gitaneusa.com :: View topic - newb with a new bike...help! UPDATED W/PICS!!!

augdog · Last edited by augdog on Sun Nov 21, 2010 2:27 pm; edited 1 time in total

i found this forum group because of a purchase i just made, i hope it was a wise one...

out behind a local thrift shop, next to the scrap metal bin was a bike in need of a good home.

i saw the Gitane stickers and some old memory was triggered and i asked to buy it, on instinct, for a 2$ donation to the recycling fund i took it home.

so i started reading and searching, and i'm at a dead end.

here is what i know:
it is a 5 speed. it has a single front chain wheel and no wear/scratches or signs of a front derailer or shifter being removed. it has a single downtube shifter. is this a dead giveaway of something i'm missing?
it is red with chromeish and blue gitane stickers on the seat tube and downtube and 'apache standard' on the top tube

sorry no pics yet.

hopefuly some to follow soon.

any ideas or info...
bad buy? update some components and ride it? sell the vintage parts?

let me know please!

augdog

update.

just sat in the garage staring and examining my new find.

it was a shade of metalic red but is a nonmetalic red now bad repaint around the stickers in place, cant tell if it had chrome socks.

campy record hubs front and rear

shimanno rear derailer with a short cage

no markings on shifter, clamp on mount with a black plastic shift lever

center pull brakes front and rear, only id is 'racer' on a red background

all of this just feels original, same patina and wear on all items, but it is all mismatched, i have heard this is not uncommon.

more later.

augdog

i was kooking at pictures in the other froum section and i found some pics of a supercorsa (i think that was the model)
and the poster claimed it was from 1971, based on a date code on a derailer.
that bike had exactly the same decals mine does, is it possible it's that old?
where can i find this date code?
i looked in the catalogs from the early seventies and found little info.

any thoughts?

i'm new to collectable bikes but i am very excited to clean this up and ride it, i love information and history, i am not looking to get rich, i just want something cool and different.

any motorcyclists here? i have an odd collection of m'cycles also. ask me about them...

scozim

Not sure on the model but the decals are similar to my late 60's Gitane so it's probably that late 60's to early 70's era.

smilingroadrunner

Welcome to the forum, the following links may help.

http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1968/1968_pg4.jpg

http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1968/pricesheet/1968-Price-Sheet-001.jpg

This is likely an entry level Gitane, and given the frame sizes --possibly a consideration as a frame for a Youth.

I had not to this point seen an example of this Gitane Model posted to the GitaneUSA site---so nice find!!!!

It also, albeit an entry level model, is significant just because of its' suggested age as a 1968 model (or at least a late 60's model) ---and you just don't see that many Gitane models from the '60s.

It looks like all the parts are there (although this Old Fart Wink

) won't inquire your age----If I had Grandsons (which hopefully will happen at some future time) this would be a special vintage youth cycle. It's amazing what a cleaning-polishing-maintenance can do. It takes time and elbow grease. I would think the value otherwise is just due to the age - rarity of this particular 5sp youth cycle. Just Clean it Up--Don't alter the patina that this vintage ride has acquired in its' 40 +years.

I Like Steel !!!!!
________________

C.A.
Salina, Ks.

'70 TdeF
'71 Interclub
'72 Interclub x 2
'72 TdeF
'73 TdeF
'72-73 Super Corsa in the wings
'86 Performance
'87 Victoire

Gtane

augdog,

Nice find. I really like the look of the bike. You did well.

Keeping its originality will further add to its appeal.

Enjoy the restoration, it's a great machine.

Tim

augdog

well great! now i'm excited!

well to answer some questions,
im 39, my kids are 6 and 3, no grands for a while.

but, i am a short guy 5'6" or so.
this frame seems to fit me ok, the seat tube is 19 inches C to C
(give or take .5 inch)
my GT mtn bike is a 17 or 18 inch frame
is there any concern with weight or stress on a youth bike ridden by an adult?

i dont have a road bike right now at all
i would like one

i kinda want to ride it

how far should i go?

do i leave it alone?
it's not very pretty right now.

is it to sacred to tweek and mod?
add some high end components and build a cool retro mod
do i update it a little or a lot?

is it too odd to mod? wierd thread sizes, spacings and such?
is it just to difficult to bolt on newer components?

it needs: at the very least!
tires-chain-cables-lever hoods
one crank arm(bent a little) pedals

lots of cleaning and servicing
thats just the parts i can think of now, i'm sure thers more.

anyone know how to strip the top coat of paint with minnimum dammage to the undercoat?
can i get re-po stickers if i have to repaint it?

any offers...

Gtane

augdog,

If that machine was mine I would preserve it by throughly and carefully cleaning it to ensure that originality is retained. Check all bearings, the wheels, bars, stem, brakes, etc., and give them all a good service (replacing any parts as required), then I would finish the bike with a generous coat of wax furniture polish. Having done that I would just enjoy it.

As with a recent thread on the subject ( http://www.gitaneusa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1719 ), we all have our own idea and opinion on preservation and restoration yet we're all right. In that we all like to do it in our own way. The end goal is the same because upon conclusion of the project we'll have a (...nother) complete bicycle to have the pleasure of for years to come.

Once you begin, just see where it takes you.

Whatever you decide to do, do keep us posted.

Tim

augdog

well i read the postings on the link above.
i like all the ideas and the spirit of 'historical respect' very common here.

i'm leaning toward one of the following plans...

update most of the components...
A) starting with the campy hubs i have, finish out a vintage campy set... very cool
B) i'm sort of a carbon fibre junkie, modern carbon components with or without a retro flair, keep down tube shifters and old look brake levers but carbon derailers and other parts, seatpost, bars...or all modern aero levers with shifters, and whatever else i can find, go for max lightness.

i want to keep some old soul and caracter(sp?) but this thing is in tough shape, and i think that will be difficult.

i don't really want to do a total new and clean resto, it just never works, i've seen it over and over on motorcycles: "let's paint the wheels", now the fenders look like crap, "let's powercoat the frame!" now everything else bolted to it looks like crap!

but- the paint on this frame is BAD! not poor quality thats 40 yrs old bad. but bad brush work arround the stickers and dripps and crinkles and peeling on top of the original paint BAD!

i also want to add a front derailer.

stay tuned, ideas forming as i type.

next stop, my favorite LBS for a rummage thru his take off parts, what cool stuff is hiding there?!?