 |  | | | |  | |  |  | Gitane SUper Corsa Frame set, Fair market value? |  | |  |  | |
 Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 10:19 am |
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| northemo |
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| Joined: 15 Feb 2014 |
| Posts: 5 |
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Hi, I have a 60cm 1983 (I think!) super corsa frame set I had been holding onto for a while, but it's time to part. I wanted to make it a keeper, but from riding a lot of other bikes in the meantime, it's pretty clear a 60 will be too large for me. I'd like to avoid going the ebay sales route and I have a couple local people interested, but I'm having trouble figuring out a fair market value for it? It is just the frame and fork with the original stronglight BB still on it, and it's in very good condition. A few blemishes with some recall snags. Marked Super Vitus 980 all over it. Full chromed forks, etc...
I've tried looking at old ebay sales, local stuff, to figure out a number we can agree one, but sales are all over the place value wise, and pretty much always have been for full bikes, not frame sets. Oh, and I might be willing to part with the wheelset for it as well, so that might be a price consideration.
I'm in a relatively hot market (metro seattle). I'm not looking to price gouge and get zillions, and i want to see if avoid becoming a fixie, etc... so I am flexible. But not looking to give it away for free either.
Anyone out there bought one/sold one and have an idea of relative value range of expectations? |
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| Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:46 am |
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| vonfilm |
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| Joined: 15 Jan 2014 |
| Posts: 13 |
| Location: Austin, Texas |
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I purchased this frame and fork, along with a Stronglight 106 crankset, a Helicomatic/Mavic wheelset, and some Atom 700 pedals. It is now with me in Austin, Texas. This will be my first Gitane and second French bike. I also have a 83 Peugeot PFN10 witha Vitus 181 tubing.
I am busy acquiring the rest of the parts needed to build it up. I will post some pictures of it on a build thread in the near future.
Am I correct that this will need a 26.4 mm seat post ? Does anyone here have a seatpost like this they would like to sell or trade ? |
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| | | | | | | | | Re: Gitane SUper Corsa Frame set, Fair market value? | | | | | |
| Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 3:14 pm |
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| verktyg |
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| Joined: 14 Jan 2007 |
| Posts: 2814 |
| Location: SF Bay Area |
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| northemo wrote: |
| Anyone out there bought one/sold one and have an idea of relative value range of expectations? |
Back in 2007 I bought a 1984 Gitane Super Corsa frame with a Campy Mirage crank set and a cheap Shimano headset for $150 plus $50 shipping.
It cleaned up very nicely...
The 1984 Super Corsa and Tour de France frames were made with Super Vitus 983 tubing which was slightly heavier than SV 980.
I have about 5 bikes made with SV 980 tubing and because of the thin tubing wall thickness they are about the smoothest riding bikes I've ever been on.
A 60cm SV 980 frame may be a little "whippy" for a rider who weighs over 180 lbs.
To answer your question, what's it worth...
Condition, Condition, Condition... A frame like yours should be worth between $150 and $300 if there is no rust and the paint is decent (on the other hand, some fixie fool might pay a lot more and have no idea what they have  ).
Gitanes "don't get no respect"...
These frames and bikes are great deals for buyers, not so good for sellers.
Most people have no clue about handling and ride quality. French bikes from the 1980s combine the best in Italian handling with a smooth ride that you might find on a British bike from a small maker! |
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Last edited by verktyg on Wed Aug 06, 2014 7:32 pm; edited 3 times in total
_________________
Chas.
SF Bay Area, CA USA
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1984 Criterium
1969 TdF
1971 TdF
1974 TdF
1984 TdF x 2 Bikes
1970 SC
1971 SC
1972 SC
1984 SC
1984 Team Pro
1985 Professional
1990s Team Replica |
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| Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 7:20 pm |
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| verktyg |
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| Joined: 14 Jan 2007 |
| Posts: 2814 |
| Location: SF Bay Area |
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| vonfilm wrote: |
I purchased this frame and fork, along with a Stronglight 106 crankset, a Helicomatic/Mavic wheelset, and some Atom 700 pedals. It is now with me in Austin, Texas. This will be my first Gitane and second French bike. I also have a 83 Peugeot PFN10 witha Vitus 181 tubing.
I am busy acquiring the rest of the parts needed to build it up. I will post some pictures of it on a build thread in the near future.
Am I correct that this will need a 26.4 mm seat post ? Does anyone here have a seatpost like this they would like to sell or trade ? |
What model Gitane... What kind of tubing?
Send pictures, lawyers, guns and money, our crystal ball isn't working right now! 
To answer your question, many better quality French bikes used 26.4mm seatposts.
The standard wall thickness of the seat tubes of most French frames made of Reynolds 531, 501, Vitus 172, Vitus 181 and so on was .7mm thick.
.7mm wall thickness x 2 = 1.4mm
Subtract that from the 28mm Outside Diameter of French seat tubes:
28mm - 1.4mm = 26.6mm Inside Diameter
Allow .1mm per side for clearance = 26.4mm seatpost.
Lighter tubing such as Super Vitus 971, 980 and 983, Columbus SL and lighter weight Reynold 531 tubing had a .6mm wall thickness on the seat tubes.
Those frames used 26.6mm seat posts, but... Frequently during assembly at the factory they stuffed a 26.4mm seatpost into the frame and tightened down on the binder bolt, distorting the seat lug.
This is the 26.4mm factory installed seatpost on one of my 1984 Gitane Tour de France bikes. It's made with Super Vitus 983 and should have a 26.6mm seat post. Notice how much the lug is squeezed. This can lead to cracking.
Another reason factories used under size seat posts was that frequently the seat tube lug was warped out of round or the tube bulged inside the lug, distorted from excess heat while brazing the seat stays on.
Rather than easily fixing the problem by inserting a mandrel into the seat tube and/or reaming it to size before painting, they just used an undersize seatpost.
The practice wasn't limited to French production bikes. I estimate that the problem existed in at least 75% of the better quality frames (read HOT Italian beauties) that I've seen or worked on.
You can try to gently spread the "ears" on the seat lug to see if a larger seatpost will fit (see picture red bike above).
Remove the seat post bolt first an use a large screwdriver or small pry bar.
Also, clean all of the crud out of the top section of the seat tube then remove any burrs with a small 1/2 round file - see below (do the same with the steering tube).
I also use a brush hone or brake cylinder hone with an electric drill to smooth out the inside of the seat tube. It makes minor seat height adjustments a lot easier.
Brush hone ~$15USD at auto parts stores. A 1 1/8" or 1 1/4" will work fine.
Brake cylinder hone - more expensive.
Lastly, use a liberal coat of grease on the inside of the seat tube and the seatpost during assembly. It prevents stuck seatposts plus it will heal keep water from getting down into the bottom bracket. I do the same with stems and fork steering tubes.
BTW, entry level bikes have tubing with wall thicknesses of 1.5mm to 3mm - that's why they're called "gas pipe" bikes. 
They used 24mm to 25.8mm seat posts.  |
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_________________
Chas.
SF Bay Area, CA USA
==============
1984 Criterium
1969 TdF
1971 TdF
1974 TdF
1984 TdF x 2 Bikes
1970 SC
1971 SC
1972 SC
1984 SC
1984 Team Pro
1985 Professional
1990s Team Replica |
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| Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 11:39 am |
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| vonfilm |
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| Joined: 15 Jan 2014 |
| Posts: 13 |
| Location: Austin, Texas |
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You were right about the seat tube size. I tried a 26.6 seat tube and it fit perfectly.
Pictures will be coming shortly in a new thread. |
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| Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 1:39 pm |
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| vonfilm |
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| Joined: 15 Jan 2014 |
| Posts: 13 |
| Location: Austin, Texas |
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This bike seems to use a recessed rear caliper and a nutted front caliper?
What's up with that?
Did some brakesets come like that back in the 80's?
Do you know what brake reach range I will need?
I know that I can buy new Tektro R539 calipers with a nutted front and a recessed rear. Their reach is 47-57mm.
Untitled by vonfilm, on Flickr
Untitled by vonfilm, on Flickr |
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| | | | | | | | | Recessed Front Brake | | | | | |
| Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 4:17 pm |
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| verktyg |
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| Joined: 14 Jan 2007 |
| Posts: 2814 |
| Location: SF Bay Area |
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| The front looks like it's recessed too but there appears to be a washer stuck in the hole??? |
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_________________
Chas.
SF Bay Area, CA USA
==============
1984 Criterium
1969 TdF
1971 TdF
1974 TdF
1984 TdF x 2 Bikes
1970 SC
1971 SC
1972 SC
1984 SC
1984 Team Pro
1985 Professional
1990s Team Replica |
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 3:55 pm |
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| vonfilm |
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| Joined: 15 Jan 2014 |
| Posts: 13 |
| Location: Austin, Texas |
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| I could not find a washer, nor could my LBS, when they examined it. I had them drill out the fork so that it can accept recessed brakes. they also removed the bent dropout wheelbase adjustors. |
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