gitaneusa.com :: View topic

morellib

Well, I'm new to the forum and hope someone can shed some light on my recent Gitane acquisition. Found this at an antique store in Franklin TN for $95 and after looking at this site and the excellent info, I'm not exactly sure of the date. I've put money into new cables, vintage Campy top tube cable clips, bartape and a Brooks saddle, but everything else is as I found it and it rides like a dream. Fortunately it was my size so I've added a steel retro bike to my collection. Photo shows what I have, but basic description is a green frame with only the right side Tour de France fork decal and a partial red decal on the seat tube. It has Campy dropouts and fork tips, Campy nuovo high flange hubs, Campy shifters, Suntour v-luxe rear derailier, Suntour Cyclone front derailier, Stronglight 93 star pattern crank, Lyotard 460D pedals, Sugino bottom bracket, Stronglight headset, S/R Aero stem, GB engraved handlebars, Weinmann 605 sidepull brakes, and a 6 speed freewheel. It came with a beat up Avocet saddle but it was too far gone to keep. I've read a lot about some of the T de Fs being built out on Super Corsa frames, thus the Campy dropouts, but I can't explain why I have other components which I don't read about the T de Fs having. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. The frame has the normal chips and a little rust here and there but the ride is very smooth and everything is very true and straight. Thanks in advance for your input.

verktyg

Nice bike. You have about a 1972 to 1973 Gitane Tour de France.

They were made with Reynolds 531 tubing. The frame, cranks, pedals, headset and Campy Nuovo Tipo hubs are original.

The bike came with Simplex Criterium derailleurs, Pivo alloy bars with a cast aluminum Pivo stem, Mafac Racer or Competition brakes plus sewup tires and rims. The upgraded components will give you years of pleasurable riding.

You have a rare one with Campy rear dropouts. Most Tour de France frames came with Simplex dropouts. Your fork dropouts may be Huret or Simplex possibly Campagnolo.

If it hasn't already been done, the bottom bracket, hubs and headset should have the ball bearings replaced and repacked with new grease. If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, try to find a shop with experience working on older bikes. If they Rolling Eyes

take it somewhere else.

BTW, replacement decals will be available soon.

Chas.

morellib

Thanks for the quick response. The shop I took it to loved working on it and did as you said, stripped everything down, greased and repacked headset bearings, bottom bracket etc. Can you tell by the photo what type of wheels these are? I can't find any markings on them whatsoever.

morellib

Sorry. I realize I didn't post my name and city.

Bill Morelli
Brentwood, Tennessee

verktyg

As you mentioned, the hubs are Campy Nuovo Tipo. Are these 27" wheels?

When this bike was new most European brands had similar "racing" models equipped with tubular (sewup) tires and rims. During that time most tubular wheels were 700c size which was also the standard size for clincher tires and rims in France and several other European countries.

Tubulars were the standard tires for bicycle road racing in Europe and the UK. The benefit of using 700c clinchers was that you could switch between sewups and clinchers and not have to adjust your brake reach. For this reason 700c tires and rims were readily available in most European countries.

Not so in the US where 27" was the standard size for clinchers on most imported 10 speed bikes of that era. It wasn't until the late 1970s that 700c tires and rims became somewhat easier to find here in the US.

Prior to that many people had their sewup wheels converted to 27" clinchers. These are 4mm bigger in diameter than tubular and 700c rims and caused brake reach problems and sometimes tire clearance problems on some bikes.

In 1975 Michelin in conjunction with Mavic introduced the Elan tire which was an early attempt to produce a high pressure clincher tire with the the performance of a sewup. The Elans came in 27" x 3/4" and 700c x 19mm sizes.

Mavic "Module E" (E for Elan) rims were designed for these kind of tires. They had "hooks" to fit into a corresponding shape in the bead of the tires to keep them from blowing off at 100+ PSI of air pressure. They were some of the first "narrow" clincher rims - 19-20mm wide like a sewup rim vs. standard clincher rims 22-25mm wide.

Getting back to your wheels, can't really tell much from the pictures. Can you take some closeups of the rims? How wide are the rims across the braking area? What shape are they in the tire bead seating area? Do they have ferrules around the spoke nipple holes?

Here's some old adds with information on some French and Italian rims from that era.

They could be French made Mavic, Super Champion, or Rigida rims or from one of the Japanese rim makers.

Chas.

smilingroadrunner

Thanks Chas for the look back into the 70's with these advertisements Cool

Don't we all wish we could find NOS rims and sew-ups at those prices today.

I particularly like the tire pressure gauge---a reminder for me to scrounge around in the shop because I had a couple of those and don't recall ever disposing of them so they should be down there somewhere.

I enjoyed the link to Jobst Brandt photos of the Alpine passes---I had a huge Bicycle Seat Touring Bag w support frame that I think I sold Crying or Very sad

with my Schwinn Continental in the Spring of '71 to buy my first Gitane Interclub. Jobst's photos brought back memories of how functional (though it seemed like the back of my thighs would bump into it while riding) those rear bags were for weekend road trips from Salina over to KSU , Manhattan Ks.

P.S. thanks for the tip about the proper location on the Mafac brake arms to create the "toe in" bend for the brake pads

___________________
C.A.
Salina, Ks.

morellib

As Chas suggested,here are some additional pictures of my TdF. The wheels are 27" and perhaps these pictures show them a little better. I just bought decals for this as suggested on ebay. Do people put a clear coat over them after applying, or is that unnecessary, or a matter of opinion. Thanks for the input. Bill

sandranian · Site Admin

Gitane didn't clear coat over any decals/stickers in until the turn of the century...2000!

morellib

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess if I don't have any decals now, the one I put on should last at least as long as I'll be riding the bike! Smile

Do you know of any left side pictures of this year Td F so when I get the decals I can apply them correctly on the left side? It seems all pictures I've seen are of the drive side. Bill

sandranian · Site Admin

The left side decals are identical to the drive side, with three exceptions:

On the fork, there is only a "Reynolds 531" decal, and no "tour de france" decal (it is only on the drive side, even though the kit comes with an extra one, don't put it on your bike - it does make for a nice car sticker, though!).

The "e..... polymerese" (spelling?) decal goes on one chain stay...but I just forgot which one! I believe it is the left side chain stay, but let's double check and confirm before you apply that decal!

The "Service Course" sticker is only on the drive side, with the globe towards the front of the top tube. See the catalogue on the gitaneusa website for details...

Stephan

smilingroadrunner

The "Quality Lacquer Finish" goes on the R rear chainstay---which often led to its early demise due to lubricant and/or chain damage.

It's to bad the folks at Gitane were not thinking clear years ago ---seems like this chainstay decal would have been safer on the left stay. I guess decal oreintation to the right side was favored to also show off the components.

Welcome back Daylight Savings Time---more time on the bike after work---and outside instead of the Kreitler rollers in the basement (we need the moisture but its been a long white winter--more so than recent years).

My new repro decals are on the way also!!

I Like Steel !!!

___________________
C.A.
Salina, Ks.

verktyg

morellib,

You lucked out and got one of the rare "Tour de France" frames that came with Campagnolo rear dropouts instead of Simplex dropouts. It's actually a Super Corsa frame with Tour de France decals.

I can't tell from the picture what make the front dropouts are. Gitane frequently used Huret front dropouts on frames with Campy rear dropouts. I guess it saved a Franc or two. Rolling Eyes

Your rims don't look like any of the French brands. They're probably Italian made Fiame rims or one of the Japanese brands like Araya.

Quality high performance 27" tires are getting very to find in the US.

Panaracer Pasela and Pasela TG tires are still available in 27 x 1", 27 x 1 1/8" and 27 x 1 1/4" sizes.
http://www.panaracer.com/eng/products/index_ur.html#c

IRC lists several styles of 27 x 1 1/8" and 27 x 1 1/4" tires. Their site has been hijacked as I write this so you will have to do a Google search.

I suggest that you stock up on at least a pair of 27" performance tires now while you can still find them. The other option is if anything happens to one of the rims or you can no longer find good 27" tires, change them both out to 700c size rims. Your brakes will fit better and there are a multitude of great 700c tires available.

So far all of the decals that I've gotten from Cyclomondo have been made with a heavy duty material that's much tougher than OEM decals that came on most bikes. We will have to wait and see how the silver foil decals hold up.

The "e'mail luxe polym'eris'e" (meaning deluxe polymer enamel) decals came on either or both sides. They always peeled off prematurely probably do to the "Pinocchio effect" Wink

As Stephan said the Tour de France decal was only used on the right fork blade like your current one. The left blade had a Reynolds 531 sticker. The larger Reynolds sticker went at the top of the seat tube.

Bike looks great.

Chas.

morellib

Thanks to everyone for the decal advice. Chas, I just went up and confirmed that my front dropouts are Campy as well. So does that confirm the "Super Corsa frame with the TdF decals", i.e did the Super Corsa always come with Campy d/o front and rear or did they also sometime mix Campy rear with Huret or other brand front d/o? My bike shop found new Panaracer Pasela 27"x1" tires to put on it, but your idea of getting another spare set is a great one. After looking at your rim catalogue, the shape of my wheels looks very similiar to one of the Fiame's shown. I'm still a little puzzled about the 6 speed freewheel. I can't see any markings on it so I don't know the make, but I also haven't seen anything on the forum where others have this. Would this have been a later upgrade? It doesn't seem to affect the shifting which is extremely smooth. Just curious....... Thanks again.

Bill Morelli
Brentwood, TN

verktyg

morellib

Chas.- Again, thanks for the wonderful history lesson. Someone who's new to all this like me really appreciates the patience and helpfulness of all the people on the site. One last question. Are there sources for touch up paint to cover some of the more obvious chips and scratches before I apply the decals, or is that considered the wrong thing to do?

Bill Morelli
Brentwood, TN