Lapebie 1982 531

Hello - I got an old lapebie racer - wasn’t much money and have tried to clean it up as best I can. Frame is astonishingly light -10kg or so. Some nice detail but also plenty of scratches, some rusty. Any views welcome - also advice on whether to sell or keep. It runs smoothly. If it has some value I’d probably sell as not so practical with 10 gears. Thank you.

Nice find!

Looks like it has a 531 main triangle ("3 tube renforcées" decal?). The gold MAFAC brakes are cool.

I believe it may be have been built by Ets Betbeder, in Oloron Ste Marie. They produced bikes for various brands, including Lapebie.

It is a nice French mid level bike in decent condition, and if I came across one in my size for "not much money" I'd be interested. What I like about bikes like this is that, compared to the top-of-the-line models, they give more than 90% of the thrills at less than half the price.

That also means they are not worth a whole lot. I don't know about your area, but here it would be a €150 bike at most. If presented well, in the right season, and with a knowledgeable buyer.

Thank you, very helpful. I got it for quite a bit less but had to put a tire on and clear it up. Still a lot of chips and some longer scratches on the frame with rust. I guess normal and not worth repainting fully. Will I guess use for a while. Yes, brakes look great I think - might be worth selling separately I suppose (?)

Repainting will lower its market value, so unless you plan to keep the bike and want to make it your own, I wouldn't. Besides, it's only original once and to me it already looks great as-is. With some careful cleaning and polishing it will look awesome.

BTW, what's the practicality issue with 10 speeds? Too many? Not enough?

Thank you. The gears issue is maybe a stupid comment. The last time I was on a road bike was circa 1982 on a raleigh winner for xmas! That had 10 and i assumed road bikes have gone the way of mountain bikes making it easy to go uphill. But actually pedalling this is not so difficult, albeit I’m not the fittest. Just happened to come across two vintage french road bikes for relatively little and took a chance to see if I’m into it without spending a fortune. The other one is a GGinet - also 531 and i paid 3x as much (still not much) but maybe not actually as good overall, though better paint work.
Anyway, so far so good - i really like the silent and smooth ride of both - feel solid even though v light. I suppose a modern bike would be something else but I’m really impressed. Am only concerned the frames are too small and short - certainly the ginet is and with a raised saddle it’s heavy on the arms...might have to reluctantly let it go. Taking one step at a time...

Quite a score, by the sound of it! G.Ginet bikes are fairly well-known in France, but not so much elsewhere. Their bikes are pretty cool, in my book. I certainly wouldn't mind a pic or two.

I have ridden a modern-ish carbon bike - a Colnago C50, no less - and was impressed by its low weight and how it felt, but very much put off by the racket the modern drivetrain made and how the frame seemed to amplify that. I love the near total silence of my steel bikes. Just the occasional creak of the leather saddle and the silvery tingle of the freewheel when coasting.

WRT gearing: parts for these old bikes can still be found fairly easily, so changing the gearing to your preferences in terms of range, progression and increments shouldn't be too difficult.

Here you go - needs a polish but less scratches