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sandranian · Site Admin

I was sent these pictures from someone in France who said that this was a Christmas gift,and dated it from the 1940's or 1950's. I don't know if it is that old, but know that this is undoubtedly the oldest Gitane I have ever seen (and I have seen A LOT of Gitane bikes)...so I couldn't wait to share it with the list and get your opinions.

Inch pitch chain...headbadge...ornate lugs...Enjoy!

verktyg

I'd say it's pretty early because of the 1" pitch chain.

Chas.

smilingroadrunner

Neat Headbadge---Possibly some collectors or forum members on the continent will recognize paint, decal, or headbadge. One would probably presume very early 60's if not earlier due to the chain pitch as Chas and Stephan pointed out.

Someone must have been "Nicer" than Wisey this past year.

I'm envious of the wonderful restoration this will create.

I Like Steel !!!
________________
C.A. in Salina, Ks.

Gtane

Stephan,

That's a nice machine and it's in superb condition.

As you say, just look at those lugs.

The French have always been very advanced with bicycle design and the 1930s Caminargents spring to mind when I look at this machine. Those machines were way ahead of anything else at the time, even today they're amazing, and this Gitane suggests 1930s to me, particularly with the frame and fork detailing. The wheelbase is reasonably long which makes me rather more inclined to go back further than the 1950s. This is pure guess work on my part regards date but I'm going to go for pre 1940s and say between 1930 and 1939.

Is there any frame information / stamping?

Thanks very much indeed for the post. What a wonderful Christmas gift.

Tim

smilingroadrunner

The saddle & pedals ??? logically possible later replacements, but Tim makes a point about the wheelbase, and in thinking about it, my earlier comment about decals is probably incorrect---does it not look more like hand lettering and pinstriping ??

I particularly like the last picture, with it's camera flash assist. It conjours the image of finding this hidden pearl in the dark recesses of some basement or garage. Shocked

Again they may be later replacements to the frame, but doesn't the seat post and stem-handlebars appear to be alloy. I've seen images of similar adjustable track stems but they appeared to be steel

Still, what a treat for some lucky new owner, hopefully more info will be posted in the future. I'm glad someone forward this to your attention Stephan, thanks for sharing.

Cold & Snowy 29 degrees in Salina this morning, looks like a good bike mechanic afternoon in Salina.

I like Steel !!!!
______________________
C.A.
Salina, Ks.

sandranian · Site Admin

I think you may be right about the hand painting of the pinstripes.

I also like how in the picture, you can see at least one other very old bike tossed in the garage there. I really need to move to Europe. You folks have so much great old stuff lying around out there!

verktyg

This bike reminds me of the classic German made Dürkopp track bike we had at out shop. It was the same color blue with silver pin striping just like on this Gitane.

The bike belonged to the shop owner. He bought a garage full of old track bikes that dated back to the 30s. The fellow that he bought them from was an old track pro and raced during the 1930s and 40s. He participated in the 1936 Olympics and supposedly the Dürkopp was used in those games.

The bike had a really long 43" wheelbase with relaxed 71° head and seat tube angles. It was made of super light Mannsemann alloy steel tubing. It weighed ~17 Lbs. with wooden sewup rims. The ride was really smooth. Cool

One time I rode the Dürkopp for the first 50 miles of a century ride. At that point I switched bikes with Richard, the owner. After 2 minutes on his bike I wanted to switch back to the old fixie! Shocked

C.A. I looked at the stem and bars closely. They're probably made of steel that's been painted silver. See the rust showing through the HB tape? Aluminum alloy components were still a luxury until after WWII. Alloy steel is still magical. It's 3 times stronger than most aluminum alloys and can be fabricated into very light weight components. Wink

Chas.

Gtane

C.A.,

The saddle is definitely newer than the machine and it looks like it needs a seat post binder bolt.

The lining has definitely been done by hand, I agree with you. I really like the way the brand is shown in speech marks and that could well have been signwritten, particularly so as track bikes would have been sold in fewer numbers than road machines.

29 degrees would definitely signal a mechanic afternoon for me.

Stephan,

The shot of the bike leaning against others shows it with a front wheel, do you have a shot of the complete machine with both wheels?

I'm sure you'd have a field day with the machines over here, in Europe, but even with the advertisements that we see and the preponderance of bikes available to view, they're not that common when out and about. However, in my experience, bike shops are always a good start, followed by jumbles and secondhand sales.

Chas,

That Dürkopp sounds like a dream to ride.

What's Mannsemann alloy made from?

Tim

verktyg

Gtane

Chas,

Thanks very much indeed for the site link and further information.

I don't know much about Oria tubing so it's good to know more, even though I do know the name but not the connection. I'm aware that Bianchi used the tubing, certainly in the early '90s on some of their Pro machines, and no doubt others at other times.

Any of those track bikes would be highly collectable now, as this lovely Gitane is. Path racers of the turn of the last century are highly elusive and I've been hunting for years with no luck. I was just born too late to start picking them up.

Wooden rimmed wheels are glorious and you sometimes see them at jumbles in the UK, but at a price.

There's something about taking a very old machine out for an ambling ride, particularly on a lazy summer morning or afternoon.

Tim