VintageRide

A Gitane Tour De France purchased last Spring is almost completed, I needed to change a few components to make it an enjoyable riding bike, such as the handlebars and stem. Most of the original parts were changed out for almost period Japanese though I had enough French parts on hand to at least have it looking somewhat stock in appearance.


The last item are the pedals, the Lyotards were factory spec'd. from what I have seen but I think perhaps the MKS are better quality and look similar as I have read that the Lyotards are acceptable but not great. The bike will never be ridden a lot so trying to keep it as close to what it was seems to be the route to take although the Lyotards in nice condition will cost more, perhaps twice as much. I sold the early Campagnolo pedals, they were a bit narrow for the casual shoes I wear but will still be using toe clips. Any thoughts on this?


Looking for a TA water bottle cage as well, the version with the single integrated clamp. Also plan on replacing the current 14 -26T Atom freewheel with a 14 - 28T version ( 100.00 brand new ) although I did find a Suntour French threaded 14 - 32 T but looking at around 170.00 Cdn. shipped. A bit steep and not sure if I really need it with the 40 / 52T chainrings despite hills around here and factoring in my age.



Whether I should replace the Suntour front derailleur for a period Simplex is another matter, the Suntour was on the bike, brand new and functions quite nicely. The dropout had been threaded so I bought a Shimano Crane long cage derailleur so I did not have to further modify the dropout.


It was great that the bike is an earlier example as the fit and finish for being French is above average, I can only imagine how much more quickly the build quality suffered during assembly once production ramped up due to excess demand not long after the start of boom period.

The Golden Boy 

IMO- if it's a bike you're riding relatively often, absolutely the performance and ease of acquirement totally outweigh the "vintage spec" factor. HOWEVER, since you're talking about a bike that it's job will be more like "look pretty," I think that means Lyotards.

Mr. 66

I would "trust" the MKS more. The Lyotard probably just fine, has a history of possible failure with the spindles.

I'm going with MKS on a TdF.

steelbikeguy

Are you thinking of the T.A. Ref. 216 "Criterium" cage? I think they are underappreciated, possibly because they weren't sold by a lot of the mailorder houses at the time. I've got one that I like.
I will note that the clamp is not integrated... it is a separate piece.







Steve in Peoria

Classtime 

If the cranks have French threads keep the current pedals. Otherwise go MKS.

Rabid Koala

That's a beautiful TdF! I had a teal colored one that I sold before a long distance move. The buyer traveled to get it as it matched his wife's TdF.

My experience with Lyotards was that the ones I rode always felt bent, but you have those pesky French threads to deal with unless you wanted to re tap them.

daka

Echoing the above, your pedal choices may be constrained by the threading on the crankset. But if you are able to fit MKS pedals, I'd suggest the Sylvan track pedal (one-sided, for use with toe clips) or the Sylvan Stream (double-sided, rat trap style). The touring pedals are two-sided and quite wide for a bike that otherwise looks ready for competition.

bikemig 

Is that a stronglight 93 crank (or a 122 bcd crank)? If so, you could pick up a 37 tooth inner ring rather than buy a 14-28 freewheel.

https://www.redclovercomponents.com/..._37_Teeth.html

Personally I'd go with the MKS pedals and I'd think about swapping out that crank (and it looks beautiful by the way) for a stronglight 99 and go for better climbing gears. But I tend to focus on functionality on my builds.

merziac

@VintageRide

If as stated above, the cranks are French thread, go with Atoms, if not I would find some chrome steel to maintain the early vibe.

I wouldn't retap these unless you have a couple more sets of French thread. I got a really messed up PX-10 awhile back that had 9/16's pedals forced into the original crank, got them our, reworked and chased the threads to work with some Campy NR pedals I got French spindles for. All the crank threads were gacked and I was able to restore them all.

If you want better pedals you could find a "Mighty" Sugino Mighty Competition crank like many of the just a bit later I think ones of these came with and pair them with any MKS Sylvan road, track or touring you want and it would match the F+RD's very nicely, although I would find a chrome steel cage FD for it.

Plenty of ways to go here and none of them wrong, I think you're right about the impending boom and Gitane must have been scrambling as they quickly adopted the Japanese parts very soon after this.

AdventureManCO 

Man that is a beautiful TdF. Way moreso than mine! I like your size better too!

VintageRide

Thank you everyone for the suggestions - the Stronglight 49D crank set is threaded for 9/16 so I think I will go with the MKS pedals. I use them on two other rando 650b bikes, one has the very nice " Next" version. That T.A. cage is the one I was referring to, found one online for 63.00 Euro which does not seem too bad all things considered. I do not want to get near the down tube decals and the one clamp design would be perfect.


I have very little mileage on the bike since finally having it road ready so looking forward to getting a few longer rides in once the weather improves. The KKT Pro Vic II pedals I installed temporarily are not very user friendly in my case.

Andrew_G

Soma had a pedal made by MKS called the "Citoyen du Monde" (Citizen of the World). It's inspired by of an old French pedal. It's a wider pedal, very similar to the Sylvan touring pedal.

The CdM pedal is now out of production, but there are still some available on eBay. Unfortunately, most of the CdM pedals currently shown on eBay are now stupid expensive. A web search might get more cost effective choices.


I have a wider pedaling stance. I had used the Sylvan touring pedal, but that pedal's front and back plates (quills?) are slightly lower in the center, which has the effect of centering the foot in the middle of the platform. In contrast, the CdM pedals are perfectly horizontal on the top edge of the plates, which lets me stand a bit more widely on the pedal than the Sylvan touring pedals.


Here is the less expensive version with a less fancy finish and cheaper bearings; it was also available with either black or copper colored plates:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/27568818067...Bk9SR8zqorHOYQ


This is the higher-end version, with better finish and better bearings:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/32514427266...Bk9SR87qorHOYQ


The pedals I posted above are now costing at least twice their original retail cost of a few years ago.


FYI.


Andrew G.

bikemig 

I wasn't sure what the crank was at first. Since you are running a 49D, you could run smaller chain rings if you want to get better climbing gears and keep your freewheel. You'll lose top gears but you'll have climbing gears and they'll be reasonably closely spaced with a 14-26 5 speed freewheel.

That is a beautiful bike.

VintageRide

Some options there - I kind of like the 40T inner as it allows some degree of flexibility which is why I am thinking of a different freewheel to give a bit better gearing. Those Soma pedals would be well suited with toe clips but not exactly inexpensive. I have spent more on other items such as audio gear so if I narrow it down to them it could be worse, or just get the standard Sylvan touring.

I was going to convert the TDF to 650b but for one thing it rides very nicely as is with 25mm tubulars and considering the condition of the frame etc. thought it prudent to keep it closer to stock form, especially since even out here in and around Vancouver I have not seen another. Rare enough.

Flying G

Congrats on finding this nice looking white Gitane TDF! I have a similar one in the same color and it has been fun to ride in several CA Eroicas. One more idea regarding pedals might be adding a pair of Shimano M-324 SPD pedals if you have SPD shoes. I added these pedals to one of my other Gitanes with the idea that I can ride it with SPD shoes or flip ove the pedal and install Christophe toe clips when doing Eroica tours. I like the look of the Lyotard 460D pedals but have already broken the spindles on two different pedals and unfortunately, spare parts are tough to find. I agree with the others on the thread that MKS pedals are also a sturdy alternative that work well.
Enjoy the heck out of that bike!

Mr. 66

Ah freakin' heck!I just tried a few minutes ago. My cranks are French threaded... I guess I'm not going to go MKS

1989Pre 

Since you say the bike is not going to be ridden much and you seem to want to keep the French, period look, I say go with a decent set of 460D's. I've never used MKS pedals, but the 460D's on my Manufrance have been flawless and very comfortable, whether I am wearing racing shoes or the oxfords that I usually wear on the 3-speed. I don't really hear anyone speaking of problems with the Lyotard pedals. Some have had spindles snap, but I am not anticipating that happening, since I am neither heavy nor particularly powerful. Just change the bearings out and get a buffing wheel onto them. Seems like you've got the rest of the kit. Might as well complete it. Which stem did you install?

merziac

Do you still have the Sugino crank?

Mr. 66

I'm using a TA Specialties crank/bb on this TdF, I was hastily speaking. My hopes were they were English pedal eye. Now it looks like I'll use these Lyotard off some Peugeot variant. At least they have the long threads for alloy cranks.
I just wish I had them and the TdF in one location. That's a problem with doing a build on vacation.

VintageRide

Seems to be a split on liking or disliking those 460D pedals - I admit having it closer to original is appealing and I wear a sort of light walking boot that works just fine, even with toe clips if I use the MKS deep version. The stem is a 60 cm and made by DFV from the markings. I find anything under about 42 cm width for handlebars is simply too narrow. Wider bars make the bike more stable in my experience. I will ride the bike as often as I can but in comparison to the Rando bikes it will be more of a " it's a nice day and I am in the mood " situation. Somewhat similar to taking out a vintage or classic car on occaision.



I will keep searching Ebay, there was a very nice like new pair of 460Ds with natural finish spindles, they looked better than the ones that have a black finish but will be over 100.00.


Merziac - are you referring to the Sugino Mighty Competition crank set I have? Still tucked away and if I did not need lower gearing ( and a more appropriate bike ) they would have been put to use. Hopefully at some point there will be a person that can put them to good use. As I mentioned in the ISO thread their condition is pretty well like new.

Rabid Koala

When I worked in the shop that sold Gitanes in 1974, about half of the TdF models came with the Sugino cranksets. I liked the Campy look of the Sugino, but the Stronglight is also really nice looking. That would have been a tough decision for me back in the day.

cyclophilia 

The Lyotard 460D is a very nice pedal. A freshly overhauled set would provide years of good service.

An upgrade, back in the day, might have been the Lyotard Marcel Berthet mod. 23.

The 460D has a nice wide footbed, great for larger-footed riders.