Motobecane Grand Jubile

[Pondo]

I went into town this afternoon to run errands and this cool old touring bike followed me home. It’s an early 80s (81 or 82) Motobecane Grand Jubile. For $50 I think it was a pretty good deal. Apparently it got used quite a bit in the 80s but has been parked for the last 35 years. It’s a pretty decent bike. It came equipped with Shimano 600 derailleurs and cranks. The rear wheel and derailleur have been swapped so the originals probably wore out. The downtube shifters have been swapped for Suntour bar end shifters, which I like. From my research these weigh around 23 lbs. Frame and fork are made of Vitus 172 tubing. It was well cared for. Despite having been parked for decades it’s still in really good condition. And it rides really well too. The only thing I’ve done so far is to lower the seat a smidge. Plans are for a sympathetic restoration. The original paint is gorgeous, I love the frame and fork lugs. So a deep clean, new tires, cables and brake pads and probably new bar tape & a shorter stem. Maybe a Brooks if I hate the Avocet. I’m pretty stoked on this one. Can’t wait to put in some miles.

 

[ParkRNDL]

Nice. I still have my old Jubilee Sport from high school, probably around 1985-86. It's been hanging in the shed forever, you have reminded me that maybe I should get it out and air up the tires and see if it all still works.

 

[Pondo]

Nice. I still have my old Jubilee Sport from high school, probably around 1985-86. It's been hanging in the shed forever, you have reminded me that maybe I should get it out and air up the tires and see if it all still works.

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They are pretty cool bikes. I expected to be buying this one for the parts but it’s just too nice and good riding for that.

 

[Pondo]

I’ve been messing around with this one a bit looking at codes to figure out what year it is. Most of the components have 1980 date codes so I’m guessing it’s a 1980 or early ’81.

I’ve been gathering parts for the refresh. I’ll be using modern bars, wider with shallower drops, with a shorter stem and a quill stem converter for more comfort. Red bar tape and cable housings are definitely in order. I’ll be sticking with the barcon shifters. The seat is uncomfortable for me so it’s probably going to get a Brooks. I just ordered a more period appropriate Shimano 600 long cage rear derailleur to replace the late 80s Deore MTB derailleur.

Tire choices are really limited for 27” wheels so I want to put 700c rims on it and run wider, tubeless gravel tires on it. I’ve read online that 700c won’t work on a 27” bike but I think maybe that’s for models with cantilever brakes. Some folks have put 700c wheels on them successfully so I tried the front wheel from my Bianchi and it does fit. The 43mm tire fits in the forks no sweat and there’s even more room in the back, since this is a touring frame. There’s plenty of adjustment on these brake calipers to move the pads down to the 700c rim too.

So I’ll get some 700c rims to build up. This bike has a Normandy front hub with an unmarked rim and a Lambert rear hub in a Weinmann rim. I’ve got some 1st gen Shimano 600 hubs that I’ll probably use for the new wheelset.

I’m also going to upgrade the brake pads and get rid of the toe clips.