gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » eBay TdF    View previous topic :: View next topic  eBay TdF   Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 7:05 am greyhundguy Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 678 Location: South-Central VIRGINIA I don't need another Match Blue TdF...so I'm not bidding. eBay 310093197932 Jay _________________ Dance like nobody is watching. TdF frame on eBay   Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:39 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area That's an interesting frame. Even though it has Campy rear dropouts it's probably a Tour de France because it has a Stronglight P3 headset and what look like Stronglight BB cups. Why some TdFs came with Campy dropouts instead of Simplex? My guess is that either Gitane ran out of Simplex dropouts and substituted Campys or more likely that they had Super Corsa frames already built and needed TdFs instead so the shortened the steering tubes on the forks to fit the P3 headsets and sold them as TdFs. The "stack height" for a Stronglight P3 headset is about 32mm whereas Campy headsets are around 42mm. The steering tubes on TdF forks are about 10mm shorter than those on Super Corsa forks. In those days the average buyers of sporting bikes were in their teens or early 20s. "Pro" quality bikes were a real luxury. Not many buyers could afford to lay out more than $100-$150 USD for a BICYCLE! Gitane sold far more Tour de France bikes than Super Corsas. Campy equipped bikes were a real luxury. Almost every European bike manufacturer made a few of them, probably more for advertising image than for projected sales. By 1975 the US Bike Boom had ended and many people who bought entry level bikes in the early 70s where looking to move up to better quality models. A full Campy bike became a status symbol as the market changed and more expensive bikes became available. Between the mid 1960s and early 1980s there was probably far less than a 100,000 "professional" quality bikes or frames imported into the US. Many of those became Toyotas or Hyundais long ago or have turned into rust buckets waiting for that final ride to Asia. That's why I get upset when I see some idiot butcher a classic frame to turn it into a fixie! Chas. Going, going,...   Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:30 am greyhundguy Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 678 Location: South-Central VIRGINIA ...gone. WOW somebody used "Buy it Now" Jay _________________ Dance like nobody is watching. BIN???   Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:36 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Funny, I didn't notice a "Buy It Now" price in the original listing. If it were a 54cm or 57cm I would have jumped all over it. Chas. Plus parts...   Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:14 am greyhundguy Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 678 Location: South-Central VIRGINIA I wonder if the Buyer is going to spend $500+ to get it back to Original component specs. ? Jay _________________ Dance like nobody is watching. eBay TdF     gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours   Page 1 of 1   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First  Select a forum Gitane USA----------------Vintage GitaneGitane RacingModern GitanePro Racing - Classics/Giro/Tour....Owner Gallery   Powered by phpBB © 2001-2004 phpBB Group Designed for Trushkin.net | Themes Database.