gitaneusa.com :: View topic - Gitane Hosteller- New owner!

Al

Last weekend I bought a Gitane Hosteller. I took quite a few photos this week and have created a slideshow on Photobucket: here is the url- http://s141.photobucket.com/user/WoodsHunter/slideshow/Gitane%20Hosteller
I can't pinpoint it's year of manufacture. I've looked at the catalogs on this site and haven't found anything quite like this.

After reading many posts on this and other forums, I believe the first things I should replace to make this bike road-worthy would be; rims and tires (even though the originals still hold air Wink

), brake pads, cables, derailleurs, and stem. Any suggestions, and ideas on replacement parts, would be appreciated!

verktyg

YES I'm being rude, intentionally.

The most important mechanical features on a bike are on the obscene, dirty, greasy, complex to understand right side! Wink

Nice pictures but...

A simple picture of the right side will give viewers an idea about model and gear train which will help in identifying a bike.

Dog modesty skirt:

Bike modesty skirt:

For extreme modesty, a bike burqa:

End of rant... Twisted Evil

Now to your bike, you have a very nice almost all original very early 70s Gitane Hosteller (the Hostellers pictured in the 1970 Gitane catalog are probably from the late 60s).

Not all Gitane Hostellers were as well equipped as yours. For example yours has a triple crank and MAFAC cantilever brakes.

Gitane Hostellers were never that common in the US. The Hosteller was a bike ahead of it's time in the US. The great interest in bike touring didn't happen until 1975-76.

It probably would have come with MAFAC brake lever which are best suited for large hands. My guess is that a bike shop installed the shorter reach Weinman or DiaCompe brake levers with "SUICIDE LEVERS" (mis named "safety levers).

There were several problems with suicide levers:

1. They were a poorly executed afterthought design developed by DiaCompe in Japan. They allowed people to ride with their hands on top of the bars and hopefully reach the brake levers.

The first Weinmann suicide levers were made by DiaCompe who patented "safety levers" in Japan and later licensed Weinmann to make and sell them.

Sport cycling was a very small part of bicycling in Japan back then, so they didn't know any better. Those levers would have never passed the US lawyer test!

2. The screws holding the suicide levers on frequently came loose which allowed the activating end to pop out of the lever.

This left the rider with their hands on the tops of the bars and NO BRAKES! Shocked

Also, the plastic bushing around the central pin deformed or wore out quickly from the extreme pressure that suicide levers caused. This resulted in loose levers too.

3. Unless the mounting screws where kept tight, the wheels trued and the cables properly adjusted. a rider could bottom the suicide levers out against the bars and still not be able to apply enough pressure to adequately stop the bike.

My 1972 Gitane Gran Sport came with suicide levers. After ending up several times in the middle of an intersection in heavy traffic, I took them off.

Editorial:

During the bike boom, derailleur bikes in the US were marketed as "10 Speed Racers" (even though there was almost no competitive cycling going on in the US).

Drop bars were part of the image fad back then. Most riders would have been better served with flat handlebars for short around town rides.

Two advantages of drop bars is that they allow you to "ride on the drops" to lower your wind resistance and also for long ride to move your hands around on the bars for better comfort on longer rides.

End of editorial...

Rims and tires... Your bike has 27" chrome plated rims which stop poorly plus the indentations in the sides hold water when wet and provide perfect lubrication to prevent safe stopping! Confused

The rims need to be kept trued so that the brake blocks can be tightly adjusted to remove any slack in the cable.

Alloy rims provide far better stopping plus they lighten the bike by 2-3 pounds in the most important area, the wheels.

Unfortunately most wheels, tires and rims sold today are size 700c which is 4mm per side smaller than 27".

With regular caliper brakes you can usually just lower the brake blocks in the calipers. With cantilever brakes you may run into a problem aligning the brake blocks to the rims.

Additionally. your rear hub is 120mm wide over the lock nuts. Today most modern rear hubs are 130mm wide for use with 8, 9, 10 or 11 tooth cassettes versus the 5 speed freewheel on your bike.

If you look around you can find used or replacement 700c wheel sets with alloy rims and 126mm wide rear hubs.

One other suggestion, have the wheels rebuilt with new alloy rims and stainless steel spokes. have the hubs overhauled at the same time.

Find an old Schwinn dealer they will have replacement parts for your Normandy hubs if needed.

If you go the rebuild route you can choose between 27" and 700c rims.

Replace all of the cables and cable housings. Modern cable housing has a plastic or Teflon liner that makes them much smoother and more efficient.

Lastly, overhaul the bottom bracket and head set. You can do this yourself, there;s lots of "how to" info on the web. If you have it done find a shop with some old geezers who know how to work on a French bike.

Many bike shop mechanics weren't even a gleam in their daddy's eyes when your bike was built.

Good luck and enjoy...

Al

Thanks for all the info. Years of teaching in public schools have make me leery of presenting anything that might be considered "obscene, dirty, greasy, ….", but here goes…a walk on the wild side… ' Shocked

'

I've added these to the slide show, too. When you view the show, you should be able to pause, click on the thumbnails on the bottom and select images-you need to move your mouse over the bottom to see the thumbnails.

The suicide levers are Dia-Compes. The French Gitane 1978 catalog on page 14 shows a set which appear similar.

I was a part of the 70s-80s bike boom. This Hosteller is replacing a Fuji America which I had for many years.

verktyg

Thanks for sharing your "bike porn".... Laughing

Here's a link to a vendor that sells new 27" wheel sets (no relation whatsoever to the sellers):

http://www.velomine.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=86_235_432&products_id=2529

These are 27" wheels with Weinmann alloy rims, stainless spokes and sealed bearing hubs for $94 USD! Shocked

They have a 126mm wide rear hub which will take a 5, 6 or 7 speed freewheel. You will need to spread the frame 3mm on each side.

Looks like a good deal to me.

Panaracer Pasela TG tires come in 27" x 1", 27" x 1 1/8" and 27" x 1 1/4" sizes. The TG styles have an Aramid belt under the treads to help reduce punctures. They have a nice ride and handle well even in the wet.

They come with either steel bead or folding Aramid bead plus the have tan sidewalls for that classic look.

http://www.panaracer.com/urban.php (scroll down to the Pasela TGs)

I've been riding Pasela TGs for the past 7 years. Wink

Suicide levers are a good way to meet a neurologist or at least the ER staff! Crying or Very sad

Cary1

Nice Hosteller Al. I have a 72 Hosteller in Match Blue. I did replace the crappy single wall original rims with SunRingle CR18 Polished double wall alloy rims and DT Swiss spokes and nipples. What a difference! I am also using Continental GatorSkins 27 x 1 1/4 tires. Love the ride!! one of my favorite Gitane's! Wink