Motobecane Grand Sprint
It’s strange that all three of these bikes I bought this year all dated to 1978, a fine year to buy a Motobecane. Two of these were the same model with very similar specifications, the C2, or as it was known in the UK, the Motobecane Grand Sprint. Both were all original and in very nice condition for their age, retaining the sewn leather handlebar tape and their accompaniment of “M” branded components, the brakes, crankset, saddle and brake hoods. Vitus 172 main tubes, with the 28-19 decal on the fork, identified this model as a mid range bike, as the more expensive C3 and C4 bikes were built with full Reynolds 531 tubing. At the top of the range for this year was the “Le Champion” ( the C5 ), built with the highly prized and very light Columbus SL tubes.
Taiwanese Parts
Both these C2’s had the same Huret gear systems, nothing fancy but bulletproof and working as well as when they were first shifting decades ago. A testimony to the quality of vintage steel bikes of the era, both were very quiet and smooth on the road, a joy to ride. It shows that Motobecane was still making good quality bikes late in the decade of the 1970’s, though they were already being supplied by a Taiwanese company for their branded parts.
Frame: 3 Tubes Vitus 172
Forks: 28-19 steel
Wheels: Rigida Rims, Normandy High Flange Hubs
Motobecane parts throughout ( crank made in Taiwan )
Belleri handlebars
Weight: around 25lbs for the 56.5cm frame
French threading: crank, bottom bracket and steerer.
The 172 tubes would be replaced by the 888 a couple of years later.
Hi could you let me know how much this is worth .Please.
Hi, thanks for the question. I sold this C2 for £120, but I have a habit of underselling bikes. I imagine a C2 in good condition could be worth between £125 and £150.
With that bike I made a real wonderful tour from Salzburg to Nice (Cote d`azure) in 1980 🙂
Passed all the Alps and made a lot of climbing…….
Thanks for the comment, Wolfgang, it sounds like you had an amazing ride back in 1980! Climbing those mountains must have been brutal at times..
Hi Dominic,
Beautiful bikes you have! I actually have a red Grand Sprint myself and am looking for a seat post for it. Based on the measurements I’ve taken, I am 99% sure it’s a 26.0 (as opposed to a 26.2, which they also made) but thought I would confirm that with you since you have one as well. Cheers for the help!
I have bought this little beauty for my son. A junior edition with the same specification as above.
Thanks for posting, that’s a cool junior version of the red Motobecane above. I wish I’d had one of those when I was young..
I bought a 1980 Grand Sprint in red without wheels for $20 US. I am going to build it up with a mix of period components( some Campagnolo NR) as soon as it get back from powder paint. It was a bit rusted around the cable braze ons so I wanted to make sure that was taken care of
Thanks for the post, nice bike!
Just picked up one for free. Looks like groupo was switched out to Ultegra gearing. I’m a Cannondale guy so looking forward to new brand
Sounds great, any chance of a photo of it? Thanks!
came across Vitus 888 tubing Grand Spirit in KY about a year ago.. Shimano Ultegre DeoreLX ungrade.. has been on bike stand for 5-10 years.
I’m a Cannondale guy but was Profs. bike at UL that I know was riden back and forth from campus (14 miles) on good weather days. Should I part out the bike? or rebuild ?
The bike store went out of business 20+ years ago…
Hi, sorry for the late reply. I hope you rebuilt it! Cheers!