gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » TDF Frame on Ebay    View previous topic :: View next topic  TDF Frame on Ebay   Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 12:04 pm dchancock1 Joined: 18 May 2009 Posts: 5 Location: New Smyrna Beach, Florida I'm new to the forum and am interested in buying a vintage Gitane. I owned an awesome orange 73 or 74 (not sure, it's been a while) Grand Sport Deluxe. I found this TDF frame on Ebay. The listing is http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching&item=260411191470&viewitem=&salenotsupported. It has some surface rust. Is it worth bidding on? I would appreciate some input from you experts.   Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 12:38 pm greyhundguy Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 678 Location: South-Central VIRGINIA dc, Downside: A lot of work or a repaint. Upside: A fair amount of the pricey parts are there, Bottom Bracket, Headset, crank arms and assorted small bits. Still, expect to spend hundreds if you want near original. Jay _________________ Dance like nobody is watching.   Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 6:29 pm dchancock1 Joined: 18 May 2009 Posts: 5 Location: New Smyrna Beach, Florida Thanks for the info. We'll see how the auction goes. 58cm (c-t-c)   Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 12:33 pm Kinst VonSterga Joined: 26 May 2008 Posts: 153 Location: Hillsboro, Oregon USA What inseam (rider height) would this fit on average? 5'10" ~ 6'1" ? Re: 58cm (c-t-c) Frame Size   Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 10:10 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Kinst VonSterga wrote: What inseam (rider height) would this fit on average? 5'10" ~ 6'1" ? I frequently see descriptions on eBay stating that a bike or frame will fit a certain size rider i.e. 5'10" ~ 6'1". In reality the most important dimension on a bike frame is the Standover Height. A rider should be able to straddle the bike and be able to quickly dismount from the saddle without having contact with the top tube. Inseam is a measurement for fitting pants taken from the crotch down to about the ankles. I have a very long torso with short legs. I'm 5'9" but my inseam is 28 1/2". I ride bikes with a 30 1/2" to 32" standover height, 54cm to 56cm frames. Depending on whether the frame is measured from Center to Center or Center to Top, many 57cm frames and most 58cm frames are to big for me. The sizes listed for most bike frames are NOMINAL dimensions. Gitane and many other makes of bikes up through the late 70s were measured from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube (or a point where the top tube would intersect). For example the 1970 Gitane US catalog listed the following frame sizes: 19", 21" , 22 1/2", 23 1/2", 24 1/2' and 25 1/2" which translated into: 50cm, 54cm, 57cm, 60cm, 62cm and 64cm. If you add the height of the center of the bottom bracket from the ground to to the frame size you can get the approximate standover height (plus or minus 1/2") Bottom bracket height run about 10 1/2" to 11 1/4" or 266mm to 286mm. Most most modern frames are measured from the center of the bottom bracket to the imaginary center of the seat lug where the seat tube and top tube intersect. Hope that this helps a little. Chas.   Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 12:53 pm Kinst VonSterga Joined: 26 May 2008 Posts: 153 Location: Hillsboro, Oregon USA With that explanation, that mean I have 1/2" clearance (inseam + shoes vs. top tube location), assuming 700c wheels are installed ... with the top tube length adjusted by the length of the stem I select. ps. short-legs = greater power Standover Height   Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 6:35 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area At our shop in the 70s, we used to explain to customers that they needed about 1" of standover height between the top tube and their "personal zone". When doing an emergency dismount a rider's knees are going to flex a little reducing the safety zone. We frequently took the same kind of liberties that a tailor might do when we were fitting someone for a bike. We had them hold a bar or tube between their legs as far up to the top as was comfortable for them and then we measured the distance from the bar to the ground. Another method was to have the customer straddle the bike with their feet flat on the ground (wearing low heeled shoes) and have them lift up the front of the bike to check and see if there was any contact. This method worked better for female customers. The eBay frame that's the topic of this thread is a 60cm (23 1/2") frame as measured from C-T-T, Center to Top the way that Gitane did in those days. The standover height with sewups or 700C tires is probably going to be in the 33" to 34" range depending on tire size and so on. It's probably a late 71 or 72 model with old style Simplex dropouts without an integral gear hangar. Chas. Worth bidding on?   Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 7:48 am vanhelmont Joined: 11 Dec 2007 Posts: 242 Location: Florida The price is right. If you like it, and enjoy working on stuff, get it. As Jay says, you will still put a couple of $100 in it, however if you are able to recycle some parts, and don't worry too much about achieving original condition, you can save some. But if you'd rather not get grease and paint on your hands, you're probably better off to wait for a complete bike. Last edited by vanhelmont on Fri May 22, 2009 11:56 am; edited 1 time in total   Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:39 am dchancock1 Joined: 18 May 2009 Posts: 5 Location: New Smyrna Beach, Florida I'm fairly handy. I may bid on it and see where it goes. David Check your Private Messages   Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 9:25 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area David, I sent you a Private Message. Chas. 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