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Newbie seeking help on bike ID 
PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:00 pm Reply with quote
Odysseus
Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Detroit
WOW! First of all, I want to start out by saying how happy I am to have discovered this forum. You have no idea of how long I've been wondering about my bicycle and what I might be able to do to restore the paint job and decals. Hopefully I'll be able to cull though some of what has been posted here and make some decisons as to what direction I want to go. I'll hold off on asking specific questions about where to find things after I've perused things a bit more.

I do want to ask everyone here something quite important though. I'm struggling in identifying my bicycle. I purchased my Gitane back in 1984 at the end of the season for a song as I recall. They told me that it was that year's model, and I had reason to believe them as I had a couple of friends working at the shop.

All of the equipment on the bike was original at the time, and while I have upgraded various component systems, I still have a lot of the original parts with the exception of the brakes.

The frame I have was made of Reynolds 531C tubing with a decal in French declaring that. (That's one of the decals I want to find eventually) It has Simplex drop-outs. There is chrome on the rear forks for about 6 inches in both directions. The original crankset was a Simplex however I do not have a model number on it to offer. I can tell you that the rings are 52 and 42 tooth, and they are drilled with holes. The original deraileurs were Campy Gran Sport, and I want to say the brakes were Campy too, but as I said, I don't have those so I'm going from memory. The original freewheel was a Mallaird 14-24 5 speed "ATOM 77". The original hubs are Gipiemme (model under unknown) 36 hole, and the original rims (still in great shape) are Mavic Module E 700C, 36 hole of course.

The bike has decals very similar to what is seen in this photo of the Gran Sport and Interclub models.

http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1983_pg4.jpg

What is vexing to me is that these models don't have the chrome details. Furthermore, my bike weighs closer to the 22 LB weight and always has, not the heavier weights as detailed for those models listed above on their catalogue spec sheet. Furthermore, the original components on these models don't match what was on my bike originally, and the framing material is different.

That's why I'm hoping I can find some help from all of you. Thanks so much for your asistance.

EDIT: I'm sorry for not having pics. My only camera is film format. Any questions that require a photo and i might be able to direct you something that is close based on the home page or catalogue pages.

Michael Bradstreet
Detroit, MI
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 2:31 pm Reply with quote
lofter
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 1162
hi mike welcome to the site ,glad u like it. what color was your original bike ? does it have internal braking in the top tube. is there a number placard tab on the under side of the top tube? about the crome is it on both back seat stays or just the drive chain side? crome front forks?clamp on front deraileur or braze on?just a few questions
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 3:09 pm Reply with quote
Odysseus
Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Detroit
lofter wrote:
hi mike welcome to the site ,glad u like it. what color was your original bike ? does it have internal braking in the top tube. is there a number placard tab on the under side of the top tube? about the crome is it on both back seat stays or just the drive chain side? crome front forks?clamp on front deraileur or braze on?just a few questions


Hi lofter, and thanks for your reply. Simple questions to more detail that I should have added to my original post.

The color of the bike is a metalic fleck silver with no clear coat (surprise, surprise from what I have read here. LOL). There is no internal routing of the rear brake cable, but it is routed through braze-on cable guides. There is no placard number on the underside of the top tube, as well as anything stamped into the downtube or seat tube. There is a number stamped on the bottom of the bottom bracket assy of "A02109" near the down tube point of assy. There is a number that is barely legible at the very bottom of the bottom bracket (heavy paint makes it hard to read) that says "510 illegible 5 space 4" There is also the letter "S" near the crank, and either a "9" or a "6" very close to that. The front deraileur is clamp-on, as are the down-tube shifters. There is a braze-on on the down-tube where the shifters are to be located, I suppose to prevent the shifters from moving. I might also note to you that there is a clamp-on assy for routing the deraileur cables at the bottom of the down-tube. The chrome is on both the seat-stays and the back stays. The fork has a small amount of chrome on it (about 2-3 inches).

I might add that the bike is fully French threaded and that the seat-post as well as the handlebar stem are of an odd size (non 26.4 mm) as these were replaced by me.

I hope that helps, or maybe it just made the whole mystery grow even deeper.

Michael
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:41 pm Reply with quote
lofter
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 1162
Quote:
I might also note to you that there is a clamp-on assy for routing the deraileur cables at the bottom of the down-tube


so i take it that the rear derailleur cable stop is on the top of the chain stay ,right?
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:48 pm Reply with quote
Odysseus
Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Detroit
lofter wrote:
Quote:
I might also note to you that there is a clamp-on assy for routing the deraileur cables at the bottom of the down-tube


so i take it that the rear derailleur cable stop is on the top of the chain stay ,right?


That is correct.

Also, I might add that I've done some more poking around and discovred the thread about angles of head and seat tubes. My bike is 57cm and has stamped on the lugs "74". I'm assuming this is the angle, right.

Also, I might add that when I got the bike it weighed somewhere between 22 and 23 lbs.

based on my research thus far, I'm beginning to think this is a TDF. Where the "chrome" came from is a good guess as there seems to be no data from my research to support chrome on chain or seat stays o the TDF models. What's more, the "chrome" onmy model seems to be chipping away ever so slightly near the drop-outs and where it meets the paint, only to reveal paint underneath.

My suspicion right now is that this was done after the fact and that the bike may be older than originally marketed to me.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:49 pm Reply with quote
lofter
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 1162
according to the catalog only two models have top r.deraileur stops theth racer 600 which is for kids and the super challenge so if it is a top r derailleur cable stop its one of those two or a different year perhaps.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:53 pm Reply with quote
Odysseus
Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Detroit
lofter wrote:
according to the catalog only two models have top r.deraileur stops theth racer 600 which is for kids and the super challenge so if it is a top r derailleur cable stop its one of those two or a different year perhaps.


Well, we know it's not the kids model. LOL As for the Super Challenge, I'm questioning that as the component package is not even close, nor is the weight.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:53 pm Reply with quote
lofter
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 1162
unfortunately we are missing 79 thru 82 on the catalogs on the site. and those catalogs r hard to find for some reason . been looking for awhile for those to no avail. im thinking its going to fall in those years
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:57 pm Reply with quote
Odysseus
Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Detroit
lofter wrote:
unfortunately we are missing 79 thru 82 on the catalogs on the site. and those catalogs r hard to find for some reason . been looking for awhile for those to no avail. im thinking its going to fall in those years


I'm beginnig to believe you are right in that. I keep poking away at this and from more snooping around elsewhere I'm beginnig to wonder even further about my initial assessment of the dropouts. With the chipping paint/chrome I'm beginning to see some lettering there. I'm wondering if I should just chip away at this and find out what it says. Heck, it needs a paint job ad restore anyway, why not investigate further if that helps the cause.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 5:02 pm Reply with quote
lofter
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 1162
Quote:
Where the "chrome" came from is a good guess as there seems to be no data from my research to support chrome on chain or seat stays o the TDF models. What's more, the "chrome" onmy model seems to be chipping away ever so slightly near the drop-outs and where it meets the paint, only to reveal paint underneath.


might be a primer, i wouldnt think someone would pay to crome over all that . shrugs my shoulders , i know i probably wouldnt. but i could be wrong. i still think it falls from 80 to 82,
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 5:09 pm Reply with quote
Odysseus
Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Detroit
lofter wrote:


might be a primer, i wouldnt think someone would pay to crome over all that . shrugs my shoulders , i know i probably wouldnt. but i could be wrong. i still think it falls from 80 to 82,


Yeah, I'm stumped and shrugging my shoulders too. I agree that it's probably earlier than 84 as originally advertised to me when purchased. Probably something late 70's to early 80's. Still, the "chrome over paint" thing has me stumped. Maybe a TDF that was modded by the shop to sell for more $$? Even so, why would it have non-french components on it as most i/we've seen in research had French parts? And why the silver metalic fleck paint when a lot of these were blue?

I just gotta laugh! The mystery continues!
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 5:17 pm Reply with quote
lofter
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 1162
sandman might be able to help some more.maybe hell see this post and chime in also. hes the guy who runs this site.and u r correct on the 74 being the frame angles Wink watch ebay for gitane models too.ive seen a bunch pass thru ,so u get a good look at em. wish u had a cheap digital camera or a good cell phone camera u could use.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 5:30 pm Reply with quote
Odysseus
Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Detroit
lofter wrote:
sandman might be able to help some more.maybe hell see this post and chime in also. hes the guy who runs this site.and u r correct on the 74 being the frame angles Wink watch ebay for gitane models too.ive seen a bunch pass thru ,so u get a good look at em. wish u had a cheap digital camera or a good cell phone camera u could use.


Yeah, I wish I had a camera I could use too. Too bad my computer doesn't accept film from my Nikon. LOL Maybe he can help with this mystery too. The more the merrier. And much appreciation to you.

FWIW, based on the catalogue stuff and the other posting here, I've got this narrowed down to either a "Criterium" or a "TDF", earlier as we've concluded that what it was marketed when I bought it. I think it's the "chrome", or whatever that is, that's been throwing me off.

_________________
Michael B
Detroit
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 2:58 pm Reply with quote
Odysseus
Joined: 28 Mar 2007
Posts: 9
Location: Detroit
An update of sorts....

I've been able to talk to the bike shop where I purchased the bike. The new owner said that he remembers them carrying Gitane bicycles, but that they quit buying them from Gitane in 82 or 83 he thinks. He said they only carried Gitane for about 2 or three years. With that data I've been able to assess that my bike is definately anywhere from 79 to 83 (obviously). The shop owner said he has no record remaining from that time of what they purchased or what they sold.

I other news, I do have a few photos taken on a disposable film camera now. (Dead battery issue with my good camera. Sad ) I'll do my best to get them developed, but I'd like to use up the rest of the camera before running off to the Walmart. Hopefully I can post something soon to help others with the mystery.

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Michael B
Detroit
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Newbie seeking help on bike ID 
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