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Ignatius

Dear enthusiasts!

Greetings from Norway!

Let me first say that I deeply appreciate all the help you can give me with my Gitane. I have deep respect for the interest, and knowledge, you guys have about this charming bikes. I will try to make my questions so that you won’t have to use a lot of time answering them.

I bought it a week ago and I must admit I dind`t really know what I got myself into. My goal is to get a sweet, vintage bike that can perform for commuting and a bit of exercising.

I guess I should admit one thing right away. I love the bike, but I don’t want to spend more money on this “project” than I have to. I hope to get a high end Gitane frame on a later occation, then it will feel right to put some money in it.

The first thing I did was to strip off the mudguards and stuff and threw the rotten tires and tubes that were on it (I have stored the mudguards and dynamo).

On the bright side the frame seems to be in good condition. A bit of patina for sure, but the paint job is still very nice and shiny. I do not know exactly what kind of Gitane it is. I’m curious, but it’s not my main concern. I’m guessing it’s a low end mid 70’s touring bike. If anyone knows for sure I would be pleased to know.

On the down side…. Where to begin??

1. The wheels are pretty crooked and the rear wheel is missing a spoke. Will these spokes be easy to get hold off? I will try to tune the wheels, but I’m also realizing I might have to build new ones.
2. The rear derailleur is a bit off. I had to make new threads for the bolt that holds the wire and get a new “fixture” disc. I still haven’t done all I can do here, but it seems to be working poorly at best. I also need to get new limit screws. I will try my best to fix this but I’m not too optimistic about it. When you look at this picture it seems to be a funny angel on the shifter.

3. The bottom bracket is wobbly. I will try to tighten it soon. I have read a lot of the posts about the French treading and stuff so I don’t think I need to ask about this.

4. The brakes might work once I get the wheels straightened, but for now they just make a lot of noise and does little to slow the gypsy down.

5. On the front chain rings the chain runs very un-smooth. When you look at the picture you can see that it hardly hangs on to the ring. The chain that’s currently on the bike is a Sedis (I think). This might be caused by the angle of the chain, and perfectly normal, but it seems odd to me.

Like I said I will try to limit my questions and make them as precise as possible; here we go:

1. Will new/modern wheels fit on this frame?

2. Can I buy a modern rear derailleur and tune it to cope with the 5 speed cassette?

3. Can I buy small parts for the Huret Luxe components on this bike? If yes, where?

4. What kind of chain will fit this bike considering I’m keeping the cassette and front chain rings?

I deeply appreciate all help I might get from you guys. I hope no one gets offended when I talk about replacing the original parts with modern anti esthetic ones.

Best Regards

Are I.R.

Norway

verktyg

Greetings and welcome to the forum.

Your bike looks like a 1974 or 75 Paris-Roubax or similar European model listed at the bottom of this page.

http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1974_pg5.jpg

The rear derailleur is banged up. That model Huret never worked very well so after you get some tires I'd recommend replacing the rear derailleur with one from the late 70s or early 80s.

Any bike shop worth their salt should be able to replace your broken spoke.

Make sure that they know what they are doing and have had experience working on older bikes.

The next thing that I would recommend is getting some newer wheels with aluminum alloy rims. They make a world of difference in ride and handling.

There are lots of 700c size tires available. I'd recommend some that are a little larger than today's popular racing style tires.

Find some commuting/touring tires, 700x28c or 700x32c (622x28 or 622x32).

Ignatius

Thanks for the prompt and informative answer.

Rear derailleur needs to be replaced so I will start looking for that. Any tips on which specific derailleur I want to be looking for will be appreciated.

When I think about the wheels it seems like I have two options.

1. Build new ones with the original hubs, but with more modern rims. Will any 700c rim do the trick or do you have any specific recommendations?

2. Buy a complete wheel set that will fit. Will these fit? http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=31957
It says that the ”Axle Length - 108mm / 141mm.”

As for the chain, I would still appreciate tips on which will fit. If I change the free wheel the circumstances changes of course, but I’d still be pleased to know what chain dimension that will fit, on my existing Maillard free wheel.

Either way, my first priority will be to work on the bottom bracket. It seems like this is the Achilles heel of my luscious gypsy. If I can’t make it work with my existing BB…. I guess I have to stay positive. I guess you will agree that this model frame don’t deserve a lot of money put into it?

Thanks again!

Are

scozim

Great color on your bike. Should be a fun project.

Personally, I'd look for a Suntour V-GT or V-GT Luxe rear derailleur. I put the first on the old Gitane I had and it worked beautifully.

For the wheels, as Chas says go with aluminum. If you like the hubs then re-use them. I re-used the hubs on another early 70's French bike and had them laced to a set of tubular Super Champion rims. Probably overkill for a low end bike but it really made a huge difference in weight and stopping ability.

For a chain go with a SRAM PC-830 or PC-850 or the KMC X8. I've used the KMC the past few times and it's easy to install and shifts great.

If you can get a cotter press - do so. Makes getting the cotter pin out a whole lot easier. Or check with your local bike shop - they probably have one. Do you want to stay with a cottered crankset or go cotterless?

If you go cotterless Velo Orange sells a new cartridge french thread bottom bracket for around $40-50 US.

Scott

Ignatius

Glad you like the color, I do too. My goal is definitely to have a fun project. It’s hard not to get impatient though. Can’t wait to take the golden gypsy out in the fresh summer days, and let her twinkle in the sun. We have beautiful roads for biking here in Norway. What used to be the main road 15 years ago is now a side road. What used to be a main road 30 years ago is now a side of the side road. Eeh.. lost my train of thoughts here…

I have started the search for the derailleur you recommended. Found one at Craiglist and have e-mailed the seller. Not sure how to sort out the deal though. Living in Europe and all the payment/shipping situation might be an issue. PayPal?

I would like to use the original hubs. Since I can’t build the wheels myself the price for the labor will be at least half the price of the wheel sets. I’m used to getting wheels built for my DH and Trial bikes, but like you say Scott, it might be a bit overkill for this bike, or as we say in Norway, like shooting sparrows with a cannon.
Any suggestions for a decent complete wheel set? Once again I have to ask, will these fit? http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=31957

I appreciate the info regarding chains. I no longer consider that a problem.

As previously said I will try to make the existing BB work, I think my lbs has a cotter press, but I have still had a look at Velo Orange. Seems like a good option if I can’t fix the one I have. What spindle length should I chose? Please advice. Do I want to stay with a cottered crankset or go cotterless? I really don’t know. I mean I don’t suppose I understand the difference, but I guess cotterless is more modern and easy to use/maintain. I guess this switch will include a total change of the crank, with arms and “everyting.” Seems pricy?

Once again, thanks! It makes all the difference in the world when I have someone to “share” the project with.

Best regards

Are

scozim

gmany

The truest wheel set I have is the one I built. That may not be saying much since I buy everything used, but the wheels I built are spot on.

The tutorial I used is here http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html
You can use google translate to read it in Norwegian.

Buy the necessary parts and follow the instructions. Be attentive to the instructions and be methodical.

After you have the wheels built you can bring them into a bicycle shop and have them check the spoke tension.

Ignatius

I havn’t heard from the seller at Craiglist.
Since he might not be too keen on shipping I have checked EBay. Like you said, Scozim, it is plenty of opportunities there.
For instance this store: http://stores.ebay.com/BikeMe-Vintage-Bicycle-Parts.

Thanks for the tip on where to get the cotter press. If my lbs can’t supply me with one I will go ahead and buy one, from Bikesmithdesign. I will leave the cotter/cotter less dilemma for when I know if replacements will be required. Thanks for teaching me about the differences though.

On the rims that’s on the bike now it says 28 x 15/8 / 8x1 1/8_700c. I suppose this means it’s 700c and the brakes are already set up for 700c. Wouldn’t 700c make it easier to get tires, or will 700c tiers fit the 27” rims?

This wheel set seems interesting:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-UKAI-SANSIN-700C-BICYCLE-QR-6-SPD-WHEEL-SET-/160595234790?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item256438cfe6

I guess it will fit if my dropouts takes 126mm. How do I measure this? From outside to outside, or inside to inside of the dropouts? My hubs are made by Atom. It looks like these:

http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=06930AB5-5D82-439D-B6D3-EEF7DAA06576&Enum=110&AbsPos=0.
Velobase “says” that these hubs are 126mm. Can I, as we say in Norway, consider this to be good fish?

The thought of building the wheel set is very appealing, very “Thoreauish.” I have two questions regarding this:

1. How do I decide what spokes length to buy? It’s not like the spokes calculators help me out when I type in Atom as hub name. I found this page:
http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/spokecalc/
Would anyone know these dimensions for my Atom low flange aluminum hubs?

2. What do I do if try to build the wheels and they turn out to be no good. Like Garrett said I can take them to my lbs, but might my efforts result in more work for the mechanic than if I had trusted him the assignment in the first place. (That turned out to be a pretty imbecile question, but hopefully you will understand what I mean.) Considering I don’t break anything, attaching the spokes to the hub and rims will save the mechanic time and thus me money right?

Like Scozim I have other bikes and I’m still able to get my dosage even with the gypsy on the rack. For now this project (it feels a bit bombastic to call it a project) isn’t so much about the actual biking. It’s all about making it work and learning as much as possible. (Bleeding disc brakes and tuning suspension seems like a walk in the park compared to this.) Most importantly it’s about dissatisfying all my friends who’s having a ball gloating over my lack of judgment when buying the bike. In the last week I have heard about 100 different stories about different French products who failed to perform. “You bought a 70’s road bike made in France? Tell you what, I had a French chainsaw once.. etc etc etc.”

Thanks once again for your helpful info.

Are

Ignatius

Tried to remove the freewheel today.

In this topic http://www.gitaneusa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1595&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=wheelset&start=30 Chas says that you can use two chain wips to remove one of smallest cog, and then remove the rest of the cogs. (Please check link)

I have tried this without any luck. I guess these cogs can get pretty well stuck. Would you recommend me to keep on “pushing” with the two wips, or should I wait until I can get the proper tool. I think this should be it? http://www.bicycletool.com/normandymaillardfreewheeltool.aspx
Or preferably this one
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=14413

Item# 51604

I can get more power on the wips, if I want to, but it want to make sure there’s no overwhelming risk of destroying it.

Best regards Are

scozim

Tried a nice long reply earlier and it didn't show up - crud.

700c wheels will give you the most options for tires. There are still 27" tires on the market (I use Bontrager) but not very many.

Freewheel removal - the chainwhips will only help you get the individual cogs off which you probably don't need to do. You need the freewheel removal tool and a vice. Clamp the removal tool into a vice and then slide the wheel onto the splined end. Then turn the wheel counterclockwise - it may take a lot of effort. For ones that I have that seem to be stuck on the wheel I will take it to the bike shop because they have a bigger vice and they usually remove it for free - takes them no longer than a minute with the added leverage of their vice.

Dropout spacing: http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_sp-ss.html I know some people who have inserted a 130mm hub into a 126 mm dropout and it's worked fine.

Wheels - I don't do them. I'd like to learn but just haven't had the time. It's easier for me to take them to the bike shop and make sure it's done right the first time. Plus they'll let me bring it back in after a month or so of riding to make sure spoke tension, etc. is still good. There are several good books on wheelbuilding that you can get.

A quick look at the US Ebay and I found three Suntour rear derailleurs - look in the vintage category for reasonable pricing. The NOS ones are priced too high in my opinion.

As for French bikes, especially Gitane, they're the first I usually grab. I have 6 road bikes I can ride and I'm always leaning toward the French ones when I head out. I love the ride and feel of the bikes.

Here's an article on freewheels: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/freewheels.html

verktyg

There's an expression in rural America, "Silk stockings on a rooster"!

You have what can become a nice functional bike for what you said you wanted to use it for.

It's going to require at least a $100 USD investment to make it SAFE and ridable: new tires, tubes and rim strips, new brake blocks, a replacement rear derailleur plus probably a new chain.

Add in the cost of overhauling the bottom bracket and hubs, maybe new cables plus a comfortable saddle and you've invested a substantial amount into an entry level bike that's only worth about $75 to $125 USD. Rolling Eyes

Since you mentioned that you are interested in getting a more sporting bike, my suggestion is to get this bike into ridable condition and save your money to invest in a better model.

There is a substantial increase in ride quality and handling on a bike with a light weight alloy steel frame and alloy rim wheels such as a Tour de France. Wink