gitaneusa.com :: View topic - Faux Gran Tourisme on eBay

verktyg · Last edited by verktyg on Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:19 pm; edited 2 times in total

There is a faux Gitane Gran Tourisme frame on eBay.

I just sent the seller a message listing why the frame is not a Gran Tourisme.

http://tinyurl.com/82be2p6

NOTE:

Seller has re-listed the frame as a Super Corsa.

The frame is probably a 1972-73 Super Corsa with a Zeus fork. Also, Gitane never used chrome plated lugs.

Someone plated the lugs and repainted the frame.

Gran Tourisme frames had a tab brazed on the left seat stay to mount a generator. Also the frame was drilled to take the generator wires to the fender mounted lights.

The Gitane fork used a Nervex Professional or Dubois crown. The Zeus forks had Cinelli knock off full sloping crowns.

Also the Gran Tourisme forks had brazed-ons for a rack.

Here's the picture of the Gran Tourisme from the 1970 Gitane catalog.

The bike in the picture has some discrepancies. The fork would have been half chrome plated. The stem is wrong and it would have had a Ideale 90 saddle. Also the decals are missing.

This was probably either a display bike at Mel Pinto Imports or maybe one of the shop or employee's bikes that was used for the picture. The bike has the willow leaf brazed-on caps on the seat stays which would have made it a 1970 or earlier model.

There were probably no more than several hundred Gran Tourisme bikes imported into the US between 1968 and 1973.

One other thing, these bikes had 27" alloy clinchers for the US market. In Europe they would have had 700c wheels.

Frenchbuilt

Pretty frame though. Maybe it is fully chromed (see rear brake fix)

With the price of gold today, it seems like a great investment to buy the sellers other parts. (joke)

Anyway, an all chrome frame with all gold parts and rims could look
pretty nice but expensive.