gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » Bought an old bike .. ID Required    View previous topic :: View next topic  Bought an old bike .. ID Required   Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 12:23 pm Kongoken Joined: 04 Aug 2010 Posts: 23 Is it an Interclub? Regards, Grant Re: Bought an old bike .. ID Required   Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 3:19 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area "Is it an Interclub?" Nope, higher up model. In mid 1974 Gitane made a bunch of changes to their model offering. Biggest change was the decals. They switched from the Mylar® Foil Decals like on your bike to the yellow or green plastic film style. Gitane also introduced the Huret honeycomb rear dropouts on all of their road models from Interclub up. These Huret dropouts were considered (fill in the blank - gag reflex) when they first came out but they had the advantage of being able to work with Campy, Simplex and Huret style derailleur mounts. They're now considered much more interesting. Your bike is probably a French or European market model with a full Reynolds 531 frame. Because it has the older style foil decals it could be a very late 1973 or very early 1974 model. It has Prugnat Type S lugs which by 1972 were only used on the top Gitane models. Around 1972 Gitane changed the lugs on their Tour de France and similar models from Prugnats to Bocama medium point Professionals. After 1974 they switched from medium to long point Super Professional Bocama lugs. Prugnat Type S Bocama Professional Bocama Super Professional The top 2-3 Gitane models had longer fork steering tubes to fit Campagnolo headsets with a 41mm stack height - like on your bike. The next models down - Tour de France and so on came with Stronglight P3 headsets with a 33mm stack height and a shorter steering tube. The top models usually had the rear triangle 1/2 chrome plated. Someone replaced the original Stronglight 93 chainrings with later model 105bis "drillium" rings. Also, the pedals, brakes, stem, bars and seat are not original. Nice rare bike! _________________ 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: Wed Sep 22, 2010 9:42 pm Kongoken Joined: 04 Aug 2010 Posts: 23 Chas, Thanks for all the information .. so basically I have a higher end frame but the rest of the components are not original .. jeez! How can I go about finding out exactly what it is / was? Any tips? We bought the bike in Caen (France) .. and it still has a sticker on it from a bike shop in Caen where I guess it was either originally bought from or maybe took in for maintenance. Regards, Grant What model?   Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:27 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Look in the catalogue section of the website under 1973 French and 1974. Check out the top of the line models. The frame is the most important component of a bike, wheels are next. They rest of the parts are less important. Your bike doesn't quite match any of those models but it has a good frame. It's probably a variation of an early Champion Du Monde model. They came with Cinelli bars and stem. http://www.gitaneusa.com/catalogues01.asp It was common for owners to upgrade the components on their bikes as parts wore out or just for cosmetics and "vanity"! The seat looks a little low. If you are riding it that way and it fits your legs, the frame may be a little to big for you. You should be able to comfortably stand over the top tube. _________________ 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: Wed Sep 22, 2010 11:05 pm Kongoken Joined: 04 Aug 2010 Posts: 23 Thanks once again Chas .. I haven't ridden the bike at all as I have just came back to the house from a short break and had a look at the bike that my wife picked up for me. I can stand over the top tube without a problem so will need to raise the saddle as suggested. Maybe I should get on to the previous owner and ask if they still have the original components!! Grant Original components   Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 12:02 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area It's highly unlikely that the previous owner has the original components for a 35+ year old bike. Frequently upgrades where done by bike shops rather than owners and the old parts were chucked into a junk box or the dust bin. In general, the components on your bike are better quality and will perform better than the original equipment that came on the bike. They are all "period correct" and sometimes that the best that you could ask for. Finding the "correct" components may be difficult because your bike doesn't match the specifications of any model listed in the catalogs. Also 35+ year old parts in good condition can become an expensive proposition, especially since many Japanese collectors pay top dollar for older French parts. I'd suggest that you clean up the bike and either lubricate and adjusts the cables, derailleurs and brakes or have someone who knows what they are doing perform the work for you. Then ride the bike to see how you like it before thrying to do a restoration. _________________ 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: Thu Sep 23, 2010 1:25 am Kongoken Joined: 04 Aug 2010 Posts: 23 Chas, Sounds good to me .. thanks again. I will go through your cleaning tips and see if it comes out nice and shiney Grant   Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 4:26 am sandranian Site Admin Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 2701 Location: Southern California You sure it isn't a "3 tubes" Reynolds frameset? The stays were usually chromed on the full Reynolds bikes. But then I am just throwing this out there, with little thought! _________________ Stephan Andranian Costa Mesa, CA www.gitaneusa.com Reynolds 531 Sticker   Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 12:47 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area sandranian wrote: You sure it isn't a "3 tubes" Reynolds frameset? The stays were usually chromed on the full Reynolds bikes. But then I am just throwing this out there, with little thought! Stephan, The 3 TUBES RENFORCES frames would not have had Reynolds 531 forks. Also, if you look at the remnants of the Reynolds decal, you can see that the 53 characters are slanted whereas the 3 Tubes decal would have been straight. One other thing, in 1974 Reynolds started using decals with a gold address box at the bottom. What left of this decal doesn't have room for the address block which adds to the evidence that its a model change bike - 1973/74. _________________ 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: Thu Sep 23, 2010 1:35 pm sandranian Site Admin Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 2701 Location: Southern California It was early...and I did notice the forks, which were usually paired only with a complete Reynolds frame. But we are talking Gitane here...so the norm is not always the norm! The slanted vs. straight decal is a good one. Although I swear I received an improperly badged frame direct from GitaneUSA.... _________________ Stephan Andranian Costa Mesa, CA www.gitaneusa.com   Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 1:23 am Kongoken Joined: 04 Aug 2010 Posts: 23 I took the bike out for a quick test ride yesterday and it's very light and very quick. Now starts the cleanup operation Bought an old bike .. ID Required     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.