gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » I have bought a 1973/74 Super Pista (I think)?    View previous topic :: View next topic  I have bought a 1973/74 Super Pista (I think)?   Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 6:10 pm D.Webb Joined: 03 Nov 2014 Posts: 7 Hi all, I'm new to this forum and have just purchased my first Gitane vintage bicycle. I haven't received it yet but thought I would try and get started on its restoration prospects. It is a track bike and I haven't been able to find many identifying resources other than the catalogues which seem to indicate it is a 1973/74 Super Pista 1901? I would really appreciate any info you guys might be able to provide, I really want to get it back to original (with in reason) and keep it as a time peice and also race at our track during summer. Pics below, I look forward to be a part of the forum and it's a great site, thanks to those who have put the work into it. btw, the bike and I are in Australia 1970s Gitane Track Bike   Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 11:57 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Welcome to the Forum. Looks like maybe a 1974 frame. Gitane used these seat stay caps on their top road bikes in 1976. The picture in the 1974 catalog shows them on the Super Pista with these caps plus chrome "socks" on the forks and rear triangle. The rear dropouts and fork ends should be Campagnolo. Are the chrome forks original? People sometimes remove the paint on Gitane chrome plated forks. None of the components shown are original. The bike would have come with Campagnolo Nuovo Record Pista parts. The bars and stem were Cinelli steel. _________________ 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: Wed Nov 05, 2014 2:24 am D.Webb Joined: 03 Nov 2014 Posts: 7 Thanks for the reply, The seller said the forks are original and forks and frame in good straight condition. I am only guessing the forks may have been swapped for a more comfortable ride as it looks like someone was trying to make a fixie out of it. I'm new to vintage bikes and learning a lot but still just scratching the surface. I have a heap of questions but don't want to load the forum up with trivial questions. With my limited knowledge I'll try construct some questions below and see what you guys think? - The parts on the bike, stem, seat post, bars, etc. Can you identify what time period they are from? - Apart from being wrong is the crankset the correct time period? - Would it have been most likely this bike was French Gitane racing blue with early Gitane 70's yellow decals. If so does anyone know the paint colour code, either acrylic or 2pac? - Were there other colour frames with foil decals for example? - Whats the general conciseness, would it be weird to restore the frame to original and leave these components on the bike (I might try get 70's Mavic or Campy tubular tracks wheels for it). - Does anyone have any good restoration pics of same or similar model for a reference point they would be willing to share. I have a larger chain ring lined up so I can get racing when it arrives but will start preparing rebuild plans for early next year. Once again, any help greatly appreciated. Cheers   Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 2:38 am D.Webb Joined: 03 Nov 2014 Posts: 7 For reference, below notes from original sale on ebay 1970's Gitane track bike, 52cm frame, top tube 54cm not original colour Campagnolo GS BB and Cranks 170 with 42t Surly flip flop rear hub, 3/32x15t gear with velocity rim Radial Shimano 105 front hub and FIR wheel Bontrager race lite tyres 700x23c Concour S. Marco track saddle Cinelli stem Belleri bars Tektro lever Includes original forks   Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 6:52 am sandranian Site Admin Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 2701 Location: Southern California Nice frame. Love the details on the stay caps. Interesting that Gitane delved into details from time to time...then just slapped stickers on their bikes and kicked them out the door! _________________ Stephan Andranian Costa Mesa, CA www.gitaneusa.com   Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 8:26 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area D.Webb wrote: The seller said the forks are original and forks... I am only guessing the forks may have been swapped for a more comfortable ride as it looks like someone was trying to make a fixie out of it. Original Living proof - dumb a** fixie fadist hipsters don't have a clue! (I know a lot Aussie epithets but this is a family forum) The forks in the first pictures CLEARLY say CILO - which is a Swiss bicycle brand. Also, they're from the 1980s Next: D.Webb wrote: ...."notes from original sale on eBay" ...52cm frame, top tube 54cm WHAT! The frame measured from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube is 55cm to 57cm! Definitely not a 53cm frame. Please don't take this as a personal attack... "I don't cotton fools well" when it comes to eBay sellers and their lack of knowledge... Especially when they come across as experts! Now, to your questions. First thing, does the bike fit you? Is the frame the right size? Not too big or too small? If the frame is the wrong size then find something that does. Second, before spending any more money on the bike ride it a number of times to make sure that it fits you and you like the way that it rides and handles. A lot of adjustments can be made like seat height, bar height and so on. Also a shorter or longer stem can make a big difference in fit. NOTE! The stem needs to be inserted into the steerer at least 75mm (3" in Imperial terms). D.Webb wrote: - The parts on the bike, stem, seat post, bars, etc. Can you identify what time period they are from? 1970s and 1980s... D.Webb wrote: - Apart from being wrong is the crankset the correct time period? No, they were from the early 80s. D.Webb wrote: - Would it have been most likely this bike was French Gitane racing blue with early Gitane 70's yellow decals. If so does anyone know the paint colour code, either acrylic or 2pac? - Were there other colour frames with foil decals for example? Gitanes from that era came in a wide variety of colors: blue red, green purple, white and others. Up through the late 70s, Gitane used dyed transparent lacquers over a white gold or silver base coat to create a "flamboyant" (candy apple) finish. Later they switched to metallic colors (colours) - like the blue on a Fawstas can! There were NO STANDARD TRACEABLE COLORS! They could and did change a little from day to day. You have a 35 to 38 year old bike from a company that's been out of business. All of the records are long gone. If all of the above points work for you, paint it whatever color you like. D.Webb wrote: - Whats the general conciseness, would it be weird to restore the frame to original and leave these components on the bike (I might try get 70's Mavic or Campy tubular tracks wheels for it). - Does anyone have any good restoration pics of same or similar model for a reference point they would be willing to share. Did you look at the picture that I posted above from the 1974 catalog? Click on picture to expand My personal opinion is that if you have a bike that's in reasonable condition (good paint, decals, no rust) and most of the components are original and in good condition then I usually recommend restoring it back to how it was when new. In your situation, it looks like you have a rideable bike with a mixture of components. To make it all original could cost you a lot of money and you would end up with a bike that doesn't have a lot of collector's value. A lot of the bikes that I've put together from bare frames have ended up as "frankenbikes". It's how they work that matters to me. _________________ 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: Sat Nov 08, 2014 5:52 pm D.Webb Joined: 03 Nov 2014 Posts: 7 He was referring to the second set of forks being original, but yes, the amount of fixie conversions I've been filtering through on ebay is crazy. Even saw a number of classic road bike frame with rear derailleur hanger ground off for better fixie look? Needless to say those frames going for next to nothing now Yeah the sizing is a bit odd, I asked for conformation of top tube length centre to centre and he assures me it's 54cm which is my size, so a bit of wait and see on that....... I plan to start/finish to track season on it so should get an idea of how it feels. Thanks for the advice, will get comfortable on it first. I did look at the picture you provided, thank you. I was mainly interested if someone on the forum had an original example with detailed photos so I could get a better idea of what the original parts looked like, etc. One of my main concerns was getting the frame to the right colour but you have answered that question for me so I can choose colour of my choice which makes the build more exciting with out ruining the vintage appeal of the bike. I started looking at prices of some original parts and quickly realized this would become a very expensive rebuild and probably take some enjoyment out of the process as well. So I think your advice is good, I will rebuild it some where between vintage and performance and that was the original purchase intent for me. Thank you for your help and I will update with some pictures and how I get on with it in the near future.   Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 5:57 pm D.Webb Joined: 03 Nov 2014 Posts: 7 sandranian wrote: Nice frame. Love the details on the stay caps. Interesting that Gitane delved into details from time to time...then just slapped stickers on their bikes and kicked them out the door! Yet to lay my eyes on it, so hopefully it is straight and clean and makes a good ride. I'll try get some better photos of it soon. Cheers, Headsets   Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 5:12 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area The original fork may have metric (French) threads - M25 x 1 pitch. The Cilo fork will definitely have British (ISO) threads - 1" x 24 TPI. I bought a 1974 Tour de France frame that had been passed around by several people on the Forum. It came from OZ (maybe via the UK) and it has a British threaded headset and bottom bracket. Gitane and most other French companies hadn't switched from metric threads yet so it was made for some market using the Imperial thread system. Can't tell what kind of headset is on your bike, looks like a Shimano that's been jack up with spacers by some (fill in your own epithet but something starting with a W and ending in ER might suffice). If the BB has French threads then the original fork will be metric too. You can go to the bank with Phryne on that, eh? _________________ 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 Nov 18, 2014 6:43 pm D.Webb Joined: 03 Nov 2014 Posts: 7 Bit of an update, Got the bike and is perfect size for me, so the biggest risk/question answered. You were right, the bike is British ISO threads so makes dealing with it a little easier. The condition of the bike is good, chrome is far better than I would have imagined a bike of that age to be. Frame is straight and no visible dents, etc. The bike had a sticker on the side with "Carolyn Cunningham" I did a bit of a google search and discovered she was racing and had some track results in 2003 as a junior, so that might explain the smaller front 42t chain ring. Handle bars had a bit of a click in them so not sure if suspicious or not, I had another bike with some steel bars which the bar tape was all the way to the stem, after taking the tape off I could see that they are Cinelli Milano bars and period with the bike. I now have 1 original component for the bike although they are one size to narrow for me I will put up with that Other than that I have cleaned it up and ordered Miche cranks, bottom bracket bearing cartridge, set of gear combinations, and chain and will be racing next week I hope. Will try get a picture of progress soon. Cheers   Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 12:56 am D.Webb Joined: 03 Nov 2014 Posts: 7 Have the Super Pista going and enjoying it. I have bought Miche crankset and wheels for it, otherwise is how I received it. It rides really nice and seems to be competitive enough that I can contest some front places in some races. Couple of guys in the club quite like that it looks clean and different to the other bikes. Planning on repainting it next year or if I can afford get it chromed and make a real show piece out of it. Pic below of one of our races recently, I have bought a 1973/74 Super Pista (I think)?     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.