gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » My 1985/86 Gitane Professional    View previous topic :: View next topic  My 1985/86 Gitane Professional   Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 10:15 pm drummer5 Joined: 04 Oct 2009 Posts: 23 Location: Syracuse, NY Not sure if many of you remember but a little over a month ago I came upon a too small 1984 Gitane Team Pro on the local CL for a price I couldn't let pass even though it wasn't my size. My original intent was to flip it right off of the bat, but I also left the option open that if I could find an equal frame in the right size I would be up for a trade, not thinking I would actually find someone. But then Chas sent me a message saying he had an 85/86 Professional frame that was too large for him and needed a frame the size of the one I had. A few weeks later and that 85/86 frame is here and my 84 is in the mail I just finished building it up with full Campy NR that I stripped off of the '84 at my buddies shop on Tuesday and was able to snap some pictures this morning before heading off for Thanksgiving festivities. I still have a few more things to do to it before I have it right where I want. And now for the photos! According to Chas the frame was sent to some team in Cali which is why it is lacking all of the usual Gitane decals, he did include a set of 1984 Decals, I'm still deciding if I want to use those or if I want to get the correct year decals. Yes I am going to wrap the bars, but first I need to replace the Raleigh stem and GB bars with some more correct Cinelli bits(if anyone has any and needs some Raleigh bars and stem....). But right now it's the end of the season so I'll wait until I have the right stuff before wrapping, I'm thinking white perforated leather to match the saddle and cable housings. So far I haven't taken it on any long rides yet, just a quick run around the neighborhood to make sure everything is meshing. But just from that I gotta say, the ride of this bike is PHENOMENAL! It's amazing the difference the 531c has over the regular 531p that my Raleigh Team Record has, along with the super smooth Ofmega hubs and the tubulars. This bike just wants to go, and go fast, it's no wonder this design has 3 Tour de France wins! I had a huge grin on my face the whole time I was riding this bike.   Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 10:13 am vanhelmont Joined: 11 Dec 2007 Posts: 242 Location: Florida Looks great, and will be even better with white leather on the bars. I prefer the older blue with white color scheme to the blue and yellow, even though it would be easier to imagine you are Bernard Hinault with blue and yellow.   Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 6:33 pm Peter S. Horn Joined: 15 Oct 2007 Posts: 144 [i] Drummer5, The '85/'86 Professionnel has long been one of my favorites. Although, I was on a near new Supercorsa at the time, I'm still kicking myself for not obtaining a Professionnel when available. Checking the catalogue, you would know that this Reynolds 531C velo was equipped with Campag. Victory, or as a frameset. The bike was an excellent value at $889.00. Typical Campag. upgrades would have been Chorus, Nuovo Record, Super Record or C-Record. However, since the velo was also sold as a frameset, I believe that, from the standpoint of being period correct, a bit more latitude (to include Shimano, Suntour, Stronglight/Simplex, Huret, etc. groupsets of the era) should be in order. However, I would try to obtain the correct decals for this Professionnel. Bienvenue, Peter H. 1990 Gitane Reynolds 653 Replica 2 1999 Gitane Altec 2 FDJ Replica 2010 Gitane XL/Record (In the works) 1985/86 Gitane Professional   Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 4:53 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area drummer5 wrote: So far I haven't taken it on any long rides yet, just a quick run around the neighborhood to make sure everything is meshing. But just from that I gotta say, the ride of this bike is PHENOMENAL! It's amazing the difference the 531c has over the regular 531p that my Raleigh Team Record has, along with the super smooth Ofmega hubs and the tubulars. This bike just wants to go, and go fast, it's no wonder this design has 3 Tour de France wins! I had a huge grin on my face the whole time I was riding this bike. See, I told ya! I bought this 1985* Gitane Professional frame on eBay 2 years ago expecting that it was 58cm center to top which would be a 57cm center to center (tight but still ridable for me). I gathered up a complete Campy Victory gruppo while the frame sat waiting to be assembled. Last month I put in a dummy headset, threw some wheels under it and tried to straddle the frame. Turned out it's 58cm Center to Center which makes it 59cm Center to Top! The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result! For 2 years I was looking forward to the cushy ride that I expected this frame to provide. I was heart broken when I realized that I couldn't ride the thing! It was just too big for me and no matter how much I wanted it to work it just wasn't going to happen. Swapping Neil for his 84 Team Pro frame was the next best thing. Win-Win, we both get frames we can ride. I have an 84 Super Corsa and two 84 TdFs which all have the exact same frame geometry as the 84 Team Pro. The 84 Super Corsa has become my all time favorite riding bike so the Team Pro should be about the same. As far as handlebar tape is concerned, I really like fi'zi:k brand tape. It has the look and feel of a leather wrapped steering wheel and lasts for a long time without showing dirt. I have yellow fi'zi:k tape on 2 of my Gitanes. http://www.fizik.com/products_accessories.aspx Here's a commercial site with reviews, almost all are 5 stars positive: the 2 negative reviewers had problems installing the tape, some people might have problems picking their nose! http://tinyurl.com/r6rst Getting the 85-86 decals may prove difficult. I've never seen any for sale. They were so popular (read ugly) that Gitane went back to their 1984 style decals on the 1987 Team Pro. Having a set made would probably cost at least $100 and you would almost need an original set to get a good copy. I was going to be perfectly happy with the 1984 decals. There's probably only a handful of people in the US who would know the difference! *I tend to think it's a 1985 based on what the seller told me - see next message. Chas. The Straight Skinny   Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 6:07 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Here's the straight scoop on this frame as told to me in several discussions with the seller. I got the frame 2 years ago from a seller in Iowa. he said that it had been hanging in his barn for almost 20 years and he was about to throw it out but listed it on eBay instead. Barnyard picture: The seller said that it was one of a group of bikes Gitane (probably Gitane USA???) provided to a US (Pro-Am?) team located either in California or the Midwest. The Midwest? Iowa? Remember, Andy Hampsten and the Raleigh USA teams started out in that area. This was supposed to have been a spare bike that was never raced and hardly ever ridden (it appears that way). After 1 year, the team supposedly lost it's Gitane sponsorship. That would fit the timeline of what was going on with Gitane worldwide and why I suspect that it's a 1985 model rather than 86. If that were the case then I suspect that maybe the decals were removed from the bikes because of a conflict with a new sponsor??? (or because they were ugly! ) Someone stripped the Victory gruppo but Campy Victory stuff was never very popular in those days??? So that's what I've been told and surmised about this frame. Chas.   Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 1:52 pm Wisey Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 631 Location: Brisbane, Australia Chas, you need a matching Fizik saddle: _________________ Kind Regards, Wisey Delta Dreamin' Fi'zi:k saddle???   Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 2:20 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Wisey wrote: Chas, you need a matching Fizik saddle: Nah, not me, maybe Neil the new owner of the Professional! Besides I have 2 NOS, still in the box Turbos, a white one and a yellow one. The yellow one was going to go on the 1985 Professional frame. All these new fangled "zoomy" saddles are too narrow across the rear for me! I like these ugly but super comfy WTB Pure V saddles with the wide "whale tail" rear and "love channel" down the middle. I use them on my newer bikes and Brooks Pros on the older ones. Proctologists and urologists, my 2 least favorite doctors! Chas.   Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 8:31 pm Wisey Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 631 Location: Brisbane, Australia Yeah, yeah, nice wide ass saddle............ don't they come in yellow? I like your rig though. 8 speed Ultegra. Only one index system shifts better........ 8 speed Dura Ace! .........and trim those damn brake cables _________________ Kind Regards, Wisey Delta Dreamin'   Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 9:03 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Wisey wrote: Yeah, yeah, nice wide ass saddle............ don't they come in yellow? I like your rig though. 8 speed Ultegra. Only one index system shifts better........ 8 speed Dura Ace! .........and trim those damn brake cables It's the next best thing to yellow, it's a black and yellow limited edition, not for sale to the public, dealer demo saddle! Those are Dura-Ace levers. That's a 12-30T Titanium "Old Man's" cassette. I'm not sure that a Dura-Ace RD can handle that big a spread? I keep my cables long when I first set up a bike because it's easier to readjust them after the first few rides. I guess I need to get a 4th hand tool. BTW, those are tubies, not clinchers. Hey Wisey, check the last message of your 2006 post: http://www.gitaneusa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=83 Chas.   Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 9:12 pm Wisey Joined: 19 May 2009 Posts: 631 Location: Brisbane, Australia Yes I did notice the tubs. None of this uber-fancy aero-wank, machined side-wank for the Chas-meister. Just good old fashioned box section tubs. I can't see the decal. Are they GP4s? Pity you don't have some Clements on there...... _________________ Kind Regards, Wisey Delta Dreamin'   Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 2:29 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Wisey wrote: I can't see the decal. Are they GP4s? Pity you don't have some Clements on there...... GP4? Nope a NOS pair of Mavic GL330s. My favorites were Super Champ Arc en Ciels, about the same weight as the GL330s. Wish I had some Clement Paris-Roubaix red label cottons, my favorites. Chas. Retrogrouch!   Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 3:59 pm drummer5 Joined: 04 Oct 2009 Posts: 23 Location: Syracuse, NY Oh I never doubted you about the ride Chas, it's just awesome to finally log some miles in to really feel it. I'm not so sure about that newer Fizik saddle, perhaps down the road but right now I'm really digging the Turbo, and for the $5 I paid for it, it'll be hard to sway me to something else. I also have a Turbo style Avocet on my Raleigh that I've been riding all summer and I've been loving. I'll probably put the '84 decals on it once I get the right bars and stem on it sometime this winter, right now I'm just gonna try to squeeze in every last ride I can before the weather gets too bad. I clocked around 11 miles today around town to make sure everything was working proper. The rear der skips every once and a while but I think that's just because it has some play in it and the cage is bent a bit. For now I'm digging the tubs, but we'll see how I feel after I get my first flat, thankfully the '84 came with a spare tire(along with some random tools). 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