gitaneusa.com Forum Index Register FAQ Memberlist Search

gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » Orange bike
Post new topic  Reply to topic View previous topic :: View next topic 
Orange bike 
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 10:09 pm Reply with quote
Schecky
Joined: 16 Jul 2006
Posts: 5
Location: OC
Hi all,
Just discovered the forum.
Attached is my singlespeed.
I did a search one night on Ebay for ‘lugged‘, just to see what came up. I’d been thinking about getting a road bike to help with MTB training.
This frame popped up. A 70s era Tour de France ‘professionnal’ with a Stronglight 93 crankset and a new headset installed.
It also came with some old cable clamps embossed with the Stronglight “S”.
Reynolds 531 steel and my size!
I knew very little about road bikes, but it looked interesting, so I gave myself a very minimal spending limit and made a bid.
Without too much effort, I ended up getting it.
I was happy and at the same time thinking holy $h*t! I know nothing about road bikes, and my first build ever is a French-made 35 year old frame with no derailleur hanger.
My initial goal was to build it for as little as possible. Powder coat and throw on what I could find - keeping it vintage was never a goal.
When the frame arrived, it looked better than I thought it would. Ratty yes, but kinda cool.
I decided to keep the paint and stickers as they are. Some day it may head down to San Diego for a restore from Cyclart, but for now it‘ll stay rough around the edges.
I started doing research, getting educated, and began collecting parts. Sheldon Brown helped a lot. The ‘cheap as possible’ idea went out the door quickly.
I chose Surly flip-flop hubs. It may be a fixie someday, when I get some road skills and get the gearing dialed.
Gearing is 42 x 16 for now.
I am pleased with how it turned out. It’s a blast to ride.
I like the yin & yang of it. The crunchy with the smooth as Billy Bragg said.











If anybody can help me ID the year, I'd sure appreciate it.


Last edited by Schecky on Sat Jul 22, 2006 7:37 pm; edited 2 times in total
View user's profile Send private message
Pre 1974 
PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 1:39 am Reply with quote
Paul Wiseman
Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 584
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Check out the catalogues on this site. It's Pre 1974 by the look of the decals. I love the orange/blue combo. Very smart looking bike.

_________________
Wisey
Brisbane, Australia
1974 Paris - Nice
1985 Defi
1985 Victoire
1985 Victoire (yes, another one!)
1985 Professionnel
View user's profile Send private message
NICE! 
PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 9:34 am Reply with quote
edub
Joined: 26 Jun 2006
Posts: 13
our bikes are twins!!

actually, i guess they aren't the same year (mine's a '73, I believe)... slightly different decals...





I'm building mine up as a fixie also... been scouring Ebay for various parts for the build. Built my own wheel set up (first time!) w/ White Deep V's and Phil track hub... kinda regret not going for a Campagnolo Pista hub, but if I get lucky on the 'bay, I'll get some and switch out. Right now I still need to get pedals and handlebars. Cranks, brakes in the mail! I'd like to do a white trim detail (rims, seat, handlebar tape and brake cable housing... maybe get some tires w/ white also??!)

You should post your bike on Fixed Gear Gallery... or wait until mine's done Smile
View user's profile Send private message
French threading? 
PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 9:37 am Reply with quote
edub
Joined: 26 Jun 2006
Posts: 13
btw, do your cranks have French threading? I got a 93 crankset from France on Ebay, and the threading is 14x1.25mm, so I have to find pedals with matching threads (or re-thread the cranks w/ ISO 9/16x20 threads Shocked )
View user's profile Send private message
 
PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 1:47 pm Reply with quote
gumby
Joined: 19 Jun 2006
Posts: 25
That bike looks sweet. I bet it rides and handles great. Enjoy.

_________________
Gumby Gitane
1985 Performance
View user's profile Send private message
Fixie TTT? 
PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 11:28 pm Reply with quote
Paul Wiseman
Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 584
Location: Brisbane, Australia
You fixies are nuts!!!

Hey, if you find another 2 crazy fixies with orange Gitanes, you could have a Team Time Trial Squad.

Then, when Sandman, Lofter, myself, and Laurent Fignon, get together with our Delta's, we could have a race.

I'll put $10 on the guys with those new fangled super record multiple gear changing thingys........

Now, I just need to find a 58cm Delta.........

And does anyone have Laurent's phone number?

Great to see you guys are having so much fun doing your bikes.

_________________
Wisey
Brisbane, Australia
1974 Paris - Nice
1985 Defi
1985 Victoire
1985 Victoire (yes, another one!)
1985 Professionnel
View user's profile Send private message
Re: French threading? 
PostPosted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 7:44 am Reply with quote
Schecky
Joined: 16 Jul 2006
Posts: 5
Location: OC
edub wrote:
btw, do your cranks have French threading? I got a 93 crankset from France on Ebay, and the threading is 14x1.25mm, so I have to find pedals with matching threads (or re-thread the cranks w/ ISO 9/16x20 threads Shocked )



My threads had already been re-threaded by the time I received the bike - Glad I didn't have to pursue that!
As I've gotten a greater base of knowledge, I kind of wish that I gone with different hubs/wheels too. It's that hindsight is 20-20 thing.
When I was doing the build I came across a great set of vintage blue ano brakes on eBay (Dia Comp I think), but they quickly became astronomical in price. What brakes did you go with?
What size is your frame? - That's a lot of head tube.

I'd post on FGG, but they don't seem to like bikes with brakes over there.... Confused

Paul - I'd tend to agree that fixies are nuts, but where I live is a fairly flat coastal plain and a single gear was a good plan.
That, and the thought of trying to find that clamp-on derailleur was daunting.
View user's profile Send private message
 
PostPosted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 4:04 am Reply with quote
verktyg
Joined: 14 Jan 2007
Posts: 2814
Location: SF Bay Area
Shecky,

Your frame is a late '60s early '70s Tour de France model.

The is a silver foil decal on the down tube above the Gitane decal (below where the shift levers SHOULD BE) that should say Tour de France.

The reason I'm saying this far back is because of the Simplex rear dropout without the derailleur hanger. I've only seen one or two older French bikes with the old fashioned dropouts.

I've seen Interclub, Tour de France and Super Coursa models with the yellow and blue decals on the forks so that's not a model indicator.

These bikes had classic road racing geometry, probably about 72° parallel, nice ride, nice handling.

Edub,

Your frame is an early 1970s Super Corsa. It has Campy dropouts. That was the main difference between the 2 models - Simplex vs. Campy otherwise they were the same.

I've seen a few of these frames with nice flat oblong braze-ons on the tops of the seat stays but most of them had the crimped tubing finish.

Someone didn't do a very good job of locating the Gitane head tube decal on your frame. Either is was replaced or the assembly crew had too much wine for lunch. I've run across a few bikes that came through that way.

Also your fork is from an earlier frame, maybe late '60s. Gitane stopped using that logo on the fork blade by the 1972 bike boom. I've only seen it on a few bikes and none of them had the nice fork crown that yours does.

Chas. Verktyg
Oakland, CA
View user's profile Send private message
 
PostPosted: Fri May 11, 2007 4:50 pm Reply with quote
floralagator
Joined: 11 May 2007
Posts: 1
Location: Florence, AL
Hi. Your orange bike is a 1973 model. I know....it was my first road bike. Seeing these pictures bring back lots of memories. Got mine as a high school graduation present.

Boy was it a sweet ride! Was a 10 speed with Simplex derailler. Shifters were on the down tube. Brakes were Mavac center pull. Cables were exposed which tended to cause rust problems on the Reynolds 531 steel frame. Don't remember the gearing....didn't concern myself much with that at the time. I just loved to ride the bike.

Rode mine during college years, then dropped off after getting married. Think I sold it in about 1979. The paint job was in pretty rough shape by then....Gitane wasn't known for paint!

Since I started riding again in the past year, I've really wished I had kept that bike.

David Cumbie
Florence, AL
View user's profile Send private message
old time dreamin' 
PostPosted: Fri May 11, 2007 8:49 pm Reply with quote
Paul Wiseman
Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 584
Location: Brisbane, Australia
keep your eyes on ebay. there is a pretty good turnover of old gitanes in the US.

_________________
Wisey
Brisbane, Australia
1974 Paris - Nice
1985 Defi
1985 Victoire
1985 Victoire (yes, another one!)
1985 Professionnel
View user's profile Send private message
 
PostPosted: Fri May 11, 2007 10:41 pm Reply with quote
verktyg
Joined: 14 Jan 2007
Posts: 2814
Location: SF Bay Area
floralagator wrote:
Hi. Your orange bike is a 1973 model.


Which one are you refering too? Shecky's bike at the top is a probably a late 1960's Tour de France, it has Simplex dropouts without a derailleur hanger.

Edub's bike is a 1970-1974 Super Corsa. The only difference is the Campy dropouts.

I had 2 Gitane Super Corsas, a 1971 and a 1972. I wish I still had the 1972 bike. It was candy apple gold, a very rare Gitane color. It was a great riding bike. I switched to a smaller frame when I started racing seriously about 1975.

I'd like to find an old orange Gitane Super Corsa. I had several orange bikes with blue trim.

Chas.
View user's profile Send private message
Orange bike 
  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  

  
  
 Post new topic  Reply to topic  


Powered by phpBB © 2001-2004 phpBB Group
Designed for Trushkin.net | Themes Database.