gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » Looking to identify and restore old tdf    View previous topic :: View next topic  Looking to identify and restore old tdf   Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 5:45 pm jaytheman Joined: 05 Jul 2009 Posts: 13 Location: SF Bay Area Finally retired and decided to fix up my old 1972 (or 1971 ??) tdf. I rode it a lot in 73-75 but only recently bought tires and decided to get it back on the road. I know nothing about restore/repair so all all advice welcome. Pictures are here: http://www.gitaneusa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2632 Need a rear derailleur cable and housing but not sure where I can get them for starters. I think the cassette and chain are well worn also but not at all sure. In SF Bay Area. Know of a good shop who could help sort me out? _________________ Jay 1973 TdF   Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 6:15 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Welcome to the Forum, Your bike is probably an early 1973 Tour de France. Reasons: Sugino Mighty Competition cranks vs. Stronglight 93 Bocama medium point lugs vs. Prugnat long point lugs Recessed Allen bolt Pivo stem vs. external hex head on expander bolt Campagnolo Nuovo Tipo hubs vs. Normandy Luxe Competition hubs. It looks almost all original except for the seat, freewheel (14-28 vs. original 14-26), tires and brake blocks. Do a search and look for verktyg and Tour de France +TdF to find some old messages that will tell you more about the bike. It even has the original thick plastic handle bar tape that Gitane put on at the factory. I'll get back with you later with some suggestion of what your bike needs to get into top condition. _________________ 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: Tue Jul 30, 2013 7:13 pm vanhelmont Joined: 11 Dec 2007 Posts: 242 Location: Florida I looked first at the "Owner's Gallery," and guessed '72, but I was right about one thing, Chas has more info! eta: Any bike shop at all will have a derailleur cable and housing, which are pretty generic, at least for older bikes. Chains are also easy to replace. The freewheel, if in fact it is worn out, will be harder to find. What makes you think it's bad? Dave   Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 7:42 am jaytheman Joined: 05 Jul 2009 Posts: 13 Location: SF Bay Area vanhelmont wrote: I looked first at the "Owner's Gallery," and guessed '72, but I was right about one thing, Chas has more info! eta: Any bike shop at all will have a derailleur cable and housing, which are pretty generic, at least for older bikes. Chains are also easy to replace. The freewheel, if in fact it is worn out, will be harder to find. What makes you think it's bad? Dave Re. chain/cassette bad. A couple of years ago when getting it ready to ride again, I removed/remounted chain after cleaning. At that point I could not keep gears solidly engaged without clicking and slipping. Talked to a bike shop and they said I have probably remounted the chain in opposite direction and due to wear this indicated cassette and chain bad. I remounted in the opposite direction and it was much better. _________________ Jay   Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 12:08 pm gman309905 Joined: 23 Dec 2012 Posts: 63 Location: Pittsburgh PA. I looked at the close up of your freewheel and I don't see any dishing or wear of the gear teeth, I would try a new chain first and see how it does. If it still continues to slip and you want a new freewheel there are quite a few new old stock suntour freewheels available on eBay. I've also seen a few regina's and sach's freewheels. Take your pick.   Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 10:09 pm vanhelmont Joined: 11 Dec 2007 Posts: 242 Location: Florida Wouldn't he need a French thread freewheel? But I agree, chains wear out faster than freewheels, and that's the place to start. Dave   Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 10:20 pm gman309905 Joined: 23 Dec 2012 Posts: 63 Location: Pittsburgh PA. depends on how the freewheel and hub are threaded . The bike was purchased in the US, I'm betting the campy hubs are English threaded. Jay will have to determine how the hub/freewheel are threaded before purchasing another, local bike shop should be able to help him out with this. Metric Hub Threads   Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 11:39 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area gman309905 wrote: depends on how the freewheel and hub are threaded . The bike was purchased in the US, I'm betting the campy hubs are English threaded. Jay will have to determine how the hub/freewheel are threaded before purchasing another, local bike shop should be able to help him out with this. Nope, they were almost always French thread until well past the mid 70s when Gitane went back to using Normandy Luxe hubs (even then, they were probably metric threads until the late 70s or early 80s). An easy way to check, French/metric hubs were 34.7mm (1.366") while English hubs were larger at 34.8mm (1.370") and Italian even bigger at 35mm (1.378"). You can force fit an English or Italian threaded freewheel on a French hub but you will damage the threads. Frequent removable will damage them more. Here's the fly in the ointment: it looks like jaytheman's bike has a 14-28T Suntour freewheel. These were available in metric threads but VERY rare. BTW, TdFs came with 14-24T Atom or Normandy freewheels, occasionally 14-26T freewheels. _________________ 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: Metric Hub Threads   Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 9:49 am jaytheman Joined: 05 Jul 2009 Posts: 13 Location: SF Bay Area verktyg wrote: gman309905 wrote: depends on how the freewheel and hub are threaded . The bike was purchased in the US, I'm betting the campy hubs are English threaded. Jay will have to determine how the hub/freewheel are threaded before purchasing another, local bike shop should be able to help him out with this. Nope, they were almost always French thread until well past the mid 70s when Gitane went back to using Normandy Luxe hubs (even then, they were probably metric threads until the late 70s or early 80s). An easy way to check, French/metric hubs were 34.7mm (1.366") while English hubs were larger at 34.8mm (1.370") and Italian even bigger at 35mm (1.378"). You can force fit an English or Italian threaded freewheel on a French hub but you will damage the threads. Frequent removable will damage them more. Here's the fly in the ointment: it looks like jaytheman's bike has a 14-28T Suntour freewheel. These were available in metric threads but VERY rare. BTW, TdFs came with 14-24T Atom or Normandy freewheels, occasionally 14-26T freewheels. Yes, the freewheel is Suntour 14-28t. From advice I am think to try a new chain and see where I am. _________________ Jay Re: Metric Hub Threads   Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 9:31 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area jaytheman wrote: Yes, the freewheel is Suntour 14-28t. From advice I am think to try a new chain and see where I am. Look for an SRAM PC830 or preferably a PC850 chain they work great! Also, go to Park Tool's website at parktool.com and select "Repair Help" . They have a lot of great info and how-to-do-its. _________________ 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 Looking to identify and restore old tdf     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.