I'm looking at a Le Champion Motobecane on eBay,
http://ebay.com/
The seller lists the tubing as Reynolds 501. I've queried him about the exact tubing type, and his reply is below. I always thought the Le Champion was one of the higher end Motobecanes, and was made from a full set of 531 double butted. According to the CR site, the letters he deciphered are consistent with the french full set 531 decals. I also thought 501 wasn't introduced until the 80's.
Can I assume the seller is mistaken about the tubing type? Any other thoughts on the Le Champion?
Thanks
Tom Adams, Kansas City
The tubing decals are badly worn. There is a triangulr one on the front fork which has the 501 logo and beneath it "fo-p-eaux" (- = obscured letter). The other decal is beneath the seat and reads "garanti construit avec" then the 501 logo and then bits and pieces of words " --orces" and "--urche" are all that I can make out. Pictures will follow as soon as I can. Hope this helps. Jeff
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>From: kctommy@msn.com
>To: jsussmann@earthlink.net
>Subject: Question for seller -- Item #1160543965
>Date: Thu, Jun 28, 2001, 4:34 AM
>
> Hi
>
> I saw your sale of the Motobecane, and I may be interested. Could you
> please copy the exact wording of the Reynolds tubing sticker and send it to
> me? There were dozens of varieties of tubesets made by Reynolds so it
> would help to know exactly which one was used on this bike. 501 was very
> good tubing, assuming the entire bike was made with it.
>
> Could you also attach a copy of the picture, so I can zoom in a bit and see
> some more detail? If you have any other pictures, I'd deeply appreciate a
> copy of them, also.
>
> Sorry to bother you, and thanks for your time.
>
> KCTOMMY
> --------------------
>
>
> Question from: kctommy
> Title of item: Motobecane Le Champion NR
> Seller: sussit
> Starts: Jun-27-01 10:49:36 PDT
> Ends: Jul-04-01 10:49:36 PDT
> Price: Starts at $35.00
> To view the item, go to:
> http://ebay.com/
>
>
>
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