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Gtane

Just spotted this lovely looking machine on Ebay. 1957 Gitane, as advertised.

http://tinyurl.com/bayc5d

Tim

steveh1

Does anyone have an opinion one way or the other whether this bike is really from 1957? To me, the equipment looks more modern than that. Any ideas?

Thx,
Steve
Seattle, WA

sandranian · Site Admin

Don't know about the age, however the shift levers appear to be the Campagnolo "Open C" levers, which were discontinued in 1958.

Gtane

Steve,

I couldn't say for sure, perhaps other experience here can help, but the frame certainly has the look of a machine that has the patina of time from its original state. The GS rear changer, the stem, the hubs with the straight QR lever, the levers, as Stephan says, are all clues. Not sure about the brake calipers, possibly later, but overall it's certainly a gorgeous machine.

Might be worth contacting the seller as they mention that it was their grandfathers, so perhaps there is further detail to be gained.

Tim

Holger

first its really a desireable bike with all the fancy campa stuff.

But i dont believe its 57 ,just because of the fact that Mr.Anquetil started
riding on Gitane in the 60s. And i dont understand why Gitane should equipe a bike with the decal-logo from a rider of a rival team?
The decals to me are also not 50s. The artwork is quite similar to my
60s bike.

anyway as i said,to me its really a desireable bike i like to have, but i wont bid on it, cause i have to spare money i just subscribe the l`eroica
that year in october after a bad cycling year i had to go to Italy again.

Maybe see some of you people there?

best wishes ,
Holger

sandranian · Site Admin

Good point about the frameset and the picture. i did some research...and it appears to be absolutely correct. Anquetil didn't ride with Gitane until the 1960's....

verktyg

You guys are becoming good sleuths... Wink

The Weinmann "red label" brakes didn't come out until the early 60s. Prior to that Weinmann 999 brakes had the logos stamped into the caliper arms.

Original 999 brake calipers

Red Label 999 brakes calipers

Chas.

Gtane

Holger,

I agree with you about the photo of Jacques Anquetil. Good point and good spot. A date of, let's say, 1967 would fit the frame far better than 1957.

Tim

sandranian · Site Admin

I sent a message to the seller. He responded with the weak reply that "he would have to ask his grandfather, but cannot because he is dead."(words to that effect).

Holger

i believe that back in the sixties Gitane tried to push the bicycle sales with
Anquetil decals as many other manufactures does with their victorys.
on my bike theres also such a decal.
But its funny to see how someone can push prices on ebay with a lots
of high res. photos and a good story as well as worldwide shipping.

My bike had just one bad photo and no further informations, the auction ended at 15,50 euro. The seller told me if he wouldn`t have sold it he would have put it in the crap.

But anyway still a good looking bike, maybe the seller doesn`t know it
better.

greetings,Holger

Picchio

Hello, knowledgeable group,

I'd like to comment on the ebay bike, since I'm the new owner. It may be a pig in a poke, but I think the winning bid cost to find out was a risk worth taking. Let me preface by saying I know relatively little about French bikes, and still less about Gitanes - you folks are definitely the experts there. As pointed out, the bike almost certainly post-dates 1958, and is likely not original component-wise. However, given the original components that appear to remain, I believe '67 would be too late. My guess would be circa 1963, which is actually the year, according to Chuck Schmidt's famous Campagnolo timeline, that the "open-C" shift levers changed to a "closed C." Also, the Gran Sport rear derailleur suggests it's probably not much past that date. Hubs, saddle, and stem all seem to be about right for that period, too. The brakes are not an issue as to the date, since they are very likely replacements - as evidenced by the Mafac rear brake cable hanger evident in one of the ebay photos. Mafac "dural forge" brakes would probably be the originals, so I may eventually have to hunt some down. Worst feature of the frame is those stamped rear dropouts - most good-quality bikes would have gone to forged by that point, though by no means all. Too bad about that, but not quite a deal- breaker. A tubing decal would have been nice, too. On the other hand, the workmanship appears to be pretty good, from what is visible of the seatstay cluster, and also the headlugs (some work to shape and thin). It looks rather elegant, while many mid- and lower-level frames of that period look fairly obviously clunky. So my conclusion was that it's a circa 1963 bike of good quality generally with some nice parts (we'll know more about the front derailleur and whether it has the built-in cable stop, and about the crankset, when the bike arrives) and in substantially original shape (fingers crossed as to no big surprises in that area). Which is why I now have to learn a bit more about the storied Gitane marque.

Ed Granger
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA

verktyg

verktyg

Ed, welcome to the group.

My sarcastic comments were aimed at eBay sellers not you. This is a really nice bike in excellent condition. I was watching it myself.

Congratulations, you saved it from becoming a Japanese wall hanging! Cool

Picchio

Picchio