SWB0 Grand Jubile the French Connection

My Motobecane project is ready to go so I'm going to get on it. This is an early 80s Motobecane Grand Jubile I picked up for $50 a few months ago. It's an old touring bike in great shape. I purchased it from the original owner who is unfortunately no longer able to ride. I really like the lugged frame and fork and the original paint and decals.




The frame is too big for me and I feel really stretched out while riding it so I'm going to switch to an upright 'alt' style bar and also a shorter stem if necessary. I was looking at how Rivendell likes to set up some of their bars for inspiration.


I'll retain the Suntour bar end shifters


I recently came across a great deal on a 40s or 50s Motobecane saddle in nearly new condition. It's a really nice leather spring saddle similar to a Brooks B72.


That locked it in for me, this bike is getting a makeover. New cables, lube, check everything over. I'll also be replacing the dry rotted tires and the brake pads. I want this to be something I can cruise the paved roads, and some dirt, around here for an hour or so at a time and be comfortable.

It's geared too high for these hills so I've been looking at options. I want to keep the beautiful Shimano 600 Arabesque cranks and the smallest chainring I can get to work with them (130 BCD?) is a 38 tooth. It will have to do.


The 6 speed freewheel has a 34t big cog and I think that should do fine. It came with a vintage Deore mtb derailleur which works well. Since most of the components are Shimano 600 I wanted to match the derailleur better so I got a 70s vintage Shimano 600.



This will be a fun project. As time goes on I may add some racks for longer rides.

I got started on disassembly today. It will be getting all new cables, these are really gummed up. The chain isn’t stretched out of spec but it’s a little loose laterally so I’m going to replace it.


This bike has some interesting parts I haven’t dealt with before. I could use some help figuring out how to disassemble some of it. The brake levers are Suntour Superbe and I haven’t a clue how to get them off. There’s a little nut in there that might do something, I just don’t know.


And there’s this cap on the crank arm. I think it may be a self removing type but I’d like to know for sure before I exert too much force on it.


The top nut on the headset has an interesting shape. Do I need a special wrench for it? It’s a Shimano 600.


And I’ve never come across this seatpost clamp style. It looks like you just loosen the two nuts on the inside. Then hopefully it comes apart?


Thanks for any insights here. It was a fun afternoon messing with this bike. I think it’s going to be a really cool ride.

ingola said:

Loosen that bolt and they'll come off.im pretty sure that is the self extraction type,I wrap it in a crag and use plumber wrench

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Thanks, I'll give that a try.

I found that these vintage Shimano 600 and Dura Ace headsets with the flare nuts do need some special wrenches. But they're not cheap.


There are some much cheaper copies


But with tax and shipping that's going to come close to $50, which is what I paid for the bike. I think I'll improvise and just try not to mar the nice headset.

I finished disassembly today. Things were pretty cruddy and the grease definitely had water in it, so it had been stored outside at some point. The seat clamp came apart the way I thought it would, but it was sticky with age and corrosion. The headset nuts also fit a standard 32mm wrench, so I don’t need to purchase those special flare wrenches. The drive side bottom bracket cup is stuck but it can stay put if necessary. I can still service the bearings. I also tried the new handlebar and I think it’s going to work well.

Bike from the Dead said:

I don't know about most of that, but on the brake levers, from what I can see, either loosening the nut or what appears to be a flathead screw should loosen up the brake levers, and they'll slide right off the handlebars. As for the rest, I've never seen anything like that before!

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The little nut did the trick. I'll have to figure out what the little screw is for at some point.

CRASH said:

Drag forks would be epic on this. Just sayin'

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Yes!! That would be wild

I’m fighting off a bit of a cold that’s sapping my energy but I want to make some progress. The grease in this bike is Uber nasty.


The drive side bottom bracket cup is stuck for days. I don’t want to risk fouling it up so I’m going to leave it in. It’s the obsolete French bottom bracket, I don’t know if they are still available.


I’ll clean it all out from the other side and reassemble. Should be fine. It’s pretty gross in there.


Is it permissible to use Proofide on a non Brooks saddle?

The frame mostly just needed cleaning with window cleaner and a rag. But the cable guides and front derailer clamp had been shimmed with electrical tape many years ago. I got the crusty old adhesive off with penetrating oil and 0000 steel wool. Which scuffed up the paint pretty good. Oops.


I took care of the rust on the chromed fork lowers with the same method. Worked great there.


Then I polished the paint with some swirl remover. That did a good job on it. The paint is fairly presentable now while still retaining the character of a bike that has been well used. More pics in the next post.

I then cleaned all of the bottom bracket parts of the petrified grease, emulsified goop and rust.


Liberal application of Park Tool grease and reassembled.


This is the first time I’ve reused a loose ball bearing bottom bracket and I really would have preferred to replace it with a sealed unit. There’s a little pitting from water damage but it will have to live. If it was an English style bottom bracket I would have used one of my old MTB ones.

It was getting dark so I didn’t get many pics but the headset got the same treatment. The bearings all turn nice and smooth now. And it’s starting to look pretty good. Now I need to order a 38t chainring and a new chain. I still need to service the hubs and then start getting it all back together.

I'm doing a little research with Sheldon Brown and came across some interesting info:

"Some French bicycles, notably many Motobécane models, used Swiss thread bottom brackets. These have the same thread and diameter as French, but use a left thread for the fixed cup. This makes life interesting when you need to remove the fixed cup and don't know which way to turn it. Good luck. Newer French bicycles commonly use Italian or British/I.S.O. bottom brackets."

So my BB is probably actually a Swiss thread, but maybe British. If I ever take it out again I'll check.

Just saw this on the Velo Orange web store. It's pricey, but at least there's something available for folks who may be trying to keep some cool old French bikes on the road.

MattiThundrrr said:

It's an old Honda, it'll work. Might kill someone in a rollover, but the engine will keep running

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Ops, sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up that old controversy. And yes, they are reliable.

This old rear wheel is pretty rusty. It’s a French Lambert hub with a single wall Weinmann rim so not really worth buying spokes for and rebuilding.


In the spares pile I have this decent double wall rim on a Shimano 600 hub with stainless spokes. Much better but someone drilled the rim for Schraeder. Very sloppily at that. So I’m going to clean it up and use it. If I think about it I’ll get a Presta adapter for it. According to @Shrunken_Head_Pedaler it's not hoarding if you use it

The front wheel is a Normandy hub but with an unmarked double wall rim that is actually a better match for the replacement rear wheel. Also drilled for Schrader but had a Presta tube in it. So now I also need to get a freewheel. Something with a nice low gear.