newbie on a mission

meangenius

John M

I hope that I am not biting off more than I can chew, but I managed to find a old Montobecane for 20 bucks that, while the tech may be out of date, the frame is in really good shape and the bike is functional. I plan to totally rebuild the bike over the winter and begin tri's in the spring. I just wanted to know if a 20 year old bicycle will be compatible with today's tech, and maybe some pointers on what to look for... any info i can get would be helpful, i'm really excited about this endeavor and hope it isn't a bad idea... There have been several discussions on this forum regarding modernizing old frames.

Old frames can be updated with modern parts, but not without significant expense (generally at least $500-600+ to upgrade the drivetrain/wheels)

A nice new entry-level road bike, with full warranty, lighter weight frame, and no issues about frame/component compatibility can be purchased for $600-700, which for most people ends up being a better deal.

That being said, a very nice classic, hand-made steel frame may be worth updating but the owner will have to understand that cost-savings is not a goal of the upgrade, but rather preserving the old bike.

Bikes like your Motobecane are worth tuning up to get them functional for commuting, winter riding, back-up bike, etc....

But if you want to think about the upgrade, here are a few things to consider as far as putting new stuff on the old frame.

1. The rear frame spacing is probably 126mm (maybe 120mm if it is old enough) Current road spec is 130mm and steel frames can be widened to accomodate the wider rear hubs. Aluminum can be temporarily stretched to fit the hub, but cannot be cold set .

2. Threading. If it is an old French threaded frame, it will be very difficult to put a modern BB/Crankset or other new components on as all are now mainly Italian or English thread.

3. Brakes bolt compatibility. New brakes all use a recessed brake bolt, and that is not likely compatible with the old frame/fork. Although the current brakes can probably be kept.

4. Many "issues" will come up in fitting new components to old frames that will require a bit of experience and know-how to deal with. You said that you were a newbie, which means that you may not know how to deal with these as they come up.

Bottom line, I think you are probably biting off more than you can chew. My advice, clean up the bike, replace broken/worn parts with comparable replacements, lube it. Enjoy the old technology and ride it as it is.

If your interest is still piqued, take a look through Sheldon Brown's website. Here is the link for his page on French bikes.

http://sheldonbrown.com/velos.html

Another article that you might look at is this one:

http://sheldonbrown.com/kunich.html

ronco05

meangenius

There have been several discussions on this forum regarding modernizing old frames.

Old frames can be updated with modern parts, but not without significant expense (generally at least $500-600+ to upgrade the drivetrain/wheels)

A nice new entry-level road bike, with full warranty, lighter weight frame, and no issues about frame/component compatibility can be purchased for $600-700, which for most people ends up being a better deal.

That being said, a very nice classic, hand-made steel frame may be worth updating but the owner will have to understand that cost-savings is not a goal of the upgrade, but rather preserving the old bike.

Bikes like your Motobecane are worth tuning up to get them functional for commuting, winter riding, back-up bike, etc....

But if you want to think about the upgrade, here are a few things to consider as far as putting new stuff on the old frame.

1. The rear frame spacing is probably 126mm (maybe 120mm if it is old enough) Current road spec is 130mm and steel frames can be widened to accomodate the wider rear hubs. Aluminum can be temporarily stretched to fit the hub, but cannot be cold set .

2. Threading. If it is an old French threaded frame, it will be very difficult to put a modern BB/Crankset or other new components on as all are now mainly Italian or English thread.

3. Brakes bolt compatibility. New brakes all use a recessed brake bolt, and that is not likely compatible with the old frame/fork. Although the current brakes can probably be kept.

4. Many "issues" will come up in fitting new components to old frames that will require a bit of experience and know-how to deal with. You said that you were a newbie, which means that you may not know how to deal with these as they come up.

Bottom line, I think you are probably biting off more than you can chew. My advice, clean up the bike, replace broken/worn parts with comparable replacements, lube it. Enjoy the old technology and ride it as it is.

If your interest is still piqued, take a look through Sheldon Brown's website. Here is the link for his page on French bikes.

http://sheldonbrown.com/velos.html

Another article that you might look at is this one:

http://sheldonbrown.com/kunich.html
Thanks for the imput. I will definitely take it to heart. I am just now getting into tri's, I have competed in 10 milers and swimming and can't wait to get into this new arena, and think that I can take this bike to a good competitive level for a couple hundred bucks. I know that it won't be as nice as a new bike, but I will learn bicycle maintanance inside and out in the process, which brings me to my next point. I can slowly bring this bike up to speed a piece at a time, w/out a huge one time investment. That seems to fit into my budget a little better. And who knows? Maybe I'll fall in love with triathlons and then buy a new bike!! (and turn this one into the 'backup' you suggested) Plus, I like the old school idea.

meangenius

i just got a 15-20 year old shogun cromo 500 out of a friends garage.the tires fell apart in my hands and the rims were bent.40 bucks for tires,25 bucks for a new seat off ebay and 50 bucks for a tuneup and it rides the balls.good luck.

Thanks for the encouragement, I think i can at least do my initial training on this bike for my first tri. At this point I am riding my Specialized MTB with dual suspension, and while it is a nice bike for its intended purpose, I'd probably be better off running the bike portion of the tri! At least with this MOTO I can make it a project and learn about bikes and maintanance from it. I think it'll be cool.

dgregory57

Thanks for the imput. I will definitely take it to heart. I am just now getting into tri's, I have competed in 10 milers and swimming and can't wait to get into this new arena, and think that I can take this bike to a good competitive level for a couple hundred bucks. I know that it won't be as nice as a new bike, but I will learn bicycle maintanance inside and out in the process, which brings me to my next point. I can slowly bring this bike up to speed a piece at a time, w/out a huge one time investment. That seems to fit into my budget a little better. And who knows? Maybe I'll fall in love with triathlons and then buy a new bike!! (and turn this one into the 'backup' you suggested) Plus, I like the old school idea.
From reading several similar messages here, the consensus seems to be that the majority of an upgrade is all at once.

You can do certain things like bars, and perhaps wheels, but as soon as you start the drive train, then the derailleurs, rear cluster (possibly including rear hub) shifters, bottom bracket and crank all happen at once for interoperability.

If I were you, I would stick to a couple of basics. Leave the drive train alone (except for replacing worn out pieces) replace the wheels (especially if your rims are steel) a nice (but inexpensive) handlebar setup. Alloy drop bars with a clip on aero-bar. Of course, I have no interest in doing tris, so this is all hypothetical and may not represent reality.

If you go any further, I would say that the expense is not justified... even a low end road bike like the Giant OCR 3 is likely to outperform what your resulting bike will be, and it retails for $600.

But, with that said, I seem to be catching the vintage bug, so I would like to see you use the bike in some way...

artmichalek

What kind of distances are these tris? If they're sprints, then a total overhaul isn't going to help your times much. Plan on upgrading the tires, saddle, and pedals now. Throw in a set of clip on aero bars and don't replace anything else unless it's broken. All of this can be done for $200-$300, and if you do get serious it can all be transfered to a new bike.