gitanesearch

Where/how would I get one that is original? What are they going for now?

CliffordK

Keep an eye open on the common markets.

Craigslist.
Offerup
Facebook
E-Bay.
Kijiji
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage-sales/

Prices likely vary depending on the exact condition, components, etc.

I don't see real high prices on the Gitanes and Motobecanes. On the low end, you might be able to snag one for around $100. On the upper end, $300 to $500.

Oh, also don't be real picky about the exact year, unless that is very important to you.

Lemond1985

Would this fit? Had my eye on this for a while, only $180.

https://slo.craigslist.org/bik/d/san...959364947.html

verktyg 

Important questions before seeking suggestions or answers:

1. WHAT SIZE FRAME???

2. How nice is nice? The French built bikes to ride, not look at!

Of the big 3 French bike Manufactures, Motobecanes had best cosmetics followed by Peugeot then Gitane. Quality varied over the years but when you strip the paint off of one of those frames it's easy to see that the brazing on French bikes while somewhat or a whole lot cobby is more than adequate.

Over the past 50 years I've seen very few frame failures from those 3 manufacturers and they were mostly on bikes from the Bike Boom of the early 70's.

3. How much??? Where do you live? Location, location, location.

In general, bikes from California and the southwest will have less rust and corrosion and be in better condition than ones that come from areas with more rain and higher humidity. Left coast bikes from near the ocean are exceptions.

Bikes in nicer condition being sold by someone who has some cycling knowledge tend to sell for higher prices. But... French bikes in general sell for less than Japanese, Brit or Italian equivalents.

4. Original? I can tell you right now that 1974-1975 Gitane TdFs came with a lot of different component configurations.

Also, TdFs from those years - 1974-75 - had European spec frames. Only the 3 main tubes were made of butted Reynolds 531tubing. The forks and stays were made of seamed carbon steel tubing.

3 TUBES RENFORCES - 3 MAIN TUBES BUTTED.

Pre-1974 Reynolds stickers


Post 1974 Reynolds stickers


From 1969 through 1973, the TdFs brought into the US by Mel Pinto Imports had frames with the 3 main tubes, forks and stays made of Reynolds 531.



Most of those frames came with Simplex rear dropouts - up to 4 different versions. A few - very few came with Campy dropouts. Fork ends could be Simplex, Huret (Campy knockoffs) or VERY few with Campy fork ends.

The European TdFs from the same foil decal era had only the 3 main tubes butted Reynolds. The forks were 1/2 chrome plated but the rear triangles were painted. They came with either Simplex of Huret rear dropouts depending on which brand the bike was equipped with. Simplex and Huret were just about equally popular in the French market.

Getting back to # 4. :

Most 1974-75 US TdFs came with large flange Campagnolo Nuovo Tipo QR hubs with round holes.



A few came with Normandy Luxe Competition hubs, either large or small flange with the red plastic removable dust shields.




Some of those bikes came with sewups but most of the US models had 27" clinchers with Mavic Module E rims and Michelin Elan tires.

Cranks were either Stronglight 93 or Sugino Mighty Competition with Lyotard 460D alloy pedals.

Brakes were MAFAC Competition center pulls with black hoods on the levers.



Many 1974-75 TdFs came with Simplex Prestige deraillers. They also shipped with Huret Challenger derailleurs and a few even came with Huret Jubilee derailleurs.

They had either straight steel or aluminum seat posts. Many came with cheap black suede leather covered ass-hatchet plastic saddles. A few may have had Ideale # 39 or # 80 leather saddles.

Stronglight P3 headsets were standard (I've NEVER seen a Gitane equipped with a Stronglight V4 Competition headset from the factory).

They came with Beleri or Belleri bars and stems.

So, with all of that mishmash of component variations on a 44 year old bike what is ORIGINAL? It's like looking for and all original Transmarro!

My 1974 TdF is restored to somewhat original specs. Getting OCD over a 44 year old mid range bike is well, OCD! There's a whole lot of touch up work on the paint. Many Gitanes came so poorly packed from the factory that the wheels rolled around in the boxes causing lots of paint chipping.



@Lemond1985 that's a 1971-72 TdF. It's pretty much original except for the wheels, seatpost and saddle, brake blocks and brake lever hoods.

It's a 60cm or 62cm frame measured center to top with a typical lamer CL description: good for person 5'8"-6'4"... WHAT!!!

Also the stem is seriously too high by at least 1"...

Hope this helps.

verktyg

gitanesearch

Sorry for the delay. I had to wait a long time to post a photo because of the lame restrictions on this forum. We might have better photos of the bike but this is what I have right now. What can you tell about the bike from this small photo? It seemed to be darker blue than most that I've seen online. It was really nice and we were told it was a racing bike when we got it in 1977. It was stolen around 1987 and it would be nice to get one again just like it.

gitanesearch

FYI: I don't know that it's a 1975 or that it's TDF... just that we got it in late 1977 or early 1978 maybe in 1979 but probably not.... I restored my BMX and now I'm onto dad's bike.

verktyg 

@gitanesearch, some hints about Bike Forum protocol that will help you get better responses:

1. Limit jumping onto Zombie threads - messages over 6 months old... Start a new thread with a new subject line.

2. Don't bring up the same topic in multiple threads. For example, some of your questions were answered in this Zombie thread:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...75-gitane.html

3. When a BF member answers your question with a knowledgeable response based on experience not guesses, don't keep asking the same question of other members. If you don't understand the response ask the responder to explain their answer.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.

4. It's always best to mention frame and bike dimensions when asking for help. Also, there is a Classic & Vintage ISO (In Search Of) sub forum. Jump to the end of the messages to post.

BTW, I have a 57cm 1974 Tour de France that I may be parting ways with. I've been waiting to see what size you're looking for before I mentioned this. PM me if interested.



Gitane used Mylar foil decals from 1968 to 1973.

Performance models like the Interclub, Tour de France, Super Corsa and others had silver foil seat tube decals and Service Course top tube decals. These are from Cyclomondo in Australia:



The lower end models used this style with red or blue seat tube decals. These are from Velocals:



From 1974 through 1976 Gitane used this style of plastic film stickers with yellow or green graphics. A few French made 1977 models used these too. These are also form Cyclomondo:




Hope this helps...

verktyg

stardognine

Hey, I'm gonna piggyback onto this thread. 😁 Where does a Gitane Professional (?) fit into the hierarchy? At least I think that's what I remember, lol, and it was painted silver, with one of those 2 earlier decal sets. 🤔
This one wasn't literally buried under a pile of bikes, but it was on a rack of several, and hard to get to. Therefore, I couldn't really see what components were on it. I'm guessing it's higher-end, by the model name, never got a chance to lift it or find tubing decals.

I'm not that interested in this Gitane, myself, but will probably be going back there, for a certain ethnic Bianchi mountain bike, in the next week or two. 😎

Thanks. 🙂

gitanesearch

How about you quit with the lectures? How do you like them apples?

Senrab62 

It's only a lecture if that is how you view it. His post seems to be trying to offer help and give feedback regarding forum etiquette, or etiquette in general.

bikemig 

The advice was well meant. Plus there's no one here who knows more about Gitanes than @verktyg. The bike he may be selling looks awesome.

iab

Nothing.

Good luck with that.

verktyg 

Gitane used the model name PROFESSIONNEL a number of times.

This one goes back to the 1962 catalog:

https://www.gitaneusa.com/images/cata...64/Page_05.jpg

Next time, 1966:

https://www.gitaneusa.com/images/cata...-Sheet-003.jpg

Then again in 1985-86. The PROFESSIONNEL was their Team Replica model and was only produced in Gitane Team Blue color. It came with a Campy Victory gruppo. The outlandish decals surely didn't help with sales in the US market.

This is a 52cm 1985 Professionnel that I keep at my house for my niece when she takes me out for "charity rides". She's a hardcore cyclist and I'm getting her into C&V bikes.




One other possibility, during the foil decal era, 1968-73, Gitane used "Professional Tour de France", "Professional Super Corsa" and "Professional Super Pista" foil stickers on the down tubes of those model bikes in the US Market.



But... Gitane didn't start producing silver bikes until 1974 and the words PROFESSIONNEL or PROFESSIONAL weren't used with those models.

verktyg

stardognine

Wow, that's a lot of info, and you posted it fast!!! Thanks, most of us here appreciate you. 👍😉

I'm definitely going to have to look at that bike again now, wether I end up buying it or not. 🤔😉

Insidious C. 

There is an early 70s TDF for sale by original owner on Portland CL Looks 58-60cm and good shape. Its been listed for a while now and IIRC the ask price has dropped. The ad has inaccuracies that probably contribute to it languishing. If I didn't already have too many bikes I would check it out myself.

gitanesearch

Still looking for more pics of it.

As you can see from the picture ours didn't have PROFESSIONNEL on it and it didn't have those thicker seat stays, like you said in the other photo.

But it also had what seemed to be high end components and neck... They look like the components that's on the Olympics in the catalogs and the blue was darker than most blues I see on photos... GITANE decal seems to be up higher than other photos I've seen... As I remember the front brake was a center pull, not a side pull, but I could be wrong. The shift levers were all metal and didn't have a rubber cover like I've seen in some photos online. The frame really flexed when it was ridden hard and had a tensile spring feel to it, best 10 speed I've ever ridden, but I can't say I've ridden that many... it's way better than the high end Schwinn that we got as a replacement, for sure. The Schwinn doesn't inspire at all. That Gitane was special, hence why I am writing about it 32 years later. It was bought slightly used and was said to have been a race bike, but probably only local racing in the midwest, but who knows. Stolen around 1987. Still looking for old pics of it. Thanks for the help!

verktyg 

"The ad has inaccuracies"

"This is Not the Racing version but the Consumer retail version." Huh?

"Frame is "501 Reynolds Aluminum" with total bike weight of 26 lbs." Good for broiling... (Reynolds Aluminum Foil)

It should weigh closer to 24 1/2 to 25 lbs.

"The rims are 24 inch." Where did that come from???

"Frame is a 23 inch model so it's made for taller folks like me,,,5ft 11in." Taller?

My first two Gitanes were 60cm (23 1/2"), same as this bike. I was 5ft 10in. and after riding them for a year realized that they were too big for me so I switched to 57cm then 54cm sized frames. Now 55cm-56cm is perfect.

Typical CL estimate of fit based on height! "Fits anyone from 5'2" to 6'9"! Anyone posting on CL ever hear of "standover height" (pet peeves).

The bike is a 60cm (23 1/2"). It's a 1971-72 Tour de France, all original except for the Mavic Module E clinchers instead of sewups and maybe what looks like a long arm RD. Also the cheap plastic covered saddle may have come off of a lower priced bike???

It has Simplex Ref 881/881B forged dropouts without an integral derailleur hanger. Gitane used these on some TdFs at the height of the bike boom, probably because of material shortages. ( I hate bikes w/o derailleur hangers! )



"Asking $205.00 but willing to hear offers." Decent price for a great riding bike.

verktyg

gitanesearch

This could be our old bike for all I know... it was stolen in So Cal in 1987... I'm not saying it is... but what kind of bike is this one?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GITANE-CYCL...G/153027864621