Hello all,
I'm very pleased to find this list. I don't know much about classic lightweights, except that I couldn't afford a decent one back when they were new (I was riding a Huffy back then, and I thought I was on top of the world ;-) ). Today I've become a bicycle commuter, and though I started to do this on recent (and cheap) mountain bikes, I'm gravitating towards old lugged-steel-frame road-style bikes. I picked up a Motobecane Nomade II, it seems to have been made in 1980 or so, according to the date stamps on the components. It has the 'High Tensile' French-made frame, SR Sakae crankset and stem, Maillard hubs, Suntour derailleurs and shifters, Dia-Compe brakes, Avocet saddle. It was a low-end bike in its day, but I'm fond of it nonetheless, and honestly, it's the most comfortable and responsive bike I've had for a while. This bike has inspired me to learn more about the older lightweights, and I'm interested to pick up something a bit more state-of-the-art for the day. I've bought a spare set of Araya alloy rims to replace the cheapo steel wheels that came on the bike, and I'll try building the wheels myself.
Anyways, I did an archive search on 'Motobecane', and came up with something like 2500+ items. I haven't made it through much of those yet, so I'll be primarily a 'lurker'. But I can't resist the temptation to buy stuff from Ebay and attempt to *ahem* upgrade my bike...and there are a lot of oddities regarding what will fit with what, etc., so I hope to use this list as a resource.
Thanks much,
Mike Skolones
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA