{"id":804109,"date":"2026-10-16T04:26:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T04:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/804109\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T04:26:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T04:26:35","slug":"motobecane-classic-bike-cycling-weekly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/804109\/","title":{"rendered":"Motobecane classic bike | Cycling Weekly"},"content":{"rendered":"

By the early 1980s, Motob\u00e9cane was one of France\u2019s old guard. Like its compatriots Peugeot, Gitane, and Mercier, its bikes were still winning numerous races, but its glory days were numbered.<\/p>\n

None of these iconic brands survived the decade, driven to extinction by overseas competition and the incoming tide of new-fangled carbon fibre. French component manufacturers Simplex, Huret, Mafac, and Maillard suffered a similar fate, heralding the end of a Grand French Era for cycling brands.<\/p>\n

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\"Motobecane\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Fortunately, such strife was too distant in the future to trouble Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke, as he won prologue after prologue for La Redoute\u2013Motob\u00e9cane between 1980 and 1983. This large yet lithe beauty, a size 60cm \u201981 model, was his ride midway through his stint with the team.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos FromCycling Weekly<\/p>\n

\"Richard<\/p>\n

Owner of Velopages, Richard Hoddinott is one of the UK’s foremost collectors of Classic Bikes. His collection includes early French models from the early 1900s up to bikes raced on the British scene by the likes to Eileen Sheridan and Ray Booty. All bikes are kept in their original condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so wonderfully Gallic,\u201d says current owner Richard Hoddinott of vintage specialists The Velo Pages. \u201cJust as there\u2019s an expectation for Italian bikes to feature Campag, almost every peripheral component on this Motob\u00e9cane is French \u2013 the elegant 53t Stronglight chainset, the Simplex mechs and shifters, the Sachs Maillard 6-speed cassette, the Maillard 700 hubs and the Mavic Super Champion rims. Only the Cinelli cockpit, Selle Italia saddle and Weinmann 400 brakes are sourced from further afield.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Motobecane\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Motob\u00e9cane was renowned for its frame finishes, and this bike does not disappoint. The deep blue flam metallic paintwork, the chromed forks \u2013 note the seamless Cinelli microfusion crown \u2013 and the rear triangle sparkle as if they\u2019ve been dusted with diamonds.<\/p>\n

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\"Motobecane\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

After retiring from racing, Vandenbroucke built a successful career as a directeur sportif for Lotto<\/a>, where he faced the heartbreaking challenge of coaching his troubled nephew, Frank Vandenbroucke. The French cycling industry fought back too, with brands such as Look, Lapierre and Van Rysel now commonplace in the pro peloton.<\/p>\n

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The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By the early 1980s, Motob\u00e9cane was one of France\u2019s old guard. Like its compatriots Peugeot, Gitane, and Mercier,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":804110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-804109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/804110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}