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m000ns

Up until I started browsing this site, all I knew about this bike was that it is a medium quality Gitane. I now believe it to be an early '70s Inter Club. I call it Big White.
Owned since 1980. Obtained from previous owner in trade for a low-end but operational bike. He couldn't deal with sew-ups and had neglected the bike for a long time leaving it outside in the rain. It was in non-running condition when I got it. All decals had been scraped off except the head tube one which was partially torn off otherwise bike was essentially stock when I got it IMO (Mafac, BF, Atom, Simplex, Nervar, Normandy, sew up rims had no ID). Wrights (could this have been original?) leather saddle had curled on the sides after being wet and drying out over time.
Once I got it running I began to really enjoy the ride and to this day it is my most comfortable bike. Up until 1991 I didn't do much to it except change the tubular rims to SC Gentleman narrow clincher and put a Campy NR rear derailleur on.
When I had the fork out, I noticed the head tube seemed to not be perpendicular to the crown when viewed from the side. Finally concluded the bike had been in a head-on at some point and blades were bent slightly backwards. Since the bike tracked perfectly I did not try to correct this aberration. In fact I believe the bike is more nimble due to shortened wheelbase.
By the time I decided to repaint it (1991), the bike had some serious rust issues especially on the top tube. Stripped all the paint, filed the lugs a little bit, primed and painted the frame using a spray can of Rustoleum gloss white (is that groaning I hear?). The fork was left in chrome to save trouble. Frame hung in my attic all summer in hopes that would help cure the paint. Don't know if it did much good because I had to be very careful for a long time until the paint toughened up. There are now a few nicks but it has held up well.
After the paint job, many of the parts were upgraded such as Sugino Mighty Compe crank & bb, and a set of 27 inch wheels from Nashbar for about $60 (I think they were closing out freewheel wheelsets because freehubs were the thing by then), and a Brooks Pro saddle (not the Team Pro it has now). I rode the bike like this (to work, club rides, etc.) until about '98 and on the last ride of the season the left crank arm broke about 2 inches up from the pedal. Fortunately I didn't go down. After that, I bought a '87 Peugeot Triathlon to ride while I figured out what to do about a crank for Big White. Later the Peugeot was upgraded so I passed its 105 crank on to Big White along with its Mavic 6-speed freehub wheelset. The 105 bb axle fit right into the Sugino French cups though I did have to add a spacer on the drive side for chainline reasons. Also put on a Mavic front derailleur (the Prestige was still going strong) and later the Campy Grand Sport shifters. The Campy seat post is 25.0 and I had to hone out the seat tube a little bit to get it in. And that's about how it is now. I'm considering repro decals.
Are you still awake?

sandranian · Site Admin

Great story...and funny picture (the second one, of course!). The front fork does appear to be bent, like you said. It is also likely a replacement, as the Interclub didn't come with full chromed forks. I don't think they were chromed all the way up either...maybe you have more of a story here?

Very interesting though. Great to hear from you, and hope you will be a regular here!

greyhundguy

Macon,
Ahhh...Winter Cyclo Cross...what fun. Tire savers are useless in snow. I have some 700c tire chains that I use. Maybe you can find some 27" if you want to keep this up. Wink

Jay

scozim

Nice looking bike, Macon. I have to say that's one of the tallest Gitane's I've seen.

overfedlonghairedgnome

Great story, Macon. Fun in the snow on a bicycle is pretty special Very Happy

I wish you all the best with your Interclub!

Jim

vanhelmont

Gitanes are working class bikes. They're made to ride, not just to look at. I don't think you'll hear any groans about your white rustoleum. Just don't start grinding things off and convert it to a fixie! 29 years of use is pretty impressive.

The second picture is great. Something I miss out on here in Florida.

m000ns

Thanks for the nice feedback guys. I was very afraid the text was way too long. As for the fork: Judging by the way everything looked, the bike seemed original when I got it. The fork was painted white down to the usual place with striping where it joined with the chrome. I only found out it was all chrome when I stripped for repaint. As for the bend, I think I implied in the text that the steering tube was bent in the crown but that is not correct. Steering tube and crown are ok only the blades are bent. It is a tall bike - 25" center of crank to top of seat tube. Feels like I'm riding in it not on it. What about the Wright's saddle that was on it when it came to me? And would the original no-name sew up rims have been Super Champion?

greyhundguy