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Denny Crane · Last edited by Denny Crane on Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:25 am; edited 1 time in total

I posted an inquiry in another forum and received feedback that my bike could be a Gitane. (Someone else suggested a well-known American Brand Sch Super Sport) I would appreciate any help in identifying the bike. I purchased this 10-speed bike in 1978, from my neighbor in Redondo Beach. He and his wife owned 7 bikes, including a tandem. The seller described it as "a pretty good bike, but this is my ride-it-to-the- beach bike, and to deter theft I removed all labels." It has Suntour VGT RD, what appears to be a Shimano FD, Mafac Racer center-pull brakes, Dia-compe brake levers, a Sugino crank, Araya wheels, and Shimano QR hubs. The cassette is from Maeda Industries Japan, and labeled "Perfect" in italic script. Maeda became Suntour in 1971. I remember taking off some black plastic fenders, but those may have been added on by the previous owner.

Pictures of the top of the fork, front derailleur, the center tube/top tube/seat stays frame joint, and a small cable guide for the RD are shown.

Thanks for any help you can give.

verktyg

Welcome to the forum.

Can you show us a picture of the whole bike please. I would help in identifying it. Are the bottom of the forks chromed?

Chas.

Denny Crane

I have added pictures. I can provide larger files if you want.

The bars are KB from Japan. The stem is marked AVA. The shifters are Suntour bar end shifters. I cannot read the inscription on the FD guide, but the bracket says Shimano. The guide inscription is in script, and begins with the letter "A" I think.

Here is a photo of the top tube and bottom tube butts.

Seat and tube:

Thank you for helping me identify this bike.

ROC

This bike matches up very close to my base Mercier which I've owned since 1971. Everything is similar such as braze ons near the deraileurs, top tube cable guides, etc. The fork crown detail is identical. Differences are the lack of pump pegs & the details of the rear dropout ears. Hmmm...

Denny Crane

Thanks, Richard. Someone suggested that the fork crowns may represent the letter M. I may search for photos of early 1970s Merciers. What equipment is on yours?

verktyg

Denny,

Your bike is most likely a 1973-76 Gitane Gran Sport. I saw a few Gitane Gran Sports in this light blue color but not many. They were mostly mixte frames.

This is how your bike may have originally looked except in light blue:

http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1976_pg4.jpg

Jeunet made some bikes in this color but they had black painted lugs. Mercier bikes usually had black or white trim on their frames.

The design of your fork crown is one of dozens of styles used during that era.

During the US Bike Boom era from 1971-1974 Gitane Gran Sport bikes cam with a variety of different components depending on what was available. They could have Mafac Racer brakes, Weinmann centerpull brakes, Weinmann Symetric sidepulls brakes and even a few with some cheap Mafac knockoffs made by Racer?.

Dérailleurs were originally either Huret Allvit or Simplex Prestige. Some later bikes from 1973 on came with Suntour VG-T derailleurs like yours.

Hubs were usually quick release high flange Atom brand but occasionally they were equipped with Pelissier brand and a few even came with junk 3 piece nutted hubs.

It looks like someone replaced the bars, seat, seatpost and crankset on your bike plus they added bar end shifters and changed the pedals. These Gitanes usually came with Lyotard 36 rattrap pedals.

Some light steel wool will do wonders on the chrome plus automotive car wax with cleaner or rubbing compound will clean up the paint nicely.

Chas.

Denny Crane

Thanks for all the help. I followed the link, and yes, it does look like my bike. Incidentally, my bike may be a re-paint. As I recall, the owner tried very hard to make it look like a POS, to avoid theft at the beach. He referred to the color in unflattering terms, but I didn't want to insult anyone's bike so I left that detail out of my original posting.

The FD has a Shimano bracket on the frame, but the chain guide seems to say "Allvit" in script writing. Perhaps it was pieced together. Can you tell from the photo? I cleaned the front hub, which is labeled Shimano, the wheel is Araya, and the QR nut is a Simplex. I'm coming to the conclusion that I have a Gitane bike which has been mongrelized.

I will continue to search for photos of 1973 - 1976 Gitane Gran Sports, though the head tube length, geometry, and fork crowns on the link all match pretty well. I am nursing a shoulder separation from a Nov. 9 bike crash, so it's hard for me to take the bike down, flip it over or pull parts off of it, but some 000 steel wool and metal cleaner may help me find a serial number, or other identification.

ROC

With respect to your question about what came on the Mercier - it was all standard French only components like Mafac, Ava, Simplex,Atom,etc. Your bike may have been painted & many of the components may have been changed over the years. Two new items for you to note...does the bottom head tube lug (just below where the front badge would have been) have cut out in the lug sort of like a flat "m" ? and secondly does a serial number appear anywhere on the bike? (like rear drops outs or bottom bracket 'cause Merciers only had the S/N on the head tube badge).
Likely it's a Gitane because Chas is a great resource, and i learn a bit of Gitane history with every post!

Denny Crane

There is no cutout on the bottom tube lug. But, on (much) closer inspection I learned that the brake levers are Dia-compe. Only the rubber hoods are Weinmann. More and more the equipment seems to line up with the Gitane Gran Sport from that era, with a few mods. I suspect that the distinctive rear cutout may help identify the bike.

verktyg

Denny,

The robin egg blue paint is probably the original color if for no other reason than it chips off the same way that all of Gitane's solid colors did in the early 70s. Rolling Eyes

The rear dropouts look like the ones used by Gitane. The extra hole appears to have been drilled in later so that someone could attach both a rack and a fender.

There should be some numbers stamped into the left rear dropout.

Chas.

Denny Crane

Right again, Chas. I found 4 numbers, each about 3/8 inch apart. The first is difficult to read. The numbers appear to be 1374. Does that help identify the bike?
Thanks,
Denny

verktyg