 |  | | | |  | |  |  | The bike gods were smiling on me. |  | |  |  | |
 Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 2:48 pm |
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| FORDSVTPARTS |
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| Joined: 25 Sep 2010 |
| Posts: 32 |
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Picked this up this morning, still don't know exactly what I'm paying for it but let's just say it'll be a steal.
Can the gurus here shed some light on the year and model for me? I haven't even had a chance to look really closely at it.
The serial number appears to be 4 254 61 although it's pretty hard to make out.
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| | | | | | | | | 1975 Tour de France | | | | | |
| Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 3:53 pm |
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| verktyg |
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| Joined: 14 Jan 2007 |
| Posts: 2814 |
| Location: SF Bay Area |
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Greetings and welcome to the Forum.
Your bike is probably a late 1975 or early 1976 Gitane Tour de France. It has a full Reynolds 531 frame with chrome plated "socks" on the forks and rear triangle. The 1974 and many 1975 TdFs only had the 3 main tubes made of Reynolds 531 and the rear triangles were painted, not chromed.
Thinking back, we got in at least one TdF with Huret Jubilee derailleurs.
Many of the earlier 1974-75 TdFs had Simplex Criterium derailleurs but a few came with Huret Challenger derailleurs (so did a few Interclubs).
Most of the 1976 model TdFs came with Huret Success derailleurs. They had titanium/aluminum alloy bodies on the rear derailleurs. I've seen a few 1976 TdFs that still used Simplex Criterium derailleurs.
Most of the components look original except for the seatpost, Brooks Pro saddle and 1st generation Weinmann Carrera side pull brakes.
These bikes had MAFAC center pull brakes, either the 2000 or Competition models. The pedals may be replacements too as some of these TdFs came with Lyotard 460D pedals.
TdFs came with chrome plated steel seatposts and cheap plastic saddles on the early versions. In 1976 they appeared with Ideale 2000 padded leather covered plastic saddles.
The Campagnolo high flange Nuovo Tipo hubs were standard along with 27" Mavic Module-E rims and Michelin Elan tires.
The Belleri stem and Guid bars along with the Stronglight P3 headsets are all original too.
Nice find!  |
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Chas.
SF Bay Area, CA USA
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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 |
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| Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 4:14 pm |
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| FORDSVTPARTS |
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| Joined: 25 Sep 2010 |
| Posts: 32 |
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Thanks for the info!
So Mafac racers would be wrong for this bike then? I was thinking the brakes looked too new and I was thinking about throwing on a set of Racers I've got in the bin.
I'll be starting on this one once I can put the two dismantled Uo8s that are in my garage back together.
Sorry for my ignorance but where did this bike fit in to the Gitane lineup, I'm guessing it was near the top? |
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| | | | | | | | | Mafac Competion Brakes - Mid 70s | | | | | |
| Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 5:54 pm |
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| verktyg |
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| Joined: 14 Jan 2007 |
| Posts: 2814 |
| Location: SF Bay Area |
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Mafac Competition Brakes from the mid 70s.
Levers with black hoods.
There were several styles of these 2nd generation Competition (2000) brake calipers and levers. Here's some with a different type of crossover cables. These also have the 1/2 hoods.
The Weinmann Carrera brakes on your bike worked pretty well. I liked them better than Campys because the brake block material STOPPED! |
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Chas.
SF Bay Area, CA USA
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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 |
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| Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 9:13 pm |
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| Kinst VonSterga |
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| Joined: 26 May 2008 |
| Posts: 153 |
| Location: Hillsboro, Oregon USA |
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Love the color/combo and chromed socks ... I think the Huret dropouts are a beautiful novelty of the 70s Gitane. Is it 60cm? Nice to see some of the clunker steel parts (ie. seatpost) upgraded to something more fitting the quality of this bicycle.
Sun has an incredible effect on anything petroleum and/or rubber based (making them hard & brittle), regardless of the brand, so I would recommend swapping out those 30+ year old brake pads for something new  Probably the same for the tires and lever hoods ... too bad we can't do the same for our sun-dam-aged skin.
Again, great find/purchase! |
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| Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 4:52 am |
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| sandranian |
| Site Admin |
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| Joined: 27 Feb 2006 |
| Posts: 2701 |
| Location: Southern California |
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| FORDSVTPARTS wrote: |
Sorry for my ignorance but where did this bike fit in to the Gitane lineup, I'm guessing it was near the top? |
Yes. Very near the top. These were just below their "pro" models at the time, the only significant difference being the dropouts (Huret on yours vs. Campagnolo on the pro models). |
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| Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2010 4:19 pm |
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| FORDSVTPARTS |
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| Joined: 25 Sep 2010 |
| Posts: 32 |
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It's about a 62cm frame, I can't wait to get started on this one.
Of course I've got about six months to work on it here with our fine winter months coming up.  |
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