gitaneusa.com :: View topic - My Andre Bertin

BiggMakk

Greetings. My first post on this site. Unfortunately it's not about Gitane bicycles but about my old Andre Bertin. My web searches led me here; some folks on this forum seem familiar with the bike maker. I am hoping to learn more about my bike.

I ordered this bike in either 1979 or 1980 from RC Halletts (New Mexico I believe) after reading a very positive review in Bicycling magazine about this model being a great entry level racer. It cost $600 - a lot of money for a 15 year old back then.

The bike came with sew-ups and French parts (that were near impossible for threading compatibility). It has single butted tubing (is there such a thing?). The forks are Vitus 172 but I cannot identify the frame tubing; it's Vitus but the numbers are worn off. Some of the other original parts:
- Mavic center pull brakes (I still have in storage)
- TA Tevano cranks
- Ideale hide seat
- Milremo rims
- Milremo pedals
- Stronglight headset
- Simplex gears (front and back)

I rode the bike till 1986 and then it went into my parents's basement where it sat in the damp till 2005. I had the bike fixed-up by a very competent NYC "old school" bike shop. Here is what the bike looked like before the before the fix. http://www.bikecult.com/works/archive/05bicycles/abertinRVS.html (with Suntour Superbe brakes). They upgraded some of the parts, wheels in particular but basically it's the same old bike.

I just rode the bike after 22 years and I fell in love with it all over again. The steel frame was so secure over NYC's roads. I hope to continue riding the bike for years.

Thanks.
BiggMakk

verktyg

Hi BiggMakk,

I worked at RC Halletts for 5 years. We imported Bertin bikes from 1975 on (we also sold Gitane bikes in our retail shop up until about 1977). We had Bertin build most of the bikes to our specs but we also brought in a few "standard" models just to check out. Bertin shared the Milremo trade mark with Ron Kitching in the UK. Bertin was the Shimano distributor for France and much of Europe. They wanted to provide us with Shimano equipped bikes but we wanted to keep them all French.

I went into a manufacturing related field in 1979 so I'm not sure of your exact model because I never saw this particular bike. It's slightly different than the previous models that we brought in.

Since this is a web site devoted to Gitanes I'll Private Message you with the details as best I can.

A couple of general interest points:

Your bike is made of Vitus 172 tubing. It had almost the same wall thickness dimensions as Columbus SP tubing and was almost as strong. Because it was made of a lower alloy steel than Columbus it was slightly less susceptible to damage caused by overheating during brazing. It cost a lot less too. Vitus 172 was used on mid price range bikes. I was just out riding a 1980 Motobecane made of the same tubes.

There are usually only 3 or 4 tubes on a "double butted" frame that are actually butted: the 3 main tubes plus usually the steerer. The top and down tubes are double butted which means that the wall thickness of the tubes is thiner in the middle and thicker at the ends for strength. The seat tube and steerer are single butted because the stem and seatpost fit into them and double butting would serve no purpose.

The butting process is done by rolling the tubes in round dies over a mandrel inserted inside the tube. This allows the tubing to be made lighter without sacrificing strength where it's needed. There are some tubes that are triple and quad butted but that's mostly marketing hype.

The forks and stays are made with either straight gage or taper gage tubing. All of the sizing and shaping is done externally.

Vitus 172 used in this bike has the same wall thickness dimensions as Columbus SP tubing and nearly the same strength. The steel is slightly lower alloy and less susceptible to damage caused by overheating during brazing.

Your Simplex derailleurs shifted very well when kept well oiled. The black plastic parts are DuPont Delrin "nylon". They had a much better design than Campy derailleurs from that era. Campy used the same basic rear derailleur design from about 1951 through the end of the 80s but they were the sacred cow of the racing set.

Lucian Juy he founder of Simplex became enthralled with Delrin "plastic" in the 1960s (in the same vein as the French attraction for Jerry Lewis???). Anyway Simplex derailleurs came on a lot of cheap bikes and since they were partially made of plastic they got the reputation of being cheap too! Rolling Eyes

Simplex plastic derailleurs were credited with the downfall of the French cycling industry - justified or not. Crying or Very sad

In 1973 Simplex introduced their Super LJ all metal derailleurs. They were superior to any on the market at that time. Shortly afterward they started making similar models with varying amounts of Delrin parts. From the late 60s on standard Simplex rear derailleurs could handle up to a 30T freewheel vs. Campy NR which was limited to 26T.

Anyway, the Delrin that your derailleurs are made of tends to age and crack over time (yours are pushing 30 years old). If you want to keep your bike French and period correct I'd suggest that you pick up some all metal Simplex derailleurs on eBay. They're getting expensive because the Japanese collectors are buying them up for their wank alters and bike component bingo websites. Mad

Hope this helps a little.

Chas.

BiggMakk

Thanks.

Now that I know people in Japan desire my bike, I will take extra care of it.

This will serve as my Sunday bike for rides to the Village. I need to get some wool clothing and a leather helmet.