gitaneusa.com :: View topic - 1989

sandranian · Site Admin

OK...the seller of Mottet's Gitane on ebay just sent me a picture which raised some interesting questions. The fact is, that we have had the same picture for months, and none of us brought this up.

Shame on all of us!

Take a look at the catalogue page from Maxi Sports below, which is courtesy of forum member loftis, and was posted some months ago. Look closely at the "Extrema", and then give your opinion on whether this is the same bike that Laurent Fignon rode to defeat in the final time trial of the 1989 Tour de France...only rebadged as a "Raleigh".

This raises all kinds of questions. Systeme U rode the "Delta" in 1988. Did Gitane not allow Super U to use the Delta in 1989? Was the Extrema not a Gitane at all, but made by some other manufacturer? What do you think?

verktyg

Stephan,

Can you post some pictures of Fignon in that time trial please.

Chas.

Gtane · Last edited by Gtane on Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:01 pm; edited 3 times in total

That's very observant Stephan, and interesting too.

Here's a clip of the time trial showing Laurent Fignon dropping the bike after the TT and yes, it does look very much like the Gitane Extrema. Whether it actually is, is a totally different question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIUIHNFtLHY

Here's an interesting article on the 1989 Raleigh with a Gitane twist:

http://www.protournews.com/news/article/mps/uan/154

The thing with team machines is that's precisely what they are, team machines, not only that, they're a work in progress. Sometimes they are indeed stock machines, or custom, and others, they're actually something completely different and not what's shown on the tubes. It's just a case of getting the job done to win the race. Genuine team machines can, in some cases, be so difficult to tie down. For example, it was said that the 1999 TT machine that Lance rode to glory was allegedly not a Trek but a rebadged Litespeed. Who knows for sure other than the people who actually put that machine on the road but one thing is for sure, and that's that the best machine would have been given to Lance to win the race. Remember Cipollini's bike in the Tour of California, his name was on the machine but who actually built it?

It's therefore very difficult to decide which poll selection to go for simply on the question alone because of the many variables involved, but on looks there is a clear choice.

Tim

sandranian · Site Admin

I don't have a great picture...the only one I can find online is below, but it excludes the important features (the rear triangle and joint between the top tube and down tube). If you look on youtube, there is video showing the final time trial. Maybe someone can find a better picture???

sandranian · Site Admin

There are claims that what is presently known as Cyfac made the frames for Maxi Sports - the team which was owned by Guimard and Fignon. they would have ridden these (according to some) for the 1988 and 1989 seasons. This might make some sense. The Extrema would not have been a "real" Gitane at all, but something made in small quantities and badged as a Gitane because it was ridden by the team. The following year, they rode the same (obviously crappy!) TT bike, but this time it was badged as a Raleigh.

And by the way, the Trek in 1999 was, in fact, a painted Litespeed. It was a source of much embarrassment for Trek, who immediately set about making a TT bike. They remained on the forefront of TT bike design over the next 6 years because of it.

Gtane

It's all marketing and exposure which is extremely clever in many ways which makes these team machines so very interesting. I'm really intrigued by the Mottet machine and the 753 tubing with the English fork transfer. This is the single detail which makes this bike a must have, to me.

Thanks for the Trek confirmation and I can fully understand the subsequent success over the next six years as a result.

Where is Laurent's machine now? If one calculates that each pro has, let's say three machines a year, (a trainer, a race bike and a TT machine) and each year they change. That's a heck of a lot of bikes over the years gone by, yet they are so elusive on the open market.

Tim

sandranian · Site Admin

This was an email that the seller of the Mottet bike permitted me to post on this site. He really is a nice guy, and has a lot of information and material on this stuff.

*****

I am familiar with the 1988 Maxi Sports catalogue you have attached (it was a pull-out from the June or July 1988 Mirroir du Cyclisme with a very nice Systeme U team poster on the opposite side). I think I still have mine with my old magazines. It is undisputable that the Delta was truly a product of Gitane (along with a little help from Renault-Elf). However, I am more inclined to believe that the Extrema was a product offered through Quillon and Maxi Sports with Gitane badges rather than an actual Gitane product. I say this because Maxi Sports catalogues in 1990 offered the Raleigh version of the Extrema, as well as the team Raleigh road bike. Strangely enough, both Raleigh products look just like the Gitanes in that 1988 catalogue and are offered as custom built frames to your measurements. Perhaps Raleigh was offering the same program that Gitane offered...or someone else (Quillon, perhaps) was building identical bikes with different paint and decals. I will scan the 1990 ad and email it to you tonight. I don't ever remember seeing the Extrema in any Gitane catalogues - only from Maxi Sports. I have a beautiful poster of Laurent Fignon in full flight upon his Super U Raleigh road bike. But upon close inspection, it looks EXACTLY like his Systeme U Gitane from 1987 and 1988, albeit with different paint scheme and decals. I will also take a photo of this to send to you.

Regardless, we know that Gitane made many wonderful bikes and has a legacy second to none. They don't ride half bad either :^)

Dan

*********
Interestingly, the Cyfac webpage only mentions that it built the bikes ridden by Fignon in 1989...it does not mention the wins (i.e. Milan-San Remo) of 1988.

Gtane

Thanks again Stephan and to the Mottet seller, Dan, thank you. Very much appreciated.

This is all fascinating and indicates that the pro kit is, in some cases, in a very different league to that which we can buy from our local bike shops, and the way they mix and match or simply mix is terrific. Clever stuff. Ahhhh, to be a pro mechanic. Are there any here?

Similar business models, in some ways, to contract packaging.

Tim

Frenchbuilt

Hi, some of you may have seen this frame for sale on e bay. I bought it and picked it up in person.

The seller told me he ordered it custom made from Gitane in 1995 and requested the same configuration as the Laurent Fignon Raleigh of 1989.

The frame was repainted two years ago but up until then it had the Gitane stickers on it. He ordered it yellow and repainted it the same color. The seller raced with the built up bike for he said around 1000kilometers.

I am waiting for the order form copy he kept and eventually a photo of the bike with Gitane stickers.

The frame does seem to have some Gitane features and the front fork reminds me of a delta type form on the head.

Anyway, here are some photos and I also bought the Mavic head set he had for sale that was taken off. Fork seems like what was done in the middle 90's.

Holger

Fignons 89 TT Bike as exposed in last years Anjou Velo Vintage
maybe this helps a little
greetings, Holger

sandranian · Site Admin

Delta would have kicked that thing's A$$. And that might have been the bike, but certainly wasn't the set up. The tri-bars weren't there.