It's here... finally, 2 weeks after purchase.
--- (Again, a reminder page, with original auction photos):
http://community-2.webtv.net/
I just wanted to briefly confirm a few things for anyone as curious as I was about this bike.
* The color is indeed that same teal blue as on my 71/72 Motobecane Le Champion. Displayed accurately on the auction photos.
* Serial number stamped on a metal plate below the bottom bracket is: 1794648
* The wheels... YES, they ARE 650B.
* Rims: Drilled for Presta valves. --- Chromed steel (no rust), and have a wavy pattern on the brake flats. --- They are stamped: "RIGIDA ... Chrolux ... Chromage Superieur ... 26 x 1 1/2 x 1 3/8 - 650B ... Made in France"
* Tires: "MICHELIN ... 650B Standard ... 26 x 1-1/2 ~ 40 x 584 [These actually look like the 700c Michelin "Sport" wavy ribbed tread ... in fact, this is the basic model the cheapo Kenda 650Bs look to be dead-on copies of.
Hubs: Normandy (Sport) high flange. stamped with date code 02 75 ( = Feb. 1975). Quick release levers are the Simplex knock-off of straight lever Campy Nuovo Record (with acorn nuts), and the end nuts simply look like knurled Nuovo Tipo end nuts.
* Lighting: Generator is a chrome body Soubitez, with a wheel intended to turn againt the TIRE. --- A small brazed-on clip on the the left seat stay routed the wire up and then into an eyeletted hole on the chromed steel fender. Here one wire travels to the rear tail light on the fender, another follows the fender down to the left chain stay where more brazed-on clips take the wiretoward the bottom bracket, beneath the bottom bracket, up the down tube. The wire then drops through an eyeletted hole in the front fender directly below the fork crown, follows inside the fender to finally exit another hole directly below the front head light which it enters from beneath. ~ Sorry about the lengthy description, but I'm just fascinated how they set this all up.
* Racks: all chromed steel.- solid steel stays also chromed. Racks both bolted to fenders.
* Chromed steel fenders and 4mm U shaped chromed steel stays, attached at the rear of the fenders ~ like Honjo... (and the "Good" alloy French fenders)
* Stem: Atax pseudo-lugged, alloy.
* Chromed steel handlebars. The 4 separate bar grips are sort of a hard rubber/plastic (rather than foam).
* Brakeset: MAFAC "Raid" calipers. These are the longer reach version of the simple "Racer" model. Mafac "Guidonnet" levers
* Derailleurs: Of Course... you guessed it: Simplex Prestige - what else? Clamp-on down-tube shift levers.
* Steel cranks = 36 x 48t
* Seat post (looks like 26.0?) is a straight chromed steel pin and saddle is marked ISCA Selle, Italy... but of course this is a massive flat steel framed chassis with a plastic base under maybe an inch of foam beneath the elephant grained vinyl top. It needs to go back onto a tractor, not this bike.
Total weight is right around 34 pounds.
Well, this initial viewing has certainly answered a lot of my questions. I'm just glad to finally have it here to mess with. Except for the saddle and post, I plan to keep it as original as possible.
Cheers!
Bob Hanson, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA