gitaneusa.com :: View topic - Which TDF's came with Reynolds 531 forks?

ROC

I've owned a 22.5" 1973 ( I think ) TDF frame since 1974. Violet was the original colour. It was repainted back in about 1978 (to a horrible rhubarb color!!! - not my choice) for my wife to be and now I'm in the process of rebuiding it. The only original sticker left is the head tube one. I'm going to order the set of Gitane Cyclomondo foil stickers as well as the correct Reynolds set. I remember the frame stickers but I cannot recall what was on the left hand side of the forks. The forks themselves don't seem very light to me & I won't affix the a 531 decal if it isn't. In addition, does anyone know if only some TDF's came with 531 rear stays? Maybe I should get the "3 tubes" early French set of Reynolds decals?

BTW the new color is going to be a vibrant Sport Orange.

Thanks
ROC
Ottawa

verktyg

Welcome to the group.

Gitane Tour de France bikes made between the late 1960s and 1974 had frames made of Reynolds 531 tubing (all the tubes except the brake bridge, chain stay bridge and sometimes the steering tube).

Most of these frames had Simplex dropouts. Occasionally they came with Campagnolo dropouts. In 1974 Gitane changed the Tour de France frames, only the 3 main tubes were made of Reynolds 531 plus they had Huret honeycomb rear dropouts.

These are the correct style French Reynolds 531 decals up through 1973:

The pre 1974 Tour de France only had a Reynolds sticker on the left fork blade.

Chas.

ROC

Many thanks Chas, that helps a lot.
I've ordered the decals from Cyclomondo.
I've learned a lot since I started reading about Gitanes in this Forum & on GitaneUSA. I've attached a few pictures of the bike & you'll note it has braze ons that were professionaly installed about 30 years ago.
The serial number appears to be #3242.
I'm considering re-tapping the BB to Italian or English standard in order to be able to fit any common crank during the re-build. Has any one ever done that? (should I repost this on a new thread?).

ROC

verktyg

We've pretty much decided that Gitane serial numbers were produced by a random number generator! Laughing

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to them.

As far as rethreading the bottom bracket, I wouldn't recommend it. You could have it re-taped from metric 35mm x 1mm to Italian 36mm x 24TPI but....

To begin with 24TPI (threads per inch) is equivalent to 1.058mm pitch, close but no cigar.

To do the job properly the original threads should be reamed out from 35mm to 36mm. That amounts to .5mm per side which doesn't completely remove the old threads.

Campagnolo and VAR made bottom bracket reamers to fit on their BB threading tools. They weren't very common and not many shops are likely to have these tools. If improperly done your BB will be scraped.

Lastly, Gitane used thin walled bottom brackets. Removing 1mm could weaken the BB and cause it to crack.

Metric threaded bottom bracket cups are readily available on eBay.

Another solution is to use a Phil Wood sealed bearing bottom bracket. I have one that I bought in 1975 that's been in at least 5 different frames and still functions perfectly. Never having to repack BB bearings is worth the expense to me.

Chas.

DBLPE

[quote="ROC"]Many thanks Chas, that helps a lot.
I've ordered the decals from Cyclomondo.
I've learned a lot since I started reading about Gitanes in this Forum & on GitaneUSA. I've attached a few pictures of the bike & you'll note it has braze ons that were professionaly installed about 30 years ago.
The serial number appears to be #3242.
I'm considering re-tapping the BB to Italian or English standard in order to be able to fit any common crank during the re-build. Has any one ever done that? (should I repost this on a new thread?).

ROC
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[url=http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pq1qQYki][img]http://www.postimage.org/Pq1qQYki.jpg[/img][/url][/quote]

ROC, your fork looks original to me. Your fork looks identical to my 72 Super Corsa.

sandranian · Site Admin

Chas:

It wasn't a random number generator. As you all know, Machecoul is located near Saint-Nazaire, which was used as a German submarine base during world war II. In fact, the submarine pens are still there.

Some of the subs and all of their equipment were left behind by the rapidly retreating Germans. Mr. Bruneliere was known to pick up odds and ends for the factory at the local flea market, where he happened upon a German "Enigma" code machine (scavenged by the French from the u-boats) sometime in the early 1950's. Using it, he was able to generate serial numbers which only the British and American Secret Service could figure out. This way, his competitors (namely Peugeot & Motobecane) would not be able to find out just how many of what type of bike he was producing. And, as the logic went, the British or Americans would never be able to build a proper racing bike, would they???

Wink

smilingroadrunner

Viele, viel Dank Stephan!!!

Und jetzt ist es zu mir so klar.

Laughing

I Like Steel!!!
__________________
C.A.
Salina, Ks.