MBK Special pro…thoughts?
- Thread starter sefton1275gt
- Start date
I'll just pop this here before retiring for the night. Some great pictures and an idea of the scale:
https://encycloduvelo.fr/motobecane-mbk/
https://encycloduvelo.fr/motobecane-mbk/
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 spindle and alloy toe strap buckles, but the frame is different in small details, as shown. The bottom bracket shell and cable guide are of a type already seen on most French higher-end models of the period, not the incast Cinelli model, and the dropouts are Huret. There is no number plate tab--not unusual with the custom models. Otherwise the frame and fork are of the same construction as the bike in the auction. I'm not sure what to make of this, other than that MBK was continuing, for 1985, the team sponsorship that had existed under the Motobecane banner and saw no reason to change the equipment. Perhaps they'd already stopped offering that model, or had a limited supply of those BB shells and dropouts and they simply got replaced with these others. 1985 was the last year La Redoute team, so no more of those bikes after that. My guess is that when the example below was built, new production of the La Redoute replica had already ceased. This bike is 100% original except for consumables and installation of a longer stem.
So, returning to the original topic, I regard the MBK team replica being auctioned as a rare survivor, the very last of its type, and probably an actual team bike; the existence of the bike bike below, a nearly contemporaneous "Special Pro," seems to increase that probability.
So, returning to the original topic, I regard the MBK team replica being auctioned as a rare survivor, the very last of its type, and probably an actual team bike; the existence of the bike bike below, a nearly contemporaneous "Special Pro," seems to increase that probability.
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dorset boy
Senior Retro Guru
And at the bottom end 
Strangely a head turner to the older French guy ?
Strangely a head turner to the older French guy ?
dorset boy
Senior Retro Guru
Bonne derriere
marshalllucky
Retro Guru
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 marketing materials from MBK listing this bike, though clearly some were produced (or updated) for that racing season. At the same time, we have several years of Motobecane ads, catalogs, and dealer communiqués establishing an "a la carte" program and a top "SP" or "Special Pro" model that was fully customizable--for the French market, anyway. The resulting bikes could be exact team replicas or end up different, according to customer preferences and availability of supplies and parts. The La Redoute Replica describes one set of options, and the only top-of-the-line configuration, or Team Champion, exported to my country. Eventually, production of this model variant stopped--when? When the parts ran out? When the La Redoute team was canceled? Did MBK even sell the bike to the public? I've also seen no indication that MBK continued the "a la carte" program. I suspect that under Motobecane management the program was already winding down--that would be 1984. By the way, you can distinguish between a 1983 and 1984 team replica/Team Champion by the headset: The A9 roller bearing model was not made available to the public until 1984. Another clue is the pedals. Extremely late models like the MBK team bike in the auction, or my SP, came with Maillard 700 CXC platform, or "aero" pedals. The '84 catalogue doesn't show this; it was printed too early. I would be interested if anyone has actually seen a team replica in Motobecane colors with this headset and these pedals. They are truly end of the line Motobecanes, and like the MBK LR team bike, perhaps not offered to the public.
marshalllucky
Retro Guru
Here's also a photo of the late great Paul Sherwen in the 85 TDF . Note the race number is actually attached to the rear brake cable if you zoom in ( it's better on a PC ) also note the Cinelli bottom bracket shell same as my bike ( the original one in the auction thread ) . I don't really know where this thread is going or why people are trying to disprove mine could possibly have been a team bike , I personally think it highly likely a team spare that was never used and never bore a riders name but I cannot and will never be able to prove it and does it matter anyway?. I've learned a lot from all the comments on this thread which is why I love Retrobike and the knowledge and experience of the people on here.
