gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » picked up my first gitane!!    View previous topic :: View next topic  picked up my first gitane!!   Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:57 am winetaster Joined: 06 Sep 2010 Posts: 3 Location: milwaukee Hi Everyone, Just picked up my first Gitane not to long ago, Wow i love this bike. I just started riding this summer and have gone thru a series of different older bikes but this one takes the cake. It's a criterium road bike from the mid 80"S I think??? If anyone else can tell me a more accurate year i would really appreciate it! Other than that it has all original components on it from what I can tell. Bernard Hinault turbo saddle and some other hinault stickers on the derailer. Simplex derailers, weinmann 405 brakes, stronglight crank, mavic wheels with normandy luxe competition hubs and a super vitus 983 frame. 1984 Criterium   Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 10:23 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Welcome to the Forum. You have a 1984 Gitane Criterium. Nice bike! (right click to see full size pictures) http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1984/Page_04.jpg http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1984/Page_08.jpg http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1984/Page_02-b.jpg The 3 main tubes are Super Vitus 983, the forks and rear triangle are made of slightly heavier Vitus 181 tubing. This bike uses the same frame geometry as the Team, Super Corsa and Tour de France models. These are super handling bikes. _________________ Chas. SF Bay Area, CA USA ============== 1984 Criterium 1969 TdF 1971 TdF 1974 TdF 1984 TdF x 2 Bikes 1970 SC 1971 SC 1972 SC 1984 SC 1984 Team Pro 1985 Professional 1990s Team Replica   Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 10:46 am winetaster Joined: 06 Sep 2010 Posts: 3 Location: milwaukee 84 thought so, thanks Chas! Based on the specs in the catalog everything does seems to be original, I dont think this bike was ridden very often. A bit off topic, but i see in that gitane had a p.o. box here in wisconsin, Am i to believe that they were making bikes alongside trek?   Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 11:50 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area winetaster wrote: bit off topic, but i see in that gitane had a p.o. box here in wisconsin, Am i to believe that they were making bikes alongside trek? I've looked into the Trek/Gitane connection quite a bit. It appears that for a while in the early to mid 80s Trek was importing and marketing Gitane bikes in the US under the name Cycles de France, Inc. Trek sold some top of the line models as bare frames. They may have even painted some frames and assembled some of the models but they didn't build any Gitane frames that I'm aware of. Sort of an unholy alliance if you ask me, much like the French celebration of the Italian wine harvest! The 1987 US Gitane catalog shows the name changed from Cycles de France to Gitane of America, Inc. located in Olney, IL. In the 1988 US catalog the address is Hastings, MN. There is no US address in the 1990 catalog. Gitane's presence in the US faded away after the end of the Bike Boom in 1974. Mel Pinto Imports in Northern Virgina was the primary Gitane importer/distributor during the 1960s and early 70s. For whatever reason, in 1974, Gitane Pacific in Southern California became the Gitane importers. BAD timing! Gitane Pacific appears to have closed up shop in 1977. For the next few years Gitanes were being imported by a number of small wholesalers and bike shops including 1 or 2 in Northern California. Trek had a reputation for building touring bikes and were not very big in the racing scene until the early 80s. It's been suggested that Gitane's success and notoriety with riders like Hinault, Lemond and Fignon attracted Treks attention and thus the short lived marriage. So, after 1974, Gitanes became less and less common in the US. _________________ Chas. SF Bay Area, CA USA ============== 1984 Criterium 1969 TdF 1971 TdF 1974 TdF 1984 TdF x 2 Bikes 1970 SC 1971 SC 1972 SC 1984 SC 1984 Team Pro 1985 Professional 1990s Team Replica   Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 11:56 am trois tubes Joined: 16 Apr 2010 Posts: 136 I'm with you 100% winetaster. Since 1979 I have (had) many bikes but this one out performs them all. Vitus is a superb tubing and the geometry makes for a very nice ride. Mine has 980 tubing for the fork. Criterium Tubing   Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 7:06 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area trois tubes wrote: Vitus is a superb tubing and the geometry makes for a very nice ride. Mine has 980 tubing for the fork. Interesting, I have eBay pictures of a Criterium frame that I didn't win... It had Super Vitus 983 decals on the forks too but I've seen several without any fork decals. The 1984 specs say Super Vitus 983 main tube with Vitus 181 forks and stays. Both of these tube varieties were made of the same chrome-moly alloy steel with the same kind of strength as Reynolds 531 or Columbus tubing. Vitus 181 forks and stays had slightly heavier wall thicknesses than the equivalent Super Vitus 983 tubes. They would have been about the same thickness as the most commonly used Reynolds 531 tubing while the Super Vitus 983 main tubes would have been much lighter. SV 980 forks would have been lighter yet. With or without Super Vitus 983 forks and stays the frame geometry makes for a superb riding and handling bike. I like the blue color on the 1984 Criterium bikes. It's much more attractive than the "muddy blue" color on my 1984 Super Corsa. _________________ Chas. SF Bay Area, CA USA ============== 1984 Criterium 1969 TdF 1971 TdF 1974 TdF 1984 TdF x 2 Bikes 1970 SC 1971 SC 1972 SC 1984 SC 1984 Team Pro 1985 Professional 1990s Team Replica   Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 7:56 pm winetaster Joined: 06 Sep 2010 Posts: 3 Location: milwaukee chas I have to agree with you on color, this is a very nice blue compared to some of the other blue's out there. GL on bidding the next time a similar bike come up for auction   Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 5:06 pm Wisey Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 631 Location: Brisbane, Australia verktyg wrote: Sort of an unholy alliance if you ask me...... ........It's been suggested that Gitane's success and notoriety with riders like Hinault, Lemond and Fignon attracted Treks attention and thus the short lived marriage. I dunno Chas. I actually wonder if Trek learned a few things from Gitane. Both brands focused on mass production. Rather than ask what is the best way to build a bike, they asked what is the best way to build 10,000 bikes. They existed in very different times in terms of manufacturing technique, but both pursued and achieved the same result. Mass produced racing bikes that were good enough for the Pro's, but cheap enough for the average Joe to own one. The second similarity is their marketing technique: Race on Sunday, buy on Monday. Interesting that these are the only two brands to have won the TdF 9 times, eh? (but Gitane still had more champions ) _________________ Kind Regards, Wisey Delta Dreamin' Gitane and Trek   Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 6:01 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area It was suggested that Trek copied Gitanes frame geometry in the early 80s. A former Trek employee staunchly denied any connection but someone else said that Treks handled better after the honeymoon? _________________ Chas. SF Bay Area, CA USA ============== 1984 Criterium 1969 TdF 1971 TdF 1974 TdF 1984 TdF x 2 Bikes 1970 SC 1971 SC 1972 SC 1984 SC 1984 Team Pro 1985 Professional 1990s Team Replica   Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 8:03 pm scozim Joined: 26 Sep 2008 Posts: 629 Location: Ellensburg, WA verktyg wrote: I've looked into the Trek/Gitane connection quite a bit. It appears that for a while in the early to mid 80s Trek was importing and marketing Gitane bikes in the US under the name Cycles de France, Inc. Trek sold some top of the line models as bare frames. They may have even painted some frames and assembled some of the models but they didn't build any Gitane frames that I'm aware of. Sort of an unholy alliance if you ask me, much like the French celebration of the Italian wine harvest! Trek had a reputation for building touring bikes and were not very big in the racing scene until the early 80s. It's been suggested that Gitane's success and notoriety with riders like Hinault, Lemond and Fignon attracted Treks attention and thus the short lived marriage. Bummer - I just got a 1981 Trek 510 on the cheap (really light) this past Friday. It's feels like a cross between race and touring geometry - long wheelbase but decent angles. It would have been really cool if it had been a Gitane frame but with Ishiwata tubing I'm afraid it's not. _________________ 1984 Gitane Sprint 1984 Gitane Tour de France mid-1970's Gitane Olympic Plus many more http://eburgcycling.blogspot.com   Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 8:23 pm Wisey Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 631 Location: Brisbane, Australia scozim wrote: Bummer - I just got a 1981 Trek 510 on the cheap (really light) this past Friday. It's feels like a cross between race and touring geometry - long wheelbase but decent angles. It would have been really cool if it had been a Gitane frame but with Ishiwata tubing I'm afraid it's not. I still have a 2001 Trek 5500. It's got no gitane mystique, but it's an awesome frame. Modern gear on it for racing. Not quite as light or stiff as the newest carbon but still a great bike. Shhhh, don't tell Sandman that we're talking about bikes from the "dark side". _________________ Kind Regards, Wisey Delta Dreamin' Trek Quality   Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 8:51 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area We sold a few Trek frames back in the 70s. Trek made very well designed and built frames. The build quality of Trek frames was superior to 95% of the sacred hallowed named Italian frames! I don't recall of ever hearing about a frame failure on a classic era Trek bike. Italian frames on the other hand... During their first 10 years of so, Trek never got any respect from the raceur set. They lack vanity appeal! Trek made their reputation during the Bikecentennial era among tourists and commuters as well equipped dependable bikes for everyday use. They used more than just Ishiwata tubing. The also used Reynolds, Columbus, Tange and True Temper tubing back in the day... http://www.vintage-trek.com/Trek_timeline.htm I need to add a Trek to my flock! _________________ Chas. SF Bay Area, CA USA ============== 1984 Criterium 1969 TdF 1971 TdF 1974 TdF 1984 TdF x 2 Bikes 1970 SC 1971 SC 1972 SC 1984 SC 1984 Team Pro 1985 Professional 1990s Team Replica picked up my first gitane!!     gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours   Page 1 of 1   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First  Select a forum Gitane USA----------------Vintage GitaneGitane RacingModern GitanePro Racing - Classics/Giro/Tour....Owner Gallery   Powered by phpBB © 2001-2004 phpBB Group Designed for Trushkin.net | Themes Database.