gitaneusa.com :: View topic - Just obtained old Hosteller, why is there Suntour group?

Cary1

I believe I obtained a 72 Hosteller this week. From all the info and pictures and catalogs I have seen, this is the year I came to. It is Match blue, and the weird thing it has Suntour GT rear derailler and suntour front derailler. All the info I have read, this bike should have been with Simplex stuff. Was this something that was put instead on simplex. I also have Universal brake stuff instead of the Mavco (spelling)Stuff?believe the bike was purchased new in Wisconsin. I will post picks later.

verktyg

Greetings and welcome to the Forum.

Back during the Bike Boom of the early 70s, we never knew how the less expensive Gitane bikes would be equipped until we opened the box! Shocked

Most were equipped with Simplex Prestige derailleurs but some bikes made during the early 70s came with Huret Allvit derailleurs while some made at the end of the Bike Boom in late 1973 through 1974 had Suntour derailleurs.

Gitane used MAFAC or Weinmann brakes but occasionally some of the earlier bikes came with CLB Racer brakes.

http://tinyurl.com/3bvbxlh

I've even seen a few early bikes with German made Altenburger center pull brakes plus Weinmann side pull brakes.

Towards the end of the Bike Boom those Gitane models like the Gran Sport started coming with Dia-Comp brakes which were Weinmann knockoffs.

The US Bike Boom caught the European bike component manufacturers off guard. Much of their machinery and their manufacturing methods pre-dated WW II.

Shortages were the norm throughout the European bike industry and component substitutions were common. If you look at the last page of the 1970 Gitane catalog it says: "Specifications are subject to change without notice."

There was also a mini Boom in France.

Now to your bike, Gitane Hosteller bikes were not that common in the US. Bikes from that era were billed as "10 speed racing bikes" so bikes with fenders, racks and lighting were not that popular.

Your bike may have come with the Suntour derailleurs, maybe not. The Universal brakes, definitely not!

There was a strong sense of nationalism France and those Italian brakes would have been akin the French celebration of the Italian wine harvest. Twisted Evil

Your Hosteller may have been originally equipped with Simplex, Huret or Suntour derailleurs but not Universal brakes. It's odd because both the MAFAC and Weinmann brakes stopped MUCH better than the Universal Mod. 61 brakes.

The problem with Universal brakes is in the rubber brake blocks. They're not useful for anything more than rim polishing! Rolling Eyes

The first thing that I would do is get some new brakes block, that is if you want to stop. Shocked

Jagwire makes some good cheap brake blocks complete with the carriers.

Cary1

Your knowledge blows me away! I own 3 pretty much brand new aluminum frame bikes, Specialized to be exact, and this was a impulse buy, because I have a lot of friends that would like steel bikes. So I started to look for a older steel bike, not knowing much about the older bikes, especially the non Bianchi, Pinnerillo, Peugot....... So I found this one at my local non profit bike collective, and I paid $80. Still has the Ideal seat, but the fenders, bike pump, and I think it had a rear light on the rack, not sure. I am going to take it apart, give a good cleaning, put some new tires, and new brake blocks, thank you for the advise, I did notice it did not stop like my new race bike, and ride this beauty. I posted some pics, But I could not view them afterwards. Do you think the Match blue was common on the Hosteller on 72? Anything else I should look out for when taking apart, and out back together? Thank you for your knowledge, I look forward to your reply Very Happy

verktyg

How did you determine that the bike is a 1972 model?

If it was the number 72 stamped in the lugs, that's the lug angles, 72°, not 1972.

The bike can be any year from 1968 to 1974, that was the foil decal era.

Gitane made very few changes on their lower priced models during those years which makes them hard to date.

The most common Gitane colors from that era were white, flamboyant/candy apple red and flamboyant/candy apple turquoise blue.

I've seen one black Gitane and a photo of another. Match blue wasn't that common on any Gitane. There were a bunch of flavors match blue, from much darker than the color swatch on the last page of the 1970 catalog to robin's egg blue that usually appeared on mixte or small sized Gran Sport bikes.

Here's my 1972 match blue Super Corsa. It's a little darker than the picture shows.

I've only seen a few Hostellers. Our shop was in New Mexico so there was almost no call for fenders.

Cary1

Well I came to the conclusion just by the photos and the cataloging I have Nervex fork crowns
Bocama lugs
Swaggered top seat stay caps
Normandy Lux competition wheels
Do you have any avenues for reproduction decals, water cages, and clips for the lyepold or whatever the name is for the pedals?
Your Super Corsa is nice lookin Laughing

Thank you once again Very Happy

verktyg · Last edited by verktyg on Sat Jun 18, 2011 11:54 am; edited 1 time in total

verktyg

Thanks to lofter, here's a photo of your bike.

The hubs look like standard Normandy Sport models.

The Suntour derailleurs may have been installed buy who ever put on the Universal Mod. 61 center pull brakes.

The bike was originally equipped with cantilever brakes, probably MAFAC cantilevers. Those brakes STOPPED!

As I mentioned before, the brake pads on Universal brakes were LESS THAN USELESS!!! Evil or Very Mad

A lot of bicycle shops used to be combination bike and lawnmower shops or saw sharpening or locksmith shops or all of the above (toy shops too). The term "ham fisted, hammer mechanic" applied to many of them.

Witness the way they draped the rear brake cable over the top tube with spring clips rather than cutting the cable housing and running it through the brazed-on cable stops.

Anyway, someone installed an Ideale 80 saddle; except for the brakes and derailleurs everything else looks original. Even the white rubber handle bar end plugs are original (They were dry rotted when they came out of the box new in the early 70s).

Your Hosteller is unique because: a. they were not very common in the US and b. it came with cantilever brakes. It may have been a European only model??? Confused

It should give you lots of pleasant miles. Very Happy

If it were my bike, I'd have some 700c alloy rims put on it and find some MAFAC or similar cantilever brakes.

If it has 700c wheels already then it would have been a European model bike. The US clincher equipped models came with rims for 27 x 1 1/4" tires. Those size tires are hard to find today and not made in many of the better tire designs.

The steel rims are DANGEROUS when wet! The little indentation in the sides hold water which acts as a lubricant and prevents you from stopping!

Cantilever brakes have at least 3 times the stopping power over center pull or side pull brakes. They were used on touring bikes for stopping well with heavy touring loads on the bike.

In addition the Universal levers were not well designed and have a low mechanical advantage so if you changed brakes I'd get new levers too.

You have a standard stamped steel fork crown with a chrome plated sheet metal cover on top of it.

A suggestion, there are very few rules in this forum but the Owner Gallery is usually where folks post picture of their finished bikes AFTER they have been identified and so on.

The Vintage Gitane section is where most people post requests for information and it helps to have a photo or two to help ID a bike or frame.

Cary1

Again, Chas, your info is awesome. I stripped all components off the bike this morning, took all the stickers off that do not belong on the bike, polished the frame, and tonight, going to polish all the chrome, aluminum pieces. I am going to keep the brakes on hear. If that makes my bike unique, i am keepin it. I found some Panaracer tires with the gum side walls. Putting all new cables, AND routing them through the proper places. Also putting new handle bar tape, but not putting on the original type cloth, going with Cinelli gel tape. Hopefully I should be riding by Saturday Very Happy

I will keep ya posted, and get some pics. Thank you again for your knowledge Laughing

verktyg

What makes it unique is that it came from the factory with MAFAC cantilever brakes, not the poor stopping Italian made Universal model 61 brakes!

Cary1

Lol!!! I also contacted the link that the guy on ebay that sells the vintage stickers, can get hold on mine.