JohnDThompson 

Looks like the funky Huret "honeycomb" dropouts on there.

And I've never seen a drillium Maxy crank before. Is that your work?

papik

No, this bicycle is an absolute original condition, after a 37 years sleep in a garage ...in 1976 /1977 , the Europeans TDF was equipped with SUGINO "mighty" and sometimes "maxy" crankset .

This one is probably the last model with the "honeycon" dropouts.

papik

Now it is no more in original condition, because , following my project, I have changed the SUGINO crankset for a STRONGLIGHT 99 bis triple, 30_40_50 and the front derailleur SIMPLEX "criterium" for a SIMPLEX SJA23 for triple ...
Now we can climb the Ventoux ...this summer

papik

First test , climbing to Bormes ...with the triple, it is easy !

IthaDan 

Not your everyday gitane, but a gitane no matter.


Gallery link- https://imgur.com/a/VY9Kb

LeicaLad 

It would appear that I previously posted a photo of my 1971 Super Corsa, but not one of my much loved war horse, a 1971 Tour de France that I bought new and still love to ride.



Only the seat post bolt and the small chainstay clip are original. The grips and bar tape desperately need to be refreshed. New wheels include a 5-speed 600EX cartridge hub with a 13-28 cluster and a Phil front hub on M13II rims and Pasela tires. Zeus pedals and Powergrips. Modolo pro brakes.

That’s a Sachs Quarz RD, just to stay French. The chainrings are 51/38. The Suntour Cyclone FD has been on the bike since that FD was released. This bike is very stable and tracks utterly true. This is a Gitane at its best! imho, of course.

non-fixie 

Cool. I think. How does that ride? Judging from the pics it's no too big.

IthaDan 

It's not that bad to ride. The front wheel is a standard 700c, and the back is a 350a (14"). You can easily put a foot down, so that helps a lot with confidence. Under the pie plate there is a planetary gearing scheme so you don't wind out the wheel at like 6mph.

That's a standard single speed, BMX style freewheel in the middle there.

That said, it does A LOT better with some speed, it's a very odd sensation to have your feet (and angle to the pedals) move with the steering. I can ride it one handed, but I doubt I'll ever be able to ride it with no hands.

Grand Bois

Did you know that the Sachs/Huret Quartz will index with a Shimano shifter? I had mine on my PX10 for a while until I replaced it with a Campy Rally. Now it's on a Peugeot MTB with no name Shimano clone shifters. I think it's an excellent derailer. In my informal tests, I rated it a close second to a Suntour V GT Luxe.

My TdF is my all time favorite ride.

LeicaLad 

I've never tried an index shifter, but I do like this even in its friction mode. New chain and cogs certainly didn't hurt!

I DO love your TdF, but this photo is of that stunning Peugeot you also own, eh? To show off the Sachs, I see. Show us another photo of your TdF, just 'cause you can. I'm glad to hear that you like the TdF best, too. They are very special riders.

Grand Bois

I posted the PX10 just to show the Sachs/Huret. Here's the TdF It's a size too small for me, hence the upright bars. Yes, they are special. I think they got the geometry just right. The brakes and crank are original. Nothing else.

VintageGitane

Here's my 1980 Gitane Trophee 3938. Bought the frame on Ebay (from France) in almost perfect original condition and collected a complete DURA-ACE 7200 EX group peace by peace. Hubs are the High Flange First Gen (black), actually a bit to early for this bike. ;-) Stem and handlebar (CAMPIONE DEL MONDO) are Cinelli. Seat is a new Rolls San Marco. Rims are Mavic GEL 280's and tubes are gommitalia champion. Handlebar tape is the classic cotton.

VintageGitane

Hi CMAW,


You're talking about retouching the paint there. Do you mean you retouched chips and scratches on the frame manual? If so, can you explain how you managed that exactly? Do you have a colour code of 'Olympic-blue'?
Point is I'm 'rebuilding' one. I do have the perfect frame (NOS, but white...) and an original blue one (complete bike) which has a too low frame for me (53 cm). I want to paint the NOS frame and build up my own perfect Olympic.


Would like to hear from you!


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Class...342997?fref=ts

VintageGitane

Hi CMAW,


You're talking about retouching the paint there. Do you mean you retouched chips and scratches on the frame manual? If so, can you explain how you exactly managed that? Do you have a colour code of 'Olympic-blue'?
Point is I'm 'rebuilding' one. I do have the perfect frame (NOS, but white...) and an original blue one (complete bike) which has a too low frame for me (53 cm). I want to paint the NOS frame and build up my perfect Olympic.


Would like to hear from you!


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Class...342997?fref=ts

CMAW 

VG, sorry to disappoint you: no colour code, no ready made Gitane Olympic blue. I went out to car shops with the fork, to have it colour scanned, but apparently the surface is too small, so that couldn't be done. I then started mixing some paint myself, starting from a darker colour blue, and the result turned out pretty OK (I did a lot worse on other bikes). The frame was not very scratched to begin with, though. I'm under the impression that blue is a relatively easy colour to retouch, easier than red or orange, and much easier than metallics. Nice work on the Trophée BTW.

CMAW 

You really want to do that? I'm sure the white one looks great, plus it's probably rare (never seen one before myself). Having a NOS frame refinished because you don't like the colour... lots of people on this forum will tell you you're out of your mind . I'd build up the white frame and keep lookin for a blue Olympic in your size (in France, you seem to know your way there), they come up now and then, you might even be able to trade yours.

verktyg 

How did I miss this Gitane thread?

Here's a rare Gitane...

I bought the bare frame from a seller in the UK. He told me that a friend had raced on it as part of a sponsored semi-pro team in France in the early 90s. By that time, all of the top end Gitanes were black and white pinto pony splashed paint. Since this frame is in the classic Gitane team blue color and it has a number tab under the top tube that shows some use I tend to believe his story.



It's made of Columbus ELOS Extra Light Oversize tubing with scary thing wall thicknesses. I assembled it with period correct Shimano components that I had on hand. No DuraAce as It's not that much better than the next 2 lower series gruppos - just a LOT more money!

Rides and handles like a joy!



More common pinto pony paint job



verktyg

Chas.

papik

A perfect racing GITANE !

papik

And finally, it reach the summit last summer !

non-fixie 

Great picture, @papik! I'm more than a little jealous.

mparker326

I picked these up a little while back. Too little for me so I moved them on, but they were so cool! Mid 60's Gitane Hostellers. 531 framed with Nervex lugs and Campy GS hubs.

IMG_3132 by mparker326, on Flickr
IMG_3167 by mparker326, on Flickr

papik

Thanks Non-Fixie ! This GITANE with a triple is perfect to do greats trips !

rgver

My 84 Criterium. Built back up as a drop bar road bike with Ultegra 9 speed after it's previous owner had it built for hill climbing with flat bars and silly gearing.

As brought home with silly gears


finished

mountaindave 

Silly gears indeed! Again - nice save! I'll keep this thread alive when I finish a couple early 70's builds this spring...

Seabass_First

got this recently in a batch of frames from CL... waaay to small for me (47cm ctc) and a pretty bad paint job... but nice lugs and it has a bunch of braze-ons for racks and lights...