gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » Frame Identification    View previous topic :: View next topic  Frame Identification   Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 6:25 am petergross2 Joined: 10 Feb 2012 Posts: 6 Location: Vienna/Austria hi everybody new to the forum and immediately popping the question: what frame its this?? i bought it off ebay, the seller had no detailed information. i browsed this site (which is totally AWESOME, no other resource for these bikes comes even close! if there even are any...) and tried to find clues to which model it could be, but not conclusive. details: no chrome on frame and fork, first paint, original decals, rear derailleur cable stop was clamp-on (no fitting brazed to the frame), also front derailleur was clamp-on, cable guide underneath the bottom bracket is missing, rear dropouts are stamped "super vitus". please take a look at the pics for more clues, the BB has more than one number stamped in: "25077 8" "2352" and "4700", where the digits are slanted to the right i was thinking it could be a SC, but not sure. any information on model, approximate year and original components this model came with are greatly appreciated. thanks peter vienna/austria   Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 8:29 am smilingroadrunner Joined: 10 Aug 2007 Posts: 278 Location: Salina, Ks. G'day , or evening as it may be approaching Peter. Welcome to the forum. Great site for Gitane owners w lots of knowledge to be shared. This frameset would likely be an early '80s '80--'83 given the appearance of the decal set. The lack of components "clouds" the possible true identification. The rear drop out design suggest that it is not just an entry level frameset, but lack of "tubing type decal" may also "cloud" the identification. The need for a "clamp on Rear derailleur cable stop" may be a clue. I Like Steel !!! ______________________ C.A. Salina, Ks 1980-1981 Frame?   Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 9:53 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Greetings, The big 3 French bike makers. Gitane, Peugeot and Motobecane plus Raleigh in the UK made specific models for the countries were they were being sold: France, The UK, the Netherlands, Central Europe, the US and so on. Sometimes it was just a model name change, other times the bikes had different components. Compare the 1980 French catalog with the 1982 UK catalog. Your frame has Super Vitus forged steel dropouts that indicate it's a better quality model. As CA mentioned, there are no Super Vitus or Reynolds tubing stickers which would help in identifying the model. The Gitane decals match the ones shown in the 1980 and 1982 catalogs but the bikes in the the 1982 UK catalog have chrome plated forks. The lighter color metallic blue paint would match the late 70s to early 80s bikes too. My guess is that it's the equivalent of of 1980-81 French model, Tricolore, Vuelta or Sprint. It should be a nice riding and handling bike. BTW, the "serial numbers" have no relevance. We determined that they are probably random numbers used in the manufacturing process. _________________ 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   Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 12:47 pm petergross2 Joined: 10 Feb 2012 Posts: 6 Location: Vienna/Austria great information, thanks a lot. i´ll see if i can find out more myself based on what you said, especially what OE components were most likely on it. greez peter   Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 4:01 pm petergross2 Joined: 10 Feb 2012 Posts: 6 Location: Vienna/Austria ok, did some more investigation: most likely, the bike is a tricolore, early 80´s, as in the french catalog of that time period. clues are the clamp-on cable stop for the rear derailleur and the painted (not chromed) frame/fork. OE was spidel components, stronglight cranks, mavic rims. no idea yet about the saddle, stem, handlebar, seat post, brakes (spidel or mafac), pedals. we´ll see, french sites and french ebay could be helpful, but the language... thanks again peter Tricolore?   Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 4:59 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Quick question, did a former owner tell you what the original equipment components were or are you trying to match the frame with the description in the 1980 French catalog? The Tricolore had a Super Vitus 971 frame which had thinner wall thickness tubing: 0.9mm x 0.6mm versus 1.0mm x 0.7mm. It was lighter and smoother riding than the Reynolds 531 frames on the next models up (Olympic and Trophee). The Super Vitus tubing used a 26.6mm seatpost. the Reynolds seat tube took a 26.4mm seatpost. Spidel was a marketing organization that represented Stronglight, MAFAC, Simplex, Maillard and several other French brands. Spidel or any of those brands would be correct for the Tricolore. _________________ 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   Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:58 pm petergross2 Joined: 10 Feb 2012 Posts: 6 Location: Vienna/Austria verktyg the former owner didn't comment about the bike in any way, i guess it was some kind of garage find. it is actually guesswork after looking at the catalog and some pics i found around the www. the information about the seat post is really valuable. i will check that out ASAP. one more detail that caught my eye is a little piece of metal spot-welded to the underside of the down tube, obviously where the clap-onframe shifter was mounted - but then this might be a detail found on all the bikes, what do i know... gathering all the right parts will be the challenge, although ebay france has lots of stuff. thanks again peter p.s.: anyone know how to ID a peugeot from the 60´s?! and I've been through all the easy to find sites already. Frame ID   Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 1:25 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area These frames were made in 3 different varieties. 1. Reynolds 531 3 main tubes. Carbon steel forks and rear stays. 2. All Reynolds 531 tubing. 3. All Super Vitus Tubing. It could have been Super Vitus 971 or 980. Shine a light into the bottom bracket and look for seams inside the chain stays. Reynolds 531 and Super Vitus tubing were all seamless. If you see a seam like in this picture then only the 3 main tubes are Reynolds 531. No seams then all the tubes are made of top quality tubing. Reynolds 531 sticker for 3 main tubes. Last edited by verktyg on Tue Feb 14, 2012 1:30 pm; edited 1 time in total _________________ 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   Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 1:28 pm petergross2 Joined: 10 Feb 2012 Posts: 6 Location: Vienna/Austria verk you're the man thx, will check   Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 11:11 am petergross2 Joined: 10 Feb 2012 Posts: 6 Location: Vienna/Austria checked the chain stays´inside: seam sa, according to your last post, only the main triangle is made from the better tubes. however, i already found a bunch of spidel parts and will try to rebuild it as nice as i can. thanks again peter   Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 3:22 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area petergross2 wrote: checked the chain stays´inside: seam so, according to your last post, only the main triangle is made from the better tubes. however, i already found a bunch of spidel parts and will try to rebuild it as nice as i can. thanks again peter Not to worry, it should be a nice riding and handling bike. Gitane tended to use lighter (thinner wall thickness) forks and stays for their non Reynolds tubes than the cheap carbon steel on their less expensive bikes. This was in comparison to the heavier tubing used on entry level bikes like the Gran Sport. During the 60s and early 70s a lot of French mid range bikes used Reynolds 3 main tubes with Durifort forks and stays which probably have the same wall thickness as on your frame. The Tour de France bikes made for the US market from about 1968 to 1973 were all Reynolds 531 tubing. (well actually not, the steerers were made by Nervor and brake and chainstay bridges were some kind of cheap rolled steel with a seam. They probably saved enough Centimes to buy a weeks worth of croissants) In 1974-75 Gitane switched to non Reynolds forks and stays on the TdF frames. Also most of the European TdF frames from the late 60s until 1976 were made with the same kind of non Reynolds tubes. So put it together and have fun riding it. Here's my 1974 TdF. Listmeister Stephan who sold it to me had it equipped with all Campagnolo components. It's now mostly period correct French parts. If you've not ridden many high performance bikes you probably wouldn't notice a big difference between your frame and an all Reynolds 531 frame. You will notice a difference between it and a lower end bike. Also, a Super Vitus frame is going to be a lot lighter and more "supple". That is it will absorb road shock and vibration better. Alloy steels like Reynolds and Super Vitus are stronger than standard carbon steel used on less expensive bikes. This allows the tubing to be thinner and thus more springy. _________________ 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 Frame Identification     gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours   Page 1 of 1   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First  Select a forum Gitane USA----------------Vintage GitaneGitane RacingModern GitanePro Racing - Classics/Giro/Tour....Owner Gallery   Powered by phpBB © 2001-2004 phpBB Group Designed for Trushkin.net | Themes Database.