Motobecane Super Mirage

10/7/14 - Recount the acquisition

I have  a Craig's List problem, of sorts.  It is a pass time of mine to peruse the pages of CL.  Sometimes I even engage the sellers on items I know I'll never buy.  I don't really know the real reason I do this.  It is part cheap-skate (always looking for the killer deal) and part entertainment (seriously, some of the posts are quite entertaining).

Lately, I've been looking at bikes.  I sold my Specialized Rockhopper for my asking price, no haggling involved, a few weeks ago.  And though I did so in part to clean up the back porch and thin the bike rack a bit, I kind of wondered if I could find a steel touring bike (for cheap) to replace it.    

Though I wasn't "really" looking, I found a 1984 (?) Trek 620 for $300.  I set a date to check it out.  I went with rose colored glasses to the meeting.  The bike was nice and light and had several extras, like the touring racks and clipless pedals. 

The problems were several, though.  The paint was in a bad way, and it hadn't really been maintained to any degree for maybe years.  It seemed almost slapped together.  So I mulled it for a few days, then moved on.

The Trek got me to thinking about older bikes.  Maybe, if I could find one whose frame was in reasonable condition and parts were available, I could take on a restoration project. Why not?  It isn't like my life isn't hectic enough already with two kids under 5, a house with two and a half rooms under remodel, and a 40+ hour a week job.  What the heck? Why not?

I started trolling CL for vintage bikes.  Not in a real serious way. But I figured if that killer deal came along, I'd jump on it.  I found a Raleigh Grand Prix that, even from the pictures on my phone, looked a bit rough.  But I decided I'd go look at it.   

Saturday was the day.  I was to meet Joe at his storage facility.  Sunny and Pi went to Ballet, so Theo and I had the morning to ourselves.  We loaded up the San Anselmo and the trailer and headed out.  

Oh, and earlier, while having coffee, I was trolling again, and noticed a Motobecane Super Mirage listed.  It was billed as having less than 100 miles on it and then being stored in a garage since; one owner; and, it was asking $100.  So I sent an email asking to see it.  But I had the Grand Prix on the line, so I wasn't all that serious about the Moto.  

Theo and I finally made it to the mini storage.  Though it was only 10:00, he was seemingly ready for a nap.  Getting a 2 y.o. out the door is difficult under the best circumstances...but luckily, he was in a lackadaisical tired mood, not an obstinate tired mood.  So we were off.  

The Raleigh was in poor shape.  Chipped, dented, rusted, components failed.  It made the Trek look like a Cadillac.  While I was thinking of doing a restoration, I wanted to make sure my first rebuild as an adult had a passing chance at success.  (just look at the Kawasaki 440 in the shed, and partially the garage, that I've been "restoring" for years now).  So, I decided to pass on the Grand Prix.  

I also redoubled my efforts to see the Moto.  Before I left the ministorage parking lot, I sent the poster another email.  Just to remind him that I had emailed earlier...in case my email got lost somewhere...  I was thinking of the timing of trying to look at bikes in an already overpacked weekend.  No response yet.

Theo and I started home.  Pastels on the Plaza was on, and we were biking past it.  Theo was interested, but very tired, so we stopped to have a look.  I had "pick up paint" on the list, too, and had planned to swing by Hensel's after the Plaza.  Theo and I got through about a side and a half of the paintings, and he was over it.  He was so tired, I decided to blow off getting paint.  We headed home.

As we were unloading, the Moto poster called back.  Hmmmm.  Nap for baby, go look at bike?  Take car to look at bike...put baby in car seat....nap in car seat....nap for baby AND go look at bike. It was settled.  Luckily there was no one there to argue with me, and my powers of rationalization were at full capacity.  Theo and I loaded up in the van and headed over to Q Street.  (This was another part of the rationalization - it was so close).

Poster and I waved at each other as I pulled in to his driveway.  No bike to be seen as yet.  He was an older fellow, with blue poly pants, white tube socks pulled up around swollen ankles, leather slippers and a dress shirt loosely buttoned over a white tee.  He was kindly and straight forward.  I knew I could trust him.  

We exchanged a few niceties, commented on the crazy hot weather we'd been having, and he showed me through the garage to the bike in the back yard.  There sat the "champaign gold" beauty that would soon be mine. Oh yes, I would have that bike.

He told me he bought the bike from a shop in '77, and, as his ad said, he rode it for less than 100 miles, then garaged it.  He said he liked walking, not biking.  I said, "well, there are two kinds of people in this world, aren't there", distractedly, as I evaluated the bike.  

The frame was in good condition.  There were rust trails here and there over the whole frame, but the paint was pretty good. The chrome was somewhat pitted, but it was definitely restorable. And the mechanical parts were in new condition.

Poster said he didn't know much about bikes. Poster said that he'd bought it in Oakland in '77 and rode is under a century, then garaged it. Poster told me he had extras. Poster told me he had three other emails waiting on the bike. I was definitely hooked. Poster asked what I thought of the bike. I said, "well, if I don't make you an offer now, I am sure you'll have it sold by the end of the day". So I made an offer...his asking price. (probably could have nocked him down a few, but I still think it was a good deal.

So, now I had a Super Mirage to add to the collection...and a project bike to boot. (but only a wafer thin project at that.)