RADBMX.CO.UK
Technical & Reference Section => Tech and Restoration => Topic started by: Mikku on May 27, 2016, 01:54 PM
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So with the Free Agent done, it’s time to return to Europe for my next build: a Motobecane MX400:-
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%201.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%201.jpg.html)
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%204.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%204.jpg.html)
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%207.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%207.jpg.html)
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%206.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%206.jpg.html)
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%20021.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%20021.jpg.html)
I love the lines of these French frames, so when this one popped up for sale on here, I couldn’t resist it despite the lack of og forks. I’ve enough parts on hand to make this a much quicker build than the FA, though I’m going to transfer some of the parts over to speed things up a little bit. :daumenhoch: Colour-wise, I’m going for a bit of blue to match the og decals and keep the French-theme going, but otherwise that’s about it!
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%20033.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%20033.jpg.html)
Progress pics to follow in due course!
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Nice to see something different cool :daumenhoch:
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I have always liked these although I can't believe they were race bikes....the design would lend itself to freestyle so well! :daumenhoch:
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Well the freestyle scene was well underway by then so maybe they thought they'd kill 2 birds with just the 1 frame! It's certainly a sturdy piece of kit!! :daumenhoch:
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Cool frame, I nearly picked one up myself a while back. Seem to remember seeing quite a few with Arx or Trx forks :daumenhoch:
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Well the freestyle scene was well underway by then so maybe they thought they'd kill 2 birds with just the 1 frame! It's certainly a sturdy piece of kit!! :daumenhoch:
Quite possibly! I would love to see one built as a freestyler! They look kinda like a Dp side on .... :daumenhoch:
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Nah, this one's going to be a racer! :daumenhoch: It came with some Tange TX1200 forks, so they'll be staying put, and I'll use the Arayas and seat off the Free Agent with some WIN bars I've got knocking around.
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i'm building one of these too at the moment, mines doesn't have the headtube gusset though. mines is going to be a freestyler.
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:4_17_5: always wanted one of these when i was a nipper :daumenhoch:
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WOW!! explosion
That's cool - something a bit different.
Look forward to seeing it finished.
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Great stuff. I like french frames. I will have me a sunn superclass or similar at some point.
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Nothing much to report on this build at the moment. I've recently bought another frameset from the States, so have taken the opportunity to fill the box with some small parts for other builds including this one. Am therefore waiting on an SR stem. I was also offered these pads:-
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Pads%201.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Pads%201.jpg.html)
Despite being for another model and not intending to run it with v-bars, I was still tempted to buy them until I realized that the frame pad would not match the size and design of the top tube, so that put paid to that idea.
Anyways, I'm planning to get this finished over the summer holidays, so more updates to follow then! :daumenhoch:
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It looks cool. Something a bit different. It is similar in shape to a dp, and also reminds me of a pr racing :daumenhoch:
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Nice frame set there. 8)
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nice.. so, Malliard hubs for starters ?
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Thanks guys!
nice.. so, Malliard hubs for starters ?
I've already got a set of those but they're lined up for something else! :daumenhoch: I do, however, regret not picking up a nice-looking set of Mavics for this when I had the chance, so will run it with the Arayas from the FA just to get it up and running.
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Mick I have a few hands in a few French pots ;)
if you are looking for anything stock for this or owt French let me know and I will keep an eye out :daumenhoch:
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Mick I have a few hands in a few French pots ;)
if you are looking for anything stock for this or owt French let me know and I will keep an eye out :daumenhoch:
arigatou gozaimasu. Or should that be merci beaucoup! In any event, cheers me dears! :daumenhoch:
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Have been waiting on this stem, which arrived in a box of other parts the other week:-
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/BMX%20Stuff/Sakae%202.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/BMX%20Stuff/Sakae%202.jpg.html)
With the black and silver top, I've decided to add a bit more black to the blue theme. More pics coming soon! :daumenhoch:
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Tidy is that... flirted with the idea of getting one of these when they've come up in the past. Looking forward to seeing the finished article. :daumenhoch:
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The Motobecane’s all but done, so I took it out for a shakedown ride this morning and some initial pics. I like the way it rides but the trouble is I’m not quite feeling the way it looks. :(
The number one problem is the grips. I went for a bit of a blue theme - not too much but enough to accent the decals. I also wanted to use some A’me Tris that I picked up for a previous build but never used. However, as you can see from these first pics, the grips are a brighter shade of blue than the rest of the blue on the bike:-
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%20shakedown%20027.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%20shakedown%20027.jpg.html)
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%20shakedown%20032.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%20shakedown%20032.jpg.html)
So my first thought was to lose the grips (they’re only repops) and put some black ones on there instead. However, thinking outside the box, I remembered that I had a white seat floating about and thought I’d see what that looked like, since there’s also some white on the decals plus the back side of the Tioga CD disc is white. It’s not era-correct but doesn't look bad, and I think it detracts from the brightness of the grips. Anyway, here are some pics:-
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%20shakedown%20035.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%20shakedown%20035.jpg.html)
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%20shakedown%20037.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%20shakedown%20037.jpg.html)
So Radsters, what do you think looks or would look better - blue grips, black grips, black seat, white seat or a combination thereof?? I should add that I don’t want to spend any more money, so am making do with what I have. :daumenhoch:
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I'm liking that a lot but you are right it looks a little out of sorts. Blue seat for me, something like a Kashimax MX or an Aero would look good, I'd go for the spider and chaninring set-up rather than the single chainwheel and the front end needs fattening up with a 2.125 tyre to give it some balance. What bars are they as they seem to have a lot of sweep on them :-\. I'd lower the seat too not by much maybe so the seat is level with the crossbar.
Sorry, don't mean to nit-pick I think it's cracking bike :daumenhoch:
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Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated! I actually have a blue Kashi MX but it's also the wrong shade plus I'm saving it for another build! Likewise the blue chainwheel I have. The bars are Win pros. :daumenhoch:
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I think keep the black seat use black grips and put some blue donuts on them :daumenhoch:
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I think keep the black seat use black grips and put some blue donuts on them :daumenhoch:
I like that idea - cheap too!! :daumenhoch: Anyone got any dark blue donuts they want to offload? :D
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Black grips and seat and maybe a blue headset locking nut or blue pedals if a near match to the caliper
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like Marty said, seat bit lower ..white seat but mx style maybe though yours is alright, and chainwheel combo, but with a disc (bit like Carls here http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,188250.msg1892098.html#msg1892098) in silver and chainwheel in dark blue or white. Dark Blue gwips (...i'm all navy at the moment again 8)) ....and let's see how dat goes :D
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I reckon leave the seat white and add some white repop a;me's , lose the blue...all black is too boring :daumenhoch:
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Thanks for the comments and suggestions guys - really appreciate it! :daumenhoch:
I'd rather not throw anymore money at this if I can help it, but could probably loosen the purse strings for some grips and/or donuts. ;)
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The sun come out last Sunday, so I stopped worrying about what the bike looked like, adjusted the seat and bars and went out for a spin!
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/SeptOct%20070.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/SeptOct%20070.jpg.html)
Things I learnt and/or was reminded of:-
1. I still love riding a 20" BMX!
2. I'm no longer a teenager!!
3. Every bike feels different. Sounds obvious but compared to the Free Agent, the Motobecane's a completely different beast. Much more weight in the back end, so the front pops up so easily and I have to say, it brought a smile to my face riding it. :)
Received a little delivery yesterday, so will be making some minor changes to get this bike finally finished! Maybe. :daumenhoch:
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Tbh it looks good as is.
If it were mine I'd be tempted to replace the seat only but that is just my opinion
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Liking that, top bombing :4_17_5:
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So I spent about an hour of Sunday morning messing around with seats and grips and ended up with this:-
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%202nd%201.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%202nd%201.jpg.html)
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%202nd%203.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%202nd%203.jpg.html)
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%203%20-%201.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%203%20-%201.jpg.html)
(http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m572/Trident393/Motobecane/Motobecane%202nd%202.jpg) (http://s1132.photobucket.com/user/Trident393/media/Motobecane/Motobecane%202nd%202.jpg.html)
As you can see, in the end I decided to follow the advice of both Amy Winehouse and Bodamus by going back to black with some blue donuts! I'll pop some more info and pics in the Old School Race section but for the time being, this build is done! Thanks for the advice and comments along the way! Merci beaucoup Radsters :daumenhoch:
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Really like that :4_17_5: only thing I'd change is that chainring for me it doesn't suit the build,maybe a tuf neck cross style chainring if you wanna keep a one piece but for me it would be chainring and spider combo :daumenhoch:
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Yeah, I know what you mean about that chainring. I had it on my Free Agent and had the same kind of reaction then, so I should have learned my lesson! What I can say for sure is that I definitely will not be using it for my next build!
Here's the link to the parts list and some better photos:-
http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,188759.0.html
Cheers! :daumenhoch:
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a lot better now bud.. but i agree about the chain wheel.