gitaneusa.com :: View topic - 1972 Gitane Tour de France period correct

Reynolds531

Hi. I'm new to the forum. Back in the mid 70's when I was riding my Schwinn Continental I wanted a nice bike and a Gitane Tour de France was at the top of the list. 4 years ago I bought a 1972 Gitante Tour de France frame and fork. It was rattle-canned black, so I stripped it and had it powder coated red. I rode it as a single speed but it never seemed quite right. When I found that Cyclomondo had reproduction decals, I decided to rebuild the bike period correct.

The parts are an eclectic mix, all from my parts box. Hubs are Campy Nuovo Tipo. Rear derailleur is a Suntour Cyclone--I tapped and reshaped teh Simplex dropout. Rims are Mavic MA3. The Crankset is a late 70's Shimano 600 Arabesqe. Brakes are Weinmann Vanquier Center Pulls.

I'm happy how it turned out, but I might start acquiring the proper components. This site was a great help.[img]

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scozim

Great job on the bike! It looks very nice and like it would be a blast to ride.

Scott

PBR Streetgang

Very nice!

Gtane

Welcome to the forum Reynolds531,

Great looking bike, you've done a super job. Do post to the gallery.

Thanks for the post and all the best for finding the parts you need.

Tim

ROC

That'a great looking renovation!
When I re-did my '73 TDF & applied the Cyclomondo decals I realized that Gitane's chrome styled decals really complement the chrome rear stays & forks. It gave me some insight as to why they chose 'chrome' decals. I've since learned that chroming frame tips can be troublesome & expensive in production.
With regards to Cyclomondo I feel that without Cyclomondo, there would have been no restoration in my case (see TDF...born again) Confused

The ability to get decals was is in part due to the effort of some of the 'settlers' of Gitane USA.
Lastly, people who see your 'velo' & have never hear of Gitane will stop & admire at your bike I'm sure.

verktyg · Last edited by verktyg on Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:28 am; edited 1 time in total

Chrome plated forks and stays probably resulted as an attempt to eliminate paint chipping when changing wheels during races.

Back in the old days racers only had one bike and it sometimes had to last multiple racing seasons. I've seen lots of old professional racing bikes that looked like real beaters.

During the 60s and 70s chrome plated forks and stays extended from premium quality bikes all the way done to entry level models. Around 1974-75 the cost of chrome became so expensive that it's use on frames was extremely curtailed.

Chas.

BTW, really nice job! Wink

verktyg

Additional thoughts added 2-15-09:

Unless you want to build a "Concours" restoration, if you plan on riding the bike then the components should meet your personal requirements. Elements such as seat (saddle), seatpost, bars, stem, pedals, derailleurs, shift levers, rims and tires fall into the category of things that can add comfort and improve your riding experiences.

Back in the day, the first thing many TdFs owners did was to install a Brooks Pro saddle. Brooks were more popular than Ideale 90 saddles because the brown dye they used didn't rub off on you clothes like the evil black concoction that Ideale used which took forever to wear off! Mad

The next thing that a lot of owners did was to switch the Simplex derailleurs over to Campy stuff if they could afford to or the far less expensive Suntour derailleurs. In the early 70s you had a choice performance rear derailleurs of a $7 Suntour V or a $36 Campagnolo Nuovo Record. Ironically the Suntour derailleurs worked FAR better than the Campys but lacked snob appeal.

The final change was from sewups to 27" alloy clincher rims. Many riders didn't have the patience or desire to deal with tubular tires and after one or two flats gave up the performance and ride quality for the reliability of the heavier clinchers. Modern high performance 700c clinchers hadn't come along yet.

Here's a list of components and features used on Gitane Tour de France bikes with foil decals from the late 1960s until mid 1974:

Frame: Reynolds 531 Tubing throughout, 1/2 chrome plated forks and rear stays. Brazed on willow leaf seat stay caps and a brazed on bridge for rear brake cable stop up to early 70s. Later frames had swaged over seat stay tops and no brake cable bridge.

Lugs: Prugnat S7 "Italian Style". ~1972 changed to Bocama Short Point Professional lugs.

Fork Crown: Nervex, Wagner (several styles), ~1972 Bocama crown.

Dropouts: Simplex (3-4 different styles), a few TdFs came with Campagnolo dropouts and occasionally Huret front dropouts.

Headset: Stronglight P3

Stem: Pivo cast aluminum, 70mm, 80mm, 90mm, 100mm ???

Bars: Pivo aluminum alloy, 38cm, 40cm.

Crankset: Stronglight 93, 170mm, 14x1.25mm threads, later Sugino Mighty Competition 171mm, 14x1.25mm threads. 52-42T

Pedals: Lyotard 460D Dural, 14x1.25mm threads.

Hubs: Normandy Competition Luxe high flange, 36H. Campagnolo Nuovo Tipo, high flange, 36H. French freewheel threads on both styles.

Freewheel: Usually Atom 14-24T or 14-26 5 speed.

Rims: Mavic or other brands of tubular (sewup) rims. In 1973-74 27" alloy clincher rims were a limited option from the importer. Usually narrow Weinmann alloy rims were used.

Brakes: Mafac Dural Forge, then Racer and later Competition brakes. Half rubber brake lever hoods.

Derailleurs: Simplex Criterium front and rear with down tube shifters.

Seat Post: 26.4mm Chrome plated steel or aluminum alloy.

Saddle: Feccia D'Oro plastic saddle (Torquemada model)

Toe Clips & Straps: Christophe or other brands.

Tires: Cheap tubulars or rare, optional 27 x 1 1/4 Hutchison or Michelin Chevron clinchers provided by importer after 1973.

Chas.