gitaneusa.com :: View topic - At Last

Flammer

After falling for an Interclub and missing out, I've since been on the look out for a Gitane of suitable size. So today one pops up 160 km away. OK, so it's not the race rocket of my dreams, but I already have three of those. Rolling Eyes

(I'll brag about my Gazelle AA Special another time)

I've trawled through the catalogs, but can't quite pin it down. Any thoughts?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140477381050&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

verktyg

Greetings and welcome to the Forum.

The bike looks to be a 1974 to 76 Gitane Gypsy model except that it has Huret derailleurs and a Sugino Maxi crankset. It was common for Gitane to use non specified components such as Huret vs. Simplex derailleurs and so on. The fenders (mud guards) may or may not be original.

Someone could have installed the Sugino crankset or it could have come that way. By the mid 70s alloy cranks were a big selling point over cottered steel cranks so they could be standard.

Gitane made a lot of different market specific models so it's sometimes hard to pin down an exact bike.

Here a link to the 1975 Gitane catalog. These have Simplex derailleurs and steel cranks (look at the bikes, not her! ). Wink

http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1975_pg1.jpg

Here's the spec sheet.

http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1975_pg2.jpg

Right click on the magnifying glass cursor to get an enlarged view.

The one curiosity, it looks like the fork end dropouts are forged not stamped steel.

BTW, Wisey is our local resident fair dinkim Aussie (I was going to say Ocker but I'll be polite). Twisted Evil

Flammer

Many thanks! I'm picking it up next Friday, so I'll confirm the components then. The mix of components is rather eclectic and the placement of the shifters on the down tube had me looking at other models. Very Happy