VintageRide

Elbow grease and the right products, plus all the parts that were swapped out are basically new. I cannot say how long it was stored but I am betting it was quite a few years.

cudak888 

Interesting!

Someone here correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Shimano Crane GS / Schwinn LeTour GS 300 RD capable of being mounted on a Simplex dropout without notching, only threading? Don't remember offhand.

-Kurt

VintageRide

Apparently those two Shimano derailleurs and the first generation Campagnolo Rally will work on the Simplex dropout. There are two opposing tangs that fit against both sides of the hangar where the mounting bolt threads on the Shimano design. I was not sure myself until I looked at images of the rear side of the mounting bolt area







.

VintageRide

Snagged a TA Cyclotouriste triple on Ebay France , given the weak Cdn. dollar the total amount with shipping was 168.00 which is not too bad, plus the gearing is what I prefer and the crank arms are 172.5mm in length. Found an inexpensive Stronglight axle that should hopefully work.





Does anyone know if the Mafac front rack that mounts to the brake arm pivot bolts can handle a large sized Berthoud bag? I think probably not if one puts enough weight in it. Also, are the Raids worth having? I can purchase a set of Dia Compe DC 750 brakes for a bit over 100.00 from Japan and I know they work well enough with good pads.


Also, I found a 125mm axle with the following measurements: 31 / 53 / 39 , I believe the Stronglight cups are thinner than TA versions which I assume are still on the Gitane. The axle centre measurement appears to be around 55 mm for both TA and Stronglight in regards to a triple from what I have read. I am thinking that this axle would end up moving further outwards on the drive side due to the somewhat shorter centre section between races.

ehcoplex 

If you also use a decaleur with the front bag I think you'd be fine with the TA Specialties (type) mini-rack that mounts to the brake pivots, but I wouldn't trust much weight in the bag without a decaleur- basically all the weight will be on the caliper mounting bolt.

That crankset will look lovely polished up!

VintageRide

Going to part out my P.Peschi, it has been a nice riding typical 1950's / '60's relaxed geometry road bike but the Gitane will fit in better for the kind of riding I do these days plus I do not have the room. I will miss it certainly but on the other hand it will supply some needed parts and hopefully I can trade or sell to members or other cyclists looking for specific components I might have minus the Ideale seat, Mafac brake levers and water bottle w/ cage.


Stem is 60 cm, handlebars 40 cm. First generation Campagnolo rear derailleur and pedals, Gran Sport front. Early Normandy high flange hubs w/ Mavic rims. Brakes are first generation Weimann centerpulls with engraved script. Early Stronglight 49D crankset. Shifters are Huret so certainly a mixed bag. The frame is 56 cm square with Simplex forged dropouts, no integrated hanger, Nervex lugs and bottom bracket, takes a 26.4mm seat post though unknown tubing. Please PM if interested.


I had entertained turning the Peschi into a 700C Rando bike as 650b would not work but now I can still have a French bike in the small collection. If you see anything or want to know anything specific let me know. All the parts are from the late 1950's and early '60's.

ehcoplex 

While I completely understand cannabalizing (and regularly do it myself....), that is a gorgeous bike and it seems kind of a shame!

VintageRide

It is a case of mixed feelings going this route, would not get as much or have the flexibility of possibly trading parts, I bought it as a frame with wheels so in one sense it is not original and the paint was quite scraped up requiring a lot of liberal touching up. Hopefully someone will build it up again or give it a repaint, colour change etc. Admittedly a rare one, could not find any information on it so could very well be a one off. Strong evidence regarding frame details that it might have been made at the Urago shop in Nice.

One the one hand I would have liked to hold onto it but practicality and circumstances have me going this route. Worse things have happened!

VintageRide

Temporarily installed a few parts from the Peschi so I can move it around and of course sell or trade what I can. Starting to look better. There is a Seller on Ebay that offers leather wrap for the handlebars, just need to sew it together, the blue looks tempting and would last longer than cloth. The 650b wheels I am looking at have high flange Campagnolo Tipo hubs. Always liked the high flange look.


A quick test fit has me thinking I might need to go from a 60cm to a 50cm, do not want to feel stretched too much!

VintageRide

Looks like I received a refund for the TA triple crankset, lost or damaged, who knows. Rethinking the options I decided to disassemble the Stronglight 49D and order a pair pf TA chainrings, a 46T outer and 26T inner which should give me some range coupled with a 14 - 34 T Suntour 5 speed freewheel and I can use the axle currently on the bike. The crank arms are also threaded for 9/16 so most likely will get the MKS Sylvan Next pedals, super smooth bearings and have a highly polished finish. I use them on another bike. Eventually I could find the right triple axle and add a third chainring if need be. Will most likely buy the KMC X8 chain in gold as well. Nothing like a bit of flash.

There is a sealed bottom bracket available, lighter and in French threading with various lengths up to 131mm. They look like a good option for around 60.00. Can. shipped.











I do like the freewheel:

ehcoplex 

on the X8 chain. I'd been using KMC Z8 chains, but got an X8 on sale a while back. I was surprised that there was a noticeable improvement in shifting.

VintageRide

I have a list of parts to trade and an ISO list in that thread as well, hopefully a few might need some of them and have something I could use.

VintageRide

As it will be another couple of months before I manage to get the 650b conversion going I have temporarily set it up with some tubular wheels. Installed the Shimano Crane rear derailleur and spent some time today cleaning and regreasing the headset, as expected the grease was becoming dry, will do the bottom bracket soon and then hopefully there will be the odd nice day where I can take it out for a spin. I did ride it quite briefly yesterday just to get an idea of how it feels and check positioning. I can say that it will definitely benefit from either 32mm 700C tires or better still 650b with 42mm even better. These older French bikes for the most part steer better with wider tires, the 25mm I am currently using make it a bit too light on the steering.


Even if I had some wider V.O. rando handlebars and a pair of MKS Sylvan pedals I could enjoy it as is - would like to keep the stem on there but would need to go to a Nitto Technomic. The handlebars are about 42mm wide which is the minimum width I find useful but the 50 cm V.O. are that much better. Will also replace the Stronglight chain rings with TA Cyclotouriste as soon as I can.



Going to miss the Peschi as I sold the frame locally to a younger person who I hope took my advice and will look after it, no use holding onto something I will not use and have no room for unfortunately. Part of me would like to keep the Gitane as a 700C road bike but I enjoy riding 650b so much it most likely will be converted.

VintageRide

After cleaning and regressing the headset and bottom bracket the weather was dry enough to take a spin around the neighborhood so finally was able to do a test ride. The 30 + years old brake pads were a bit too hard so will replace them. A bit of chain skipping on the 2 smaller cogs so going to replace the chain anyway even though it looks new and check again, might be just enough wear on some of the freewheel teeth though.


Otherwise it rides straight and true, feels balanced and light just would be nice to have a set of high flange hubs with clincher rims but guess I will try the wheels that came with the Gitane. Anyone have suggestions for a light 32mm tire? I do not think anything wider will fit or I would try 35mm.