Help Identifying a Honeycomb Gitane
Hi everyone,
I finally created a profile and introduced myself, though I have benefited from the wealth of knowledge this place has before. And now I’m hoping to benefit yet again: I'd love to find out what the experts think I snapped up from the local flea market today. I've done research here and over at GitaneUSA, and although I'm not 100% sure, I think it is a full Reynolds 531 Gitane Tour de France from '74-'76. I base this on the remnants of Reynolds stickers on the downtube and left fork leg, honeycomb rear dropouts and the fishmouthed stays. The fork is also fishmouthed and has huret dropouts too.
The bike has some curious components and I think it saw an update/overhaul at some point. The bike came to me with: Mafac competition brakes, Mafac levers with full hoods. Campagnolo Nuovo Tipo hubs laced to 27" Mavic MA2 rims. Stronglight cranks that were originally French threaded, but have been re-tapped to 9/16", and 46/42 chainrings. What I believe is a Huret Jubile front derailleur, and an anachronistic Shimano 105 rear derailleur. The cable guides are all Huret, as is the downtube friction shifter. The headset is Stronglight, and has a couple spacers along with the cable stop. And finally a 25.4mm steel seatpost with a Turbo saddle. The seatpost was too small and someone over-tightened the seatpost clamp, but I straightened it today. The rear dropouts are spaced at 126mm, which is too wide for the 5 speed rear hub. The frame has Bocama lugs (what appears to be "BCM" on the headtube), but no cutouts. The rear dropouts say "60" on the inside, yet the frame measures at most 59cm center to top.
So what did I get? Am I correct this is a TdF? Or is it something else? The later rims (Velo base says this MA2 sticker is from 86-87) with the 5 speed Nuovo Tipo hub and the 126 rear spacing is something of a head scratcher to me.
All in all, the frame is in pretty nice shape, with no serious dings or rust. If it is only 3 tube Reynolds I'm fine with that, just curious mostly. My plan is to replace what needs replacing with appropriate french parts, respray the frame and enjoy it as a sport tourer.
Looking forward to hear what the experts have to say!
PS: I'm a newbie on this forum so I still can't post pictures, but as soon as I am permitted I will update with pics