the bike shown at the outset was made, or a self-serving digression. I can say that my heart is pure ...

Of course I have no idea how they made their personnel cuts; I merely state what can happen. Another thing I've learned in my years working with companies is that many outcomes can easily be explained as mistakes in judgment, simple errors in interpreting facts, wrong assumptions about the...

My question as a classic bike enthusiast is in what happened rather than why. Corporations do what they do, and in slight disagreement with you I would add that experienced and expert personnel are often included in early staff cuts because they are the most expensive employees. Sometimes they...

I really don't know what lugged frames other than CF or aluminum wouldn't have been handmade--all required a person with a brazing torch. But some frames might get more hand finishing--cleanup, lug filing, etc. Perhaps this is what they meant. On the other hand, earlier documents, pre-MBK...

This is interesting, thanks. So two things jump out for me: First, there are mentioned three higher-end models built on "semi-artisnal" Columbus SL frames--whatever this means--with different component mixes, without specifying them for any of these models. (I would not assume that "Super...

Does anyone have any MBK brochures showing these "three top models" mentioned above? The MBK brochures I've seen have had nothing equivalent to the SP/Team Champion, though as we see above, it existed. So far as the presence or absence of a number plate tab, I thnk Legrandfromage is right: This...

This frame is identical to that of the 1983 and 1984 La Redoute team replica, right down to the cast Cinelli BB shell with integral cast cable guides and old-style BB set with fixed cup. These were passé by 1985 among French manufacturers, who had moved on to plain shells with plastic guides...

Top-end French racing bikes and components are seriously underappreciated, even in France. This was a no-compromise model built for one of the most powerful teams on the pro circuit. But most buyers know only the big Italian names, Pinarello, Colnago, et al. Forgive them; they know not what they...

I hope Ian still follows this forum all these years later. I wanted to say that the actual situation with these T.O.L. Motobecane is a little more complicated, at least in France. If you look at a French ad or catalog (a 1983 French edition survives), you can see that the top model was called...