Vintage French randonneuer's and porteurs.
- Thread starter Guinessisgoodforyou
- Start date
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Perhaps a Dutch only model? I've not seen that lug type before.
grantoury
Kona Fan
I wouldn't know. I haven't seen many Gitanes here. Mostly Peugeot and Motobecane. The lugs are vaguely familiar to me, but I am not sure why.
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
A completely original 1970s Motobecane Demi course, I'm fairly sure its a 1979. Very nicely restored.
Last edited:
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
That poor chain 
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Fin
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
1978/9 Motobecane D2 Demi Course, a loved bicycle. Owners translation below.
Hello friends,
Here are two photos of my Motobecane half-racing bike, my faithful steed for getting to work every day of the year, including winter.
It would be from 1975 and is still equipped with cranks assembled with cotter pins.
The only changes I've made to the bike are replacing the original saddle, because the foam was disintegrating, with a Nakamura, and fitting a speedometer to measure my speed records without breaking the sound barrier!
Turns out it's a 1978/9 Motobecane D2 not 1975. I've had this bike for 7 years now and I've used it again recently as my daily rider. I told myself that riding is all very well, but that one day I'd have to carry out some in-depth maintenance on its mechanics. At the start of the year I set about dismantling the whole thing to de-oxidise the chrome, check the bearings and their lubrication and remove the few paint chips on the frame. The photos below were taken at the start of the reassembly.
The results were very positive, with no problems of pronounced wear on the parts, although I did replace all the screws and bolts because some were badly oxidised. The cotter pins were the black spot of disassembly, reassembly was no problem.
In the end, meticulous reassembly followed by greasing and adjusting the clearances gave my faithful steed a new lease of life.
Finally, at a recent garage sale, I found a bell bearing the Motobecane logo in the middle of a rusty scrap metal slag heap, the finishing touch to this restoration.
A quick run-in after reassembly to check that the tightening and adjustments are right.
Photo taken on the banks of the Rhine at Drusenheim at the ferry.
Hello friends,
Here are two photos of my Motobecane half-racing bike, my faithful steed for getting to work every day of the year, including winter.
It would be from 1975 and is still equipped with cranks assembled with cotter pins.
The only changes I've made to the bike are replacing the original saddle, because the foam was disintegrating, with a Nakamura, and fitting a speedometer to measure my speed records without breaking the sound barrier!
Turns out it's a 1978/9 Motobecane D2 not 1975. I've had this bike for 7 years now and I've used it again recently as my daily rider. I told myself that riding is all very well, but that one day I'd have to carry out some in-depth maintenance on its mechanics. At the start of the year I set about dismantling the whole thing to de-oxidise the chrome, check the bearings and their lubrication and remove the few paint chips on the frame. The photos below were taken at the start of the reassembly.
The results were very positive, with no problems of pronounced wear on the parts, although I did replace all the screws and bolts because some were badly oxidised. The cotter pins were the black spot of disassembly, reassembly was no problem.
In the end, meticulous reassembly followed by greasing and adjusting the clearances gave my faithful steed a new lease of life.
Finally, at a recent garage sale, I found a bell bearing the Motobecane logo in the middle of a rusty scrap metal slag heap, the finishing touch to this restoration.
A quick run-in after reassembly to check that the tightening and adjustments are right.
Photo taken on the banks of the Rhine at Drusenheim at the ferry.
LondonClassic
Retro Guru
Handy bikes when you're scoping locations to film your 'low budget European art movie'.
bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
Back before
shades, tight shorts and a 'tache were replaced with
a helmet, lycra and shaved legs
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Motoconfort Special Sport 1975, owners translation below.
Hello,
It's been a while since I've done anything and I've been struggling with my ‘work-in-progress’... To take my mind off the troubles of AutoMoto and Bianchi, I've rehabilitated this nice 1975 Motoconfort Special Sport, in a pink livery, which I don't think is very common.
Its equipment is rather motley but all original, I think:
Huret derailleurs. Allvit at the rear, very nice!
Dia Compe brakes that look just like Weinmann brakes,
Nervar 50-42 crankset
Weinmann rims and Normandy hubs
The layer of grease was quite impressive, so much the better, it protects against rust. All I did was change the handlebars and brake cables, clean everything up and apply a coat of varnish... It runs like a charm!
Hello,
It's been a while since I've done anything and I've been struggling with my ‘work-in-progress’... To take my mind off the troubles of AutoMoto and Bianchi, I've rehabilitated this nice 1975 Motoconfort Special Sport, in a pink livery, which I don't think is very common.
Its equipment is rather motley but all original, I think:
Huret derailleurs. Allvit at the rear, very nice!
Dia Compe brakes that look just like Weinmann brakes,
Nervar 50-42 crankset
Weinmann rims and Normandy hubs
The layer of grease was quite impressive, so much the better, it protects against rust. All I did was change the handlebars and brake cables, clean everything up and apply a coat of varnish... It runs like a charm!
