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scozim

Saw this ad this morning on the Seattle C.L. If it's truly everything the seller says this is a nice bike - just really short.

"This Electric Blue Gitane Service Course was originally bought in Frankfurt around '72. Its hardly been ridden since and has been hanging on a wall for most of the last 35 years. The frame is made of Reynolds 531 steel, although the fork is the Gitane house brand. Its seat tube measures 49cm c-c, and its top tube measures 51cm c-c, which would make this ideal for a smaller man or an average sized woman. It currently has its original Avocet Touring women's specific seat, which is fairly unusual on such an old bike. The wheels are tubular aluminum Fiamme rims with decent tires still on them, laced to Campagnolo hubs. The derailleurs are both Simplex, with the rear being the early model where its coated in nylon plastic, as are the Simplex shifters. The brakes and brake levers are both Mafac Competition centerpulls, and work great (I almost flipped myself over the front the first time I rode it). I don't know the manufacturer of the bottom bracket or headset, but they're both still in good shape so you don't have to go hunting for those oddball French sizes. The crank is a Stronglight double, with the chainrings being in good shape.

The bike is in amazing shape. There is NO visible rust anywhere, and the chrome still gleams. There are a few small paint chipped areas and the decals are slightly peeling in places, but it is otherwise excellent. According to my bathroom scale (so +/- a pound) this bike weighs only 24lbs, which is comparable with my modern aluminum road bike, and much lighter than anything you'll find in a department store or even entry level bikes.

If you would like larger pictures or pictures of areas that aren't clear in my post, let me know and I'll email them to you. Although I live in Renton, i travel to the U-District in Seattle frequently, so if you'd like to meet somewhere near there let me know. Thanks. "

http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/bik/1414735837.html

verktyg

Greetings Scot,

This is another example of the many models that Gitane produced in the 70s that weren't imported into the US.

The 3 main tubes are Reynolds 531 while the forks and rear triangle are probably made of the same tubing that was used on Interclubs (sometimes Durifort).

Bikes with the 3 main tubes made with a premium brand of tubing were mostly an advertising ploy used by European bike manufacturers in the 70s. A bike frame made with Reynolds forks and rear triangle with standard light weight main tubes would have more of an affect on ride characteristics than one with the main tubes made of Reynolds, Columbus and so on.

Avocet saddles were introduced in the US about 1975. They were made by Selle Italia and were available in Europe for some time before they were sold in the US under the Avocet brand.

I was surprised to see the Campy Nuovo Tipo low flange hubs. High flange hubs were more popular in those days.

The bodies of Simplex derailleurs were made of DuPont Delrin plastic which is different than nylon (also invented by DuPont).

All in all it looks like a very nice bike in mint condition and the price is about right.

Chas.

wasabi_pea

I ended up buying this bike and am looking for more info on it. I can't find any info on it, though. It seems like Gitane put "Service Course" on other models, so I'm not sure if that is the actual model name or not. I can't find "Service Course" in the catalogs, either, unless I missed something.

The Stronglight star/pentagram-ish cranks lead me to believe it is a Tour de France, but all the TdFs I see in photos have chrome seat stays. This one does not.

Is "Service Course" really a model from Europe that wasn't released in the states?

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sandranian · Site Admin

"Service Course" roughly translates to "road race" in English. It was a decal which Gitane used on a number of their bikes (on the top tubes) in the early 1970's. It is not the name of a model of Gitane.

Is your new bike a Reynolds 531 "3 tube" or complete Reynolds 531? Check the decal on the seat tube. If possible, post some more detailed pictures of the bike. We may be able to pinpoint what you have there. As Chas. said, some models were slightly different in Europe as were sold in the USA....

verktyg · Last edited by verktyg on Thu Oct 15, 2009 1:16 am; edited 2 times in total

Congratulations, you got a really nice bike in great condition for a very fair price.

The term Service Course has many meanings, mostly related to bicycle racing.

Warning: when talking about classic European bikes it's necessary to use a lot of "weasel words" like maybe, sometimes, almost and so on...

Almost ALL racing or sporting model Gitane bikes made between 1968 and 1974 had a Service Course decal on the top tube. It's sort of equivalent to "racing model".

These decals frequently got damaged by loose brake cable clamps or other causes so they were removed.

Almost all of these bikes also had a silver Mylar foil decal on the seat tube.

In the US these were the Interclub, Tour de France and Super Corsa models plus the various track bikes (and a few kids racing models).

At least half of the better quality classic Gitanes on eBay, Craigslist or Google are listed as Service Course models. Frequently the sellers are adamant that their bike is a Service Course model! Rolling Eyes

If you do a Google search on "Gitane Service Course" the first returns link to posts about Service Course models. I don't think that Gitane ever made a Service Course model.

End of RANT!

The seller and I had some email correspondence about this bike and we sort of decided that it was an early 70s European model Tour de France, maybe a 1972 (see catalog page below).

The picture in the 1973 French catalog shows a newer style stem with a recessed expander bolt but it could be a 73 or even 74 with an old style stem!

Notice the description says "cadre 3 tubes Reynolds 531" meaning that only the 3 main tube were Reynolds tubing. Also the rear triangle was painted rather than 1/2 chrome plated.

Most Gitanes from that era had a pair of small silver foil decals on the down tube near the shift levers with the model name. Also there were specific fork decals for the Interclub, Tour de France and Super Corsa models. Some European models had special fork decals too.

Gitane Route de France model:

Your bike has the fork decal that was usually found on the Super Corsa models.

This bike may have originally had sewup wheels with high flange Campagnolo Nuovo Tipo hubs. Someone along the line probably switched them for clincher wheels with Campy Nuovo Tipo low flange hubs.

As I mentioned in my post above they also installed an Avocet woman's model saddle. That could have happened when the original owner brought the bike back to the US. Many times people don't remember details about things that weren't important to them.

EDIT NOTE: disregard this comment. I was communicating with someone else who had a similar blue TdF and their FD had been changed to Shimano... (Lastly, the front derailleur was changed from a Simplex Criterium to a Shimano. Unless you want to make this all original, I'd leave the Shimano FD in place if you plan on riding this bike.)

The Simplex rear derailleur will work fine if you keep it clean and well lubricated. Also it requires "finesse" shifting. You can't jam it like a Shimano SIS index rig.

Addendum: When properly adjusted and lubricated Simplex derailleurs shift fine. I'd suggest switching the chain to one of the new SRAM PC-850 chains for easier shifting. I have 3 classic French bikes with Simplex Criterium derailleurs.

Chas.

wasabi_pea

Thanks for your replies. Each feature seemed to point to a different answer, so I was stumped. I saw the catalog, but I ruled it out because I couldn't see much detail in the b/w pic. I'm sorry if these questions get old to you.

Also, despite switching the hubs out, these are still sew-ups. I kind of wish they were clinchers like you said, for practicality. And it does have a Simplex front derailleur.

I will call it a 1972 Tour de France, as you recommend. Wink

Thanks again.

verktyg

wasabi_pea

Haha, I have 2 X's. Sounds great. I like the "very rare" part! Even better.

Cheers, Chas!