gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » Year/Model    View previous topic :: View next topic  Year/Model   Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 11:32 am littletinyfish Joined: 23 Apr 2010 Posts: 3 Location: Milwaukee, WI I tried looking into when this bike was made. One hint was the Columbus tubing, which was only used through the years 1983-1984. The "Gitane" decal seems to match that era as well. I thought it might be a Team Pro, but the cables aren't internally routed and the lugs seem to be of a later style (87?). It's also not that brilliant color of blue, either. The dropouts are Campy, too. I like the cute little bird inscribed in the seat stays. The fork appears to be replaced and basically all the group has been replaced with Campy and Dura-Ace. It occurred to me that this may not have been an American bike and maybe that's why it doesn't match what I've seen. Thoughts?   Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 6:40 pm cooltech Joined: 21 Aug 2007 Posts: 27 Location: U.S. Pennsylvania Nice bike! Sorry I can't help on the yr. I would expect someone on this site will know. Sure could use an old catolog. Any serial# or yr. possibly on the frames bottom? cooltech _________________ Tks. for th op. to be here. glad I found the Gitane site Non una donna Zingaresca   Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:12 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area littletinyfish wrote: I tried looking into when this bike was made. One hint was the Columbus tubing, which was only used through the years 1983-1984. The "Gitane" decal seems to match that era as well. I thought it might be a Team Pro, but the cables aren't internally routed and the lugs seem to be of a later style (87?). It's also not that brilliant color of blue, either. The dropouts are Campy, too. I saw this bike on eBay. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but the Gitane decals are the only thing that says Gitane to me. This bike SCREAMS Italian! _________________ Chas. SF Bay Area, CA USA ============== 1984 Criterium 1969 TdF 1971 TdF 1974 TdF 1984 TdF x 2 Bikes 1970 SC 1971 SC 1972 SC 1984 SC 1984 Team Pro 1985 Professional 1990s Team Replica Non una donna Zingaresca continued   Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:23 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area I was having problems posting the above message so here's the balance... From about 1982 until well into the 90s all top of the line Gitane bikes had internally routed rear brake cables running through the top tube. Premium Columbus SL tubing was only used for a few years and only in the top models. Gitane used some lower grade Columbus Alle and Chro-mor tubing in some of their mid range models. Is the Columbus decal in French like this: Or Italian like this: littletinyfish wrote: I like the cute little bird inscribed in the seat stays. Again. from 1982 until the 90s all of the top Gitanes had fastback seat stays. I've never seen a Gitane with Columbus seat stay plugs with the white dove logo (again, Italian). Also note the rear brake cable exiting the top tube. Note the difference in the way the seat and chain stays are finished off at the dropouts. littletinyfish wrote: The fork appears to be replaced and basically all the group has been replaced with Campy and Dura-Ace. It appears to be a pieced together "frankenbike". The Alan aluminum fork doesn't match the frame. Alan was an Italian maker of lugged, glued together aluminum frames and I'm not sure that they ever sold forks separately except as replacements. littletinyfish wrote: It occurred to me that this may not have been an American bike and maybe that's why it doesn't match what I've seen. Thoughts? When I saw this bike on eBay, my first thoughts were someone who worked in a bike shop and had access to a lot of older components pieced this bike together, maybe as a rider or just to sell it. We did that all of the time at our shop but we informed our customers about what we had done! It looks like a nice frame with decent components so it should be a great riding bike, but it's not a Gitane. _________________ Chas. SF Bay Area, CA USA ============== 1984 Criterium 1969 TdF 1971 TdF 1974 TdF 1984 TdF x 2 Bikes 1970 SC 1971 SC 1972 SC 1984 SC 1984 Team Pro 1985 Professional 1990s Team Replica   Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 12:17 pm littletinyfish Joined: 23 Apr 2010 Posts: 3 Location: Milwaukee, WI It definitely has the Italian Columbus sticker on it. I knew the fork and the group was not stock, but this information on the frame set is a total surprise to me. So...what does this mean for me? It's still a very quality bike (the best bike I've owned so far, anyway) but what is the frame? Just a generic Italian frame? At any rate, thanks for your help.   Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 8:09 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area littletinyfish wrote: It definitely has the Italian Columbus sticker on it. So...what does this mean for me? It's still a very quality bike (the best bike I've owned so far, anyway) but what is the frame? Just a generic Italian frame? It's anybodies guess what make of frame it is especially without the original fork. The lug work looks pretty good and I suspect that it might be a repaint. It could even be a frame built by a US or Canadian builder! If the bike fits you and you like the way it rides just enjoy it and consider it a custom built "bastardo" (one of unknown parentage in Italian). The only word of caution, keep an eye on the fork and do regular inspections. It's made of glued together parts and it may date back to the 70s. Any signs that something has moved or come loose, replace it with a steel fork or shudder, a plastic fork. _________________ Chas. SF Bay Area, CA USA ============== 1984 Criterium 1969 TdF 1971 TdF 1974 TdF 1984 TdF x 2 Bikes 1970 SC 1971 SC 1972 SC 1984 SC 1984 Team Pro 1985 Professional 1990s Team Replica   Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 4:13 am sandranian Site Admin Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 2701 Location: Southern California By "plastic" Chas. means carbon, of course. _________________ Stephan Andranian Costa Mesa, CA www.gitaneusa.com   Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 6:09 am littletinyfish Joined: 23 Apr 2010 Posts: 3 Location: Milwaukee, WI I think I'll call it Gitalian. Thanks for all your help.   Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 10:08 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area littletinyfish wrote: I think I'll call it Gitalian Zingaresca is Italian for Gitane, a Gypsy woman. _________________ Chas. SF Bay Area, CA USA ============== 1984 Criterium 1969 TdF 1971 TdF 1974 TdF 1984 TdF x 2 Bikes 1970 SC 1971 SC 1972 SC 1984 SC 1984 Team Pro 1985 Professional 1990s Team Replica Year/Model     gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours   Page 1 of 1   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First  Select a forum Gitane USA----------------Vintage GitaneGitane RacingModern GitanePro Racing - Classics/Giro/Tour....Owner Gallery   Powered by phpBB © 2001-2004 phpBB Group Designed for Trushkin.net | Themes Database.