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Paul Wiseman

I saw this old magazine on ebay and thought it would be cool just for the cover shot. I had no idea..........

Over to you now Nicolas.

urbanseeds

Can someone explain to me how the bar and stem works. I don't understand. Village Idiot here.

Paul Wiseman

Well, you're not alone. This is a whole village full of idiots here - we all love gitanes! As far as the bars are concerned, there front of the head tube is chopped out and that bracket looking thingy is bolted directly to the steerer tube inside. There seems to have been several generations of the bars and headset arrangements.

lofter

this one has a headset , campy sr it looks like. the track bike has a integrated bearing set in it. quite the contrast dont u say?i have that same book wisey i bought off french ebay.

Paul Wiseman

Yeah, but what does it say lofter?

Nicolas.....................................?

I got that photo of Fignon off ebay. 84 TdF, stage 22. 1h 07min 19sec for 51km. And he stopped for a puncture. (45.456 km/h) Can see some details of the delta. It has the aluminium delta bar, you can see a reflection of the front wheel on the surface. NR/SR headset. Front wheel is Record hub with mavic (non-aero) rim. Looks like a GP4. Fillet brazed joins at head tube. Internal cable routing for rear brake and gear cables.

I like the kid in the background. He looks so stoked that Fignon stopped to switch his bike right in front of him.

verktyg

It's not a Delta but close....

GITANE COLUMBUS TIME TRIAL, TRI, LOW PROFILE ROAD BIKE
Item number: 170158456401

http://cgi.ebay.com/GITANE-COLUMBUS-TIME-TRIAL-TRI-LOW-PROFILE-ROAD-BIKE_W0QQitemZ170158456401QQihZ007QQcategoryZ33503QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

Chas.

Paul Wiseman

Well, that tells us something. Columbus Gara. Low end race tubing. The specs are almost identical to the ole Aelle tube set. (perhaps it was re-named in the 90's?)

So, not only did gitane mass-market TT bikes at some points, they made them at a relatively low price point.

Who has one like this? Is it you lofter? What tubing is it made from?

lofter

my bike has a crved top tube and its made of vitus tubing

Paul Wiseman

Right at the end of this clip is a little bit of delta porn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ot0ewyJaFw&mode=related&search=

verktyg

Nice clip.... Thanks.

Chas.

Gtane

Great clip, thanks Paul. Cycling really is a glamorous sport and these vintage clips remind us of just how glamorous those past times were too.

I attended the London Cycle show last weekend and was very impressed. It was a great show. There was so much on display and everyone was was very friendly. A real pleasure. The stand staff were fantastic showing everything they could about their bikes, with enthusiasm and professionalism but unfortunately no Gitanes that I could see. However, my point here was to let everyone know that steel is on the return. Bianchi (Cycleurope) still make steel bikes to order by the original builder from Bianchi before it was purchased. Hopefully someone will take over as there is clearly a need. Colnago are also making steel road frames as the interest is on the increase. Condor and Pegoretti continue to do so too as are Serotta, Seven and more. Perhaps Cycleurope could reintroduce steel Gitanes in 953, the new wonder steel.

verktyg

One advantage of steel is that it can last for centuries.

Something I haven't seen mentioned in discussions about CFRP - Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plasitc materials and cycling is the breakdown over time of the epoxy plastic resins used to hold together these products. Epoxy or polyepoxide is the most commonly used plastic in these materials.

Check out older products made of fiberglass which uses the same kind of manufacturing process except with glass fibers instead of carbon fibers. Fiberglass breaks down over time, especially when exposed to the elements.

Chas. - I'll ride carbon when they pull my cold, dead hands off on my metal handlebars. Wink

Paul Wiseman

Yeah, I had enough of the production line bikes this year. My problem is that I have long legs and a short torso. So the 57cm top tube fits, but the 57/8 seat tube leaves my bars too low. On the other hand, a 60 is tall enough, but I need an 80mm stem. I checked the geo's of everything on the market at the time and gave up. So I went back to ol' mate Dazza McCulloch and had him build me a custom. All steel, all lugs. Over the years I had forgotten what a pleasure it is to ride steel. I doubt I'll ever go back to carbon again.

Regarding Reynolds 953, it may be a wonder material for the rider, but a lot of the frame builders don't like it because it can be more difficult to work with, is hard on the tools, and doesn't have any real performance advantage. Except that it won't rust, being stainless. My bike was built with the new Columbus Spirit for Lugs. The first lug specific tubeset since the good (bad?) old days. Depends on your perspective, I guess.

verktyg

Looks really nice but where are the 'roos? Laughing

I'm the exact opposite build. I have a very long torso with relatively short arms, legs and neck. A 55cm frame with a short top tube and stem are perfect for me.

Chas.

Paul Wiseman

Thu roosr in ya legs maaaaate.

That's why they called Phil Anderson "Skippy"

You can almost see the wattage in those legs!