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My Motobécane Grand Record

by Sheldon "Not Quite Tall Enough" Brown

Click for a larger image.

I couldn't resist this bike when I found it at a yard sale. Unfortunately, it's a bit too tall for me, so I wound up selling it.

It has a 25 inch frame (63 cm center-to-top; 61.5 mm center-to-center)
With a 23 1/4" (59 cm) top tube.

This is a lovely mid-70s sport touring 10 speed, of unusually high quality. It features:

• Reynolds 531 complete frame, double-butted tubes, forks & stays.

• Nervex lugs.

• Simplex fork ends.

• T.A. Profesionnel 3-arm cotterless crank, 52/42 with built-in "chainguard."

• Campagnolo Nuovo Record derailer set.

• Normandy Luxe Competition hubs.

• Sun Tour 14-28 5-speed freewheel.

• Wolber Super Champion 58 rims, 630 mm (27 inch.)

• Weinmann center-pull brakes.

• Atom pedals.*

• Ideale leather-covered saddle.*

• Phillipe bars & stem.*

  *These items were not on the bike when the photgraph was taken. The Philipe stem is rather longer than the SR stem shown, which I put on in an attempt to make the bike fit me a bit better.

The paint is in quite good condition, but the Reynolds decals are in poor shape. This bike appears to be a quite low-mileage machine, despite its age. When I bought it, it was covered with dust, but everything was in good mechanical condition.