gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » My beautiful Gitane needs some further specs infos! Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next    View previous topic :: View next topic  My beautiful Gitane needs some further specs infos!   Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 8:41 am Muchocapucho Joined: 15 Jul 2010 Posts: 21 I guess i just found out, that my bike is the Tour de France line (see Thread: Gitane TDF en france. The pics of that bike helped me identify my Bike, which took about a month.) I Hope, that I am not wrong. The only thing I dont know yet nothing about is what kind of a - Bottom Bracket - Headset is installed? It is rather important, because I would like to buy nos parts for my bike and possibly (first wait and see what happens to the old parts and also listen what some bike store mates tell me) replace them. Anyway, it is damn unbelievable how good those two parts still work, after so many years (I do not know if they ever have been replaced by the first owner). Concerning the strangely hanging derailleur on the pictures: it is a faulty one which I replace yesterday, so the chain is not too short! [img]   Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 9:02 am sandranian Site Admin Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 2701 Location: Southern California Nice bike. Love the seat stay caps. The headset and BB are likely Stronglight. _________________ Stephan Andranian Costa Mesa, CA www.gitaneusa.com 1976 TdF   Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:23 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Greetings, None of my comments should be construed as being negative as everything on the bike looks to be decent quality. The frame appears to be a 1976 Tour de France with an all Reynolds 531 tubing. It looks like it's either been upgraded over time or maybe partially parted out and reassembled into somewhat of a frankenbike. For example the brakes, seat and seatpost are from a different era. The Simplex derailleurs look like ones from the early 80s and so on. The bars and stem look original but not the headset. By 1976 Gitane had switched from Sugino back to Stronglight cranks but they could be original. Here's what I would expect on a 1976 TdF: Stronglight 93 Cranks Stronglight P3 Headset Huret Success Derailleurs MAFAC 2000 or Competition Brakes Rubis Fluted, Chrome Plated Straight Steel Seatpost Ideale 2000 Saddle Lyotard 460D Pedals Normandy High Flange Hubs with Mavic Modular E 27" Clincher Rims Guild Bars Belleri Stem Your bike has Simplex Criterium Levers I've seen TdFs with Simplex Criterium Derailleurs instead of the titanium Huret Success models. _________________ 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 Re: 1976 TdF   Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 2:33 pm Muchocapucho Joined: 15 Jul 2010 Posts: 21 verktyg wrote: Greetings, None of my comments should be construed as being negative as everything on the bike looks to be decent quality. Hi verktyg, first of all, thanks for your help. Second, i am really impressed by your effort and will and of course knowledge too for helping others to answer all their questions (i have read a lot of threads yesterday before i registered and I must say, you do a great job in this forum). Then, concerning your "negative" comments: they are not, not at all, because i am so satisfied an a sort of in love with this bike, that nothing could change my mind, especially about for example the Brakes. They are wonderful. They are italian (i dont like Campa parts, and Galli is the only italian part having the permission to mesh with my Gitane) and so differnent to all this other italian stuff, they are both, artless and beautiful, without any stupid fret (is this the right word?), puristic to the power of ten!. Here is what the bike looked like when I got it: Cranks: Sugino Mighty 171 BB: Sugino (35xP1 Made in Japan) Headset: ? Derailleurs: Simplex Prestige Criterium Brakes: Galli Criterium Seatpost: Stronglight Aero Saddle: iscaselle (awful!, from late 80s I guess, maybe early 90s) Pedals: Mikashima Unique Road Hubs and Rims: Milremo Bars: Guild (Belleri?) Stem: Belleri I changed the Front and Rear Derailleur to a - Super LJ The Tires, widely used, were Vittoria Georgia, now - Wolber. The awful iscaselle saddle has been replaced by this great ebay purchase, a Schneider Made in Italy, genuine leather. You wont believe me how comfortbale it is!!! The best purchase Ive made in the last 12 month, for just 5 Euro! I guess, nobody wanted it just because there was no imprint like Ideale or whatever they call them, those lousy, horrendous items! How great, to be no fashion victim! What else did I "modify"?... Well, nothing else. Enjoy...   Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 11:54 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area My favorite, maybe all time favorite bike is my 1984 Gitane Super Corsa that I assembled as a frankenbike to use for wet weather riding. So enjoy your 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 Re: Enjoy...   Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 3:47 am Muchocapucho Joined: 15 Jul 2010 Posts: 21 verktyg wrote: My favorite, maybe all time favorite bike is my 1984 Gitane Super Corsa that I assembled as a frankenbike to use for wet weather riding. So enjoy your bike. Yours is Beautiful, too and very similar to mine. Which derailleur did you install on yours? Is it a simplex Super SLJ 6600? It seems so.   Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 11:28 am greyhundguy Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 678 Location: South-Central VIRGINIA Muchocapucho, Are you able to read the Reynolds decal above the shift levers? Is it three tubes 531? Jay _________________ Dance like nobody is watching.   Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 11:40 am sandranian Site Admin Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 2701 Location: Southern California It should be full Reynolds, judging by the chain stays. _________________ Stephan Andranian Costa Mesa, CA www.gitaneusa.com   Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 12:27 pm Muchocapucho Joined: 15 Jul 2010 Posts: 21 greyhundguy wrote: Muchocapucho, Are you able to read the Reynolds decal above the shift levers? Is it three tubes 531? Jay Hi Jay, the Decals are french, the Frame is full 531 not three tubes 531. Muchocapucho   Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 3:02 pm vanhelmont Joined: 11 Dec 2007 Posts: 242 Location: Florida Muchocapucho, It's a beautiful bike. The mixture of parts likely just means somebody rode it and loved it. When something broke, or when he found something he liked better than what the bike came with, he changed it. You aren't going to put it in a museum, so you could do likewise, just change things that don't work, like you did with the derailleur. If the headset and bottom bracket are working, I'd just clean and lube. It's easy to put in new ball bearings when you do that. They should last a long time with proper maintenance.   Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 3:36 pm Muchocapucho Joined: 15 Jul 2010 Posts: 21 vanhelmont wrote: Muchocapucho, It's a beautiful bike. The mixture of parts likely just means somebody rode it and loved it. When something broke, or when he found something he liked better than what the bike came with, he changed it. You aren't going to put it in a museum, so you could do likewise, just change things that don't work, like you did with the derailleur. If the headset and bottom bracket are working, I'd just clean and lube. It's easy to put in new ball bearings when you do that. They should last a long time with proper maintenance. I still can hardly believe that this bike is not going to brake in the near future because it seems to me so damn fragile - i never had such a race bike - but then I imagine, how old the bike is and and at the same time it is still in a perfect working order. Concerning the frame: the small tube where the rear brake is mounted, has cracked at the bottom. This tube is on the middle thinner than usually a frame is. Maybe the damage occured while the bolt has been once in the past tightened to strong, so the lower part of the tube is a kind of crimped together. I will put a picture in here tomorrow to show how serious it is (Is it something serious?)   Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 3:47 pm greyhundguy Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 678 Location: South-Central VIRGINIA Muchocapucho wrote: Concerning the frame: the small tube where the rear brake is mounted, has cracked at the bottom. This tube is on the middle thinner than usually a frame is. Maybe the damage occured while the bolt has been once in the past tightened to strong, so the lower part of the tube is a kind of crimped together. I will put a picture in here tomorrow to show how serious it is (Is it something serious?) This short piece of tube has a seam at the bottom which is normal. Is that what you are seeing? Jay _________________ Dance like nobody is watching. Gitane Blue   Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 2:40 am Frenchbuilt Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 443 Just saw another one like ours here in France. (Blue, equiped like I wrote the other day in the last post in "Gitane TDF en france") Pretty sure that your bike is all original except seat and post, pedals, wheels and hubs, brakes. They made (it appears) many blue ones. Dan   Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 3:50 am Muchocapucho Joined: 15 Jul 2010 Posts: 21 greyhundguy wrote: Muchocapucho wrote: Concerning the frame: the small tube where the rear brake is mounted, has cracked at the bottom. This tube is on the middle thinner than usually a frame is. Maybe the damage occured while the bolt has been once in the past tightened to strong, so the lower part of the tube is a kind of crimped together. I will put a picture in here tomorrow to show how serious it is (Is it something serious?) This short piece of tube has a seam at the bottom which is normal. Is that what you are seeing? Jay Well, to me it seems more than that but I am not a pro in judging that, so I hope I am wrong. Here is a picture.   Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 4:08 am greyhundguy Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 678 Location: South-Central VIRGINIA Muchocapucho, Well, it does have the typical seam AND appears that the brake mounting bolt was overtightened causing it to crimp/bend/dent inward. Maybe Chas. will know if this a structural problem or if it is just cosmetic. Jay _________________ Dance like nobody is watching. 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