bruceinillinois wrote:
Hey Now,

Don't tell anyone, but old Motebecanes rawk. Once found a Le Champion
(bright orange with black decals/detailing and full Campy, mint)

I would like to find a Le Champion, with the lilac paint job. If the
one you found was orange with Campy stuff, I think it was a Team
Champion.


for a
little bit of nothing that fit my mom, who stands 5'3", and got so
jacked she started buying Jack Taylors, then Kleins and beyond. I think
I stole it for $300 or so before Michael Jackson released his first
solo album. Eventually became my sister's bike. But that's another
story.

Googled the part number and came up with nothing. Hmmmm. That's
promising, somehow.

Do you mean the XT FC-M730 crank? It is long discontinued; from the
pre-XTR days when XT was essentially Dure-ace quality for touring/mtb
use. I found a guy who had a few a couple of years ago and bought
three. The Sugino XD is a good choice, too, but a bit more "modern"
looking. I like the XT both for it's quality and it's classic looks.


Have to confess, though, I have no idea what a DX
FD--wait: You mean front derailleur, right?


Yes a Shimano DX FD-M650. I wanted an XT but couldn't find one. There's
really not much difference anyway.


OK. I'm ready to shame myself and go to the Shimano Dark Side, so long
as it works.

Well, if you have an easier time with Suntour (you mentioned a Cyclone
RD), some of the old Suntour MTB stuff (XC-Pro, XC-Comp) will work just
fine, too.


I've had some suggestions to just go with a mountain bike
triple, but that's not gonna work because I'll be needing (I hope) that
52.

Sugino makes a 52 in the 110mm BCD



Tell me, what's the tooth sizes you got with your triple?

It came 46/36/26. I put on 48/38/28

Like I
say, I'll settle for a 30, but I prefer a 28. Or even a 24. Like I say,
I'm getting old.... (And I know better than to go with granny in front
and anything smaller than a 20-or-so in back). And, if you know off the
top, how long is the spindle you're running?

IIRC, the spindle is 116mm. If you decide to go with (and can find) an
XT/DX/LX crank from that period, let me know and I'll measure it to be
sure.



The Nashbar folks say
theirs fits a 115mm spindle. Then again, they also mentioned the word
"cartridge" in telling me what works. Sigh.


The Nashbar crank is made by Tracer. It's a 130/74 mm BCD crank, not a
110/74 like the Sugino XD or my Shimano XT. Decent quality, but very
"modern" looking. OTOH, it comes with the 52T outer you want You could
swap out the 30 for a 28 or 26, if needed. A 24 *might* be impractical,
possibly exceeding the capacity of the FD. It takes a 115mm symetrical
spindle, but something a bit might work (haven't tried it)if you want
more of a double chainline, with the granny mounted very close to the
chainstay.


wrote:
bruceinillinois wrote:
Thanks, Mark. I know Sheldon Brown is the pro on this kind of stuff,
but I'm hoping for a second opinion in hopes of finding a cheap-o but
effective way to do this. I think I could probably put a Phil Wood BB
on--$100 for the BB, and another $45 for the retainer rings(apparently
Phil still offers a French thread version) from Sheldon--then go with a
$40 Nashbar-brand triple (52-42-30), but Lordy. A Sugino set-up would
be so sweet--and, this just in, his Web site now says they have Sugino
BB's (cups only) in French thread. I'll deal with the derailleur bridge
when I get to it. I've got two options for the back: A Campy Rally or
(better yet) a mint-condition Cyclone (my spare parts bin is straight
from the wayback machine). The front promises to be much more of an
adventure, especially if I throw caution to the wind and find a crank
with a 28. I recall Cyclone (maybe it was Huret) made some wacky
looking front derailleurs with extra-long cages that could handle
something like that. We shall, hopefully, see.


Bruce, I have done something similar with my ca. 1974 Motobecanne Grand
Jubile. I found some Sugino french thread cups (but I think your Campy
cups will work, just be aware that there are 2 versions: standard and
those with thinner "walls" that are similar to French made cups (e.g.,
Stronglight). This will affect your choice of spindles), an NOS Shimano
XT (FC-730) crank and an NOS Shimano DX FD. I used a fairly short
spindle, giving a chainline more like a double, since I would only use
the granny on the innermost 3 cogs. I also spread the rear to accept a
7 SP FW. It all works wonderfully, and the Moto is one of my favorite
rides.