Dale Brown alerted us to the following:
> Auction #150425078304
>
> http://tinyurl.com/
>
> (Disclaimer: Not my auction... No connection to me.)
Sweet! I rode that bike (well one like it, almost same year/parts, same size and color) across the continent in '76, fully loaded with camping gear. As with many classic race bikes from the 70s and older, it made a really good (not just adequate) touring bike if you put bigger tires on it.
Mine had Universal centerpulls instead of Weinmann, does that make it earlier than this one? I thought I remembered mine was a '74 but maybe it was a '73. Or maybe Weinmann/Universal was one of those bike boom standard pot-luck variations? I think mine came (rather strangely for a French bike) with a Nitto Pearl handlebar stem, a truly superior piece. But that Philippe on the eBay bike is pretty nice, and oh-so-French.
Warning, anyone who buys this, if you fit a 63 cm frame then you might be kinda heavy to ride on those spare rims that are included in the auction. I think they (Record Du Monde) might be lighter than any rim on the market today. IIRC, only the Medaille d'Or was lighter, in the Super Champion lineup of the day. Actually I think Record Du Monde, as well as Medaille d'Or and Arc en Ciel, are later models anyway, I wanna say '77-78 -- I don't remember them being around in '74 (at least not with that decal), but that could just be my ignorance.
Even when I was at my racing weight, I didn't dare borrow my wife's race wheels (28 spoke Medaille d'Or front, 32 spoke Record Du Monde rear) -- though I was sorely tempted. We weren't married yet, back when she was racing, so I was still on probation and she might have ditched me if I had ruined her best race wheels.
I don't remember what came on a Grand Record, but a typical rider of a 63 cm frame should probably be on the Arc en Ciel model at the lightest. Or maybe try those new-fangled "weird-on" or "clancher" tires I keep hearing about.
Mark Bulgier
Seattle WA USA