gitaneusa.com :: View topic - Preservation vs. Restoration and Updating

tjchad

Since I got my Gitane as just a frame I added Ultegra 6600 brakes and derailleurs, Dura Ace brifters, an old shimano 600 crank, Biopace chainrings (it was laying around), in the rear there's a Mavic Open Pro rear rim on an Ultegra hub and up front a Mavic Rimtec aero rim on a 105 hub. There is a 1" to 1 1/8" steerer adapter with a 3T Mutant stem and generic bars.

verktyg

You got it as a bare frame, hang anything you want on it... but that stem??? Evil or Very Mad

The paint looks very nice, a good candidate for a full component restoration someday.

tjchad

Yeah, the stem... I thought it looked cool but once it's on the bike, not so much. I'll most likely just look for a nice quill for the bike. The Mutant is too long for me anyway and looks out of place. It's probably more suited to a carbon frame- it just does not fit the look of a thin tubed frame.

Wisey

You could get one of these. Llewellyn sell the stem kit in the USA, so any frame builder can get one and build it to your required size and paint to match your bike. You could even put a gitane decal on it.

Personally, I think the Cinelli 1A is still the stem of choice for an old skinny tube lugged steel frame.
I'm not usually a big fan of white bar tape, but I think it would look great on your bike. Nice looking modernisation.

sandranian · Site Admin

I am with Chas. and Wisey: Cinelli 1A!

tjchad

Yeah, yeah... I know. A quill will look nicer and help preserve the cleaner lines of the bike. I may end up with a Cinelli. Right now though the Mutant is off the bike and a shorter stem is on. I am trying to fine tune a good position before getting a stem. These stems are easier to swap the bars around as you don't need to remove and rewrap the tape each time.

I think I need a 90 or 100mm length stem so I'm close.

sandranian · Site Admin

bowser

ive kept my team pro as original as posssible i used wire wool on the worst bits and touched them in with a paint mixed at an auto repair shop
then "buffed" it with a fine finishing polish. i really wanted to keep the original decals in place close up you can pick all the faults out but as chas says 5ft away it looks ok. i aim to add used original components as i go
but i have built it to ride at the moment as i couldnt wait any longer to try it out!
also as mentioned the cost of new old stock parts and a re spray and re chrome would prove beyond my budget im afraid . i tend to go for bikes that are un restored and attempt to preserve them

tjchad

Hi Bowser, I would like mine to be original as well but, like you and Chas mentioned, finding correct components can get expensive. I am happy with the updated component group though.

If you look closely at the frame it appears to be an '87 Team Pro with different paint and decals. It has a Reynolds 531P tubing sticker in French, Campy dropouts on the fork and rear, the rear brake cable routing enters and exits the top tube from the underside and it has the number hanger.

I will dig up some closeups I took of the frame details when I first found this site and was trying to ID the frame.