Can you help me by ID-ing this bike? I purchased this 75-80 road bike (my first), for about $80. Being in a bad shape and no decals… I want to restore and enjoy it.

Been trying to ID it several days now in order to start a restoration project and know exactly how to do it.

The frame looks french, components are Mafac Racer, Simplex derailleurs, Millard M M Atom quick release, Normandy hubs, Belleri handle bar, etc.

Here is a link to a forum I'm active and where there a re lots of details and observations about this bike - https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage-bicycles-whats-worth-appraisals/1175248-can-you-help-me-id-ing-bike.html

For now, it appears that this frame belongs to a manufacturer called Liberia of Grenoble.
Still, I'm not ruling out others like Motobecane, Gitane or St Etienne.

Can you guys help me ID it?
There were many brands of bikes sold all over the world with the same parts and the same lug work as this bike. I can't find anything distinctive enough to positively identify the brand.

The parts and the forged rear dropout indicate that this bike was not a bottom of the line bike. It has:


Stronglight 99 bis crank in a double chain ring configuration
Simplex LJ1000 T rear derailleur
Simplex SJ6011 shift levers made from 1979 to 1980
Simplex SJ A102 front derailleur 1979 to 1989
I can't see the brakes well enough to tell which Mafac Racer model they are.
The stamped fork drop out (at least it looks stamped from the angle I can see) does not match the rear drop out which makes me think the fork is not original.


Using Peugeot (link to U.S. Peugeot brochures) as an example (not saying this is a Peugeot) this component list in 1978 would put you at a top of the line PX10LE. The PX10LE in those years had chromed rear stays so a much less than perfect match but it's in the ball park.

Sheldon Brown has some advice on restoring French bicycles along with a list of makers (not that this bike is for sure French.)

Bottom line, it's a wonderful bike no matter what maker had their name on it. It has been long neglected and needs to be carefully restored.