Originally Posted by
non-fixie
Looks like a match for an early seventies Gitane Tour de France. The US market version, as the European version didn't have the fish mouths.
Thank you juvela, non-fixie, and markeologist for the helpful replies.
Could you clarify what the 'fish mouth' means and where on the frame I can see this?
I guess serial numbers were not added to frames until later and maybe that solitary 1 on the BB had to do with the particular BB shell used.
It's probably a very longshot to actually determine the. model of this frame.
I'm still trying to decide if it's worth building the frame up which would mean investing $80 in powder coating.
I have enough miscellaneous parts on hand to get it rolling.
What's anyone's best guess on the tubing used during this era? With the approximately 4.5 pound frame weight I would guess it wasn't hi-tensile but some butted tubeset.
Some of the catalogs I found showed some of the nicer frames built with Reynolds 531.
Thanks again.