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tue1985

hello guys is this the 1997 mach 1800 from the catalogue or is it a different color or something ? cant seem to find mine anywhere.

totally new to the vintage bicycle thing, so sorry if i seem kinda lost.

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vanhelmont

Welcome, Tue

The distinctive paint job seems to be unique to '97. The brakes look like those on the 1800. The most obvious difference is the fork, which I would guess is original because of the paint. The lower models seem to have painted forks with some curvature, as opposed to the chrome forks with straight blades on the higher models.

Obviously alot of the components have been changed, but you have a columbus sticker. What does it say? Also the brakes might be original. What brakes do you have? Is the sticker on the seat tube from Gitane, or is it a shop or something?

Dave

tue1985

This is the Columbus sticker.

vanhelmont

Your bike is 3 tubes tron, while the catalog specifies 3 tubes brain. They were similar quality tube sets. Gitane might have changed during the model year after the catalog was printed,due to cost or availability. Since I think from the newspapers in your picture you are not in France, Gitane may have made different models, or even the same names with slightly different specifications, in your country. We probably can't say for sure, but it's surely close to the 1997 mach 1800.

Dave