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Freemason Cyclist

Hello all,

My name is John. My wife recently inherited a Gitane Gypsy from her dad. It hasn'tbeen ridden and has sat in a basement for the last 15 years at least. Before that it had been a while before it was maintained. We are going to have it over hauled so she can ride it. I no longer ride road bikes as I have been a recumbent rider for the last 7+ years. No offense but I can not bring myself to ride a road bike after riding my Vision for so long.

I will upload some photo's as soon as I can.

A question I have is did Gitane manufacture the Gypsy after 1977? I ask because looking in the copies of the cataloge of the Gitane's I only see listed in the 1977 edition. Also does anyone see a problem with overhauling this model and upgrading to more user friendly components to it can be ridden. I am talking abotu new handlebars with integrated brakes, new style braking system and if possible new Shimano derailers, etc. I will also likely need a new head set, bottom bracket, etc. I am going to have my local shop strip it down to the bare frame and build a new bike from there.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

John

greyhundguy

John,
Welcome to the List.
I would suggest having your Local Shop give you a condition report on the existing parts. A full tune up may be all that is needed. Also, before you start adding new components, it would be a good idea to see if she is going to enjoy the bike in the current form. It could save unneeded expense.

Best of luck,
Jay

Freemason Cyclist

verktyg

Greetings,

If I remember correctly, Gitane had 2 entirely different bikes with the Gypsy model name. Both models had mostly steel components.

One was an entry level model made in France. It had the same frame as the Gran Sport model but with lower end equipment such as nutted wheels instead of quick release hubs and so on.

The second model was the Gypsy Sport. It was a made in Taiwan. The only thing positive that I can say about these bikes is they had better paint than the French models.

At our shop we brought in one or two of these bikes to check them out. They were some of the first Taiwanese made bikes on the US market to be sold by a major brand bike company.

There were restriction in France on Asian bikes at that time so they were probably never seen in Europe.

They weighed something like 38 Lbs. which was 10 Lbs. more than the entry level French Gitanes!

We kept one on the showroom floor for several years just to show customers what they were getting with a bike in that price range and let them take a comparison ride.

Not meaning to offend but have you ever head the phrase "Silk stockings on a rooster"?

This applies to either model. They would be OK for occasional casual riding but not worth investing any money into upgrades.

The frame and wheels are the two most important parts of a bike as far as ride quality is concerned. Both of these models had heavy steel frames and steel rims.

A bike frame made of heavy gage steel tubing especially in the smaller sizes that most women require are very harsh riding bikes.

My suggestion is if you want to upgrade the components on a bike for your wife, find one with a light weight alloy steel frame and alloy rim wheels. Look for something that weighs under 25 Lbs. to start off with.

Good luck,

Chas.

sandranian · Site Admin

Welcome to the forum. Chas. is exactly right (as usual). Another thing to consider, is that you are going to run into all kinds of technical problems trying to upgrade that frame. First and foremost...the wheels necessary to run newer Shimano gear will not fit, and the rear dropouts will need to be "spread" in order to accept the new hub. Even after that is done, it is likely that the shifting will not work well and the frame will need to be further "adjusted" to make it work. I might be able to do that for a bike that I would ride, but wouldn't ever build a bike like that for anyone else (think "Frankenstein").

The Gitane can probably be fixed up and ridden in its current state, but by the time you get done upgrading it, you might as well have spent the money on a (gasp!) new bike. At least then you know it will be safe to ride and work perfectly, even if it won't have the "mojo" of an old bicycle....

greyhundguy

Freemason Cyclist

Is there anywhere on the frame I can look to see if this one was manufactured in France or Tawain? The bike is currenlty at the shop. They are going to see what they can figure up and gve me a couple of options. I am not having them do any work on it until I furhter consult with them. One option is STI another is down tube shifters. Right now I am looking at pricing only. How ever if the price is say $250. Compare that to the cost of a new bike, at least $1,100 for a Specialized or Giant you can see why we would want to go with an upgrade on an old frame set then a whole new bike. I will take everything you have stated into consideration and I do thank you for the advice.

Just to let you know what kind of a consumer I am when it comes to bicycles I mentioned I ride a Vision recumbent. An R40 SWB, OSS to be exact. I bought it in 2001. A few years after, around 2003 Viison changed the frame design/geometry as well as the seat frame design/geometry. Then shortly after that Vision went out of business. A common trend with recumbent manufacturers. I have been having problems with my seat frame breaking from fatigue. 5 of the 8 welds have broken, 2 of them twice. I can not find a replacement seat frame anywhere with out having one custom built. For right now the repair I have had done is holding well. I had to sleeve the tubing together with a piece of turned down stainless. That section of the seat frame will never break again. I did find a shop in my area who builds stock car/funny car/drag race car frames out of 4130 cro-moly. They can build me a seat frame for my bike out of the same material. It will cost me $650. I will have them build this for me at some point. Some people think I am crazy to spedn this much money on my bike when a brand new one only costs about $1,800, but a differant brand.

I try to explain that is not the point. I will never give up or stop riding my Vision. It is the perfect bike dialed in just for me. I'm sure some of you understand if you have a Gitane that is your favorite bike that you'll never get rid of and keep running as long as the frame is sound. and you'll spend as much money as it takes to do so. That feeling you have for your bike is the same that I have for my Vision and I think the same my wife has for the Gypsy. I don't know of any other way to explain this. Do some of you know what I mean by this?

greyhundguy

John,
I know what you mean. I finished refurbishing my 1971ish College Gitane back in the Spring. The price for the bike in 71-72 was approx. $245.00. When done it, was easily 3 times that amount that I put into it with proper Period upgrades.

It is not my intent to discourage you, just give you a guide to what may be involved and the potential monetary outlay.

Best,
Jay

sandranian · Site Admin

I understand your story completely. When I was looking for a new Gitane, the company told me to "buy a Bianchi", because they no longer marketed Gitane in the USA. It wasn't the same, though, so I contacted a dealer in France who was willing to send me one. I call myself "Brand Stupid" (as opposed to "Brand Loyal").

Anyhow...the Gitane's of your vintage which were made in France will, most likely, use French threading for the headset and bottom bracket. The Taiwanese/Japanese made Gitane's from the 1970's used English threading (as far as I know). So that is going to probably be the easiest way to figure it out. By the way, you will know if it is French threaded if the fixed cup on the bottom bracket is not reverse threaded. Your mechanic at the bike shop will have fun with that one, if he/she is not experienced with older bikes. Be careful though: Inexperienced mechanics have been known to wreck French threaded frames in an attempt to remove the fixed cups!

Freemason Cyclist

In talking with the bike shop it will cost between $855 and $900 to refit it with updated components. We are just havign it tuned up to be ridden the way it is. Of course this includes new cables/chain, bearings, etc, if it needs it. We are having a QR put on for the seat post so my wife can use the womens saddle from her other bike and we are having the handle bar tape replaced. This will cost maybe $100 at the most.

sandranian · Site Admin

That is the right call. Enjoy the bike!

tjchad

Freemason,

I've done a similar upgrade on my Gitane. I got an '86 Team Professionel frame and have put Dura Ace 7800 brifters with Ultegra 6600 FD, RD and F/R brakes. The rear wheel is a Mavic Open Pro with an Ultegra 6600 hub and 10 speed cassette.

I know it isn't period specific but it does feel nice...

Freemason Cyclist

Forgot to mention one thing. We are also putting on the pair of half platform half SPD pedals on it as well. My wife has a decent pair of SPD shoes. Next year she is hoping to commute to/from work. She only works just over 3 miles from home. I know her TREK can easily accomidate a rear rack and saddle bags and it looks like the Gitane will be able to also.

sandranian · Site Admin

The Gitane should be perfect as a commuter bike. Hope it works out!

Freemason Cyclist

Here is a link to my blog post about the Gitane Gypsy:
http://historyandculturebybicycle.blogspot.com/2009/10/history-and-culture-by-bicycle-part-192.html

What do you think? Judging from the serial number can anyone tell me when this bike was built?