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More mystery bike pics 
PostPosted: Thu Dec 31, 2015 5:41 pm Reply with quote
jakenok
Joined: 24 Sep 2012
Posts: 20
Location: Kansas
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 31, 2015 5:43 pm Reply with quote
jakenok
Joined: 24 Sep 2012
Posts: 20
Location: Kansas
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1972 TdF 
PostPosted: Thu Dec 31, 2015 9:48 pm Reply with quote
verktyg
Joined: 14 Jan 2007
Posts: 2814
Location: SF Bay Area
Bike is a 1972 or 1973 Gitane Tour de France. Looks like a 62cm frame (24 1/2") center to top.

Looks pretty original except for the bars and stem, seat and seatpost and the derailleurs.

Should clean up nice. If the chrome is good then a decent paint job would be justified. If not, I wouldn't put a lot of money into it.

The head badge looks like the coat of arms for the Spanish Basque region...

_________________
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
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 01, 2016 12:48 pm Reply with quote
jakenok
Joined: 24 Sep 2012
Posts: 20
Location: Kansas
Thanks, Chas! We've had quite a time trying to figure out what it was, both here at home and on Bike Forums. According to the nephew of the previous owner, his uncle, it traversed at least part of Bikecentinnial, the original. I've considered leaving it be, getting it operating and riding as is. Odd item I found last night: 27 rear wheel, 700 front. Both Weinmann rims on Campy hubs....
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 01, 2016 4:30 pm Reply with quote
verktyg
Joined: 14 Jan 2007
Posts: 2814
Location: SF Bay Area
jakenok wrote:
...Odd item I found last night: 27 rear wheel, 700 front. Both Weinmann rims on Campy hubs....


27" clincher wheels were standard on most derailleur bikes sold in the US until the early 1980's when 700c size became the unofficial standard.*

Prior to that, most 700c clincher wheels were sold to riders who wanted to switch back and forth between sewups (which were 700c diameter) and clinchers without having to adjust their brakes.

I've seen mixed sized wheels on bikes before... Maybe a previous owner bent a 700c rim and couldn't find a replacement so a 27" rim was substituted? Rolling Eyes

700c tires were not readily available in many parts of the US until the mid 80's. If you went looking for them at a business that didn't specialize in bikes, you could only find 27" x 1 1/4" tires - usually low quality too!

One other thing, is the 700c rim on the front or the back?

Frequently Gitane TdFs and Super Corsas came with close clearance forks and the MAFAC brake blocks couldn't be raised high enough in the caliper to fit a 27" rim.

27" rims are 8mm bigger diameter than 700c rims - that's 4mm at the top of the wheel in the frame.


The front brake bridge on MAFAC Competition brakes had an oblong hole which allowed the caliper to be raised or lowered about 3mm from center line.



As bike left the factory. Notice how the brake block doesn't line up with the 700c sewup rim!



I had to file the bottom of the hole in the bridge about 5mm lower to get the brake pads to line up with a sewup or 700c rim on my 1971 TdF. A 27" wheel would not fit the fork! See arrow.




*This doesn't apply to low quality gas pipe department store bikes which many times came with 26" wheels! Confused

_________________
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
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 01, 2016 5:42 pm Reply with quote
jakenok
Joined: 24 Sep 2012
Posts: 20
Location: Kansas
verktyg wrote:
jakenok wrote:
...Odd item I found last night: 27 rear wheel, 700 front. Both Weinmann rims on Campy hubs....


27" clincher wheels were standard on most derailleur bikes sold in the US until the early 1980's when 700c size became the unofficial standard.*

Prior to that, most 700c clincher wheels were sold to riders who wanted to switch back and forth between sewups (which were 700c diameter) and clinchers without having to adjust their brakes.

I've seen mixed sized wheels on bikes before... Maybe a previous owner bent a 700c rim and couldn't find a replacement so a 27" rim was substituted? Rolling Eyes

700c tires were not readily available in many parts of the US until the mid 80's. If you went looking for them at a business that didn't specialize in bikes, you could only find 27" x 1 1/4" tires - usually low quality too!

One other thing, is the 700c rim on the front or the back?

Frequently Gitane TdFs and Super Corsas came with close clearance forks and the MAFAC brake blocks couldn't be raised high enough in the caliper to fit a 27" rim.

27" rims are 8mm bigger diameter than 700c rims - that's 4mm at the top of the wheel in the frame.


The front brake bridge on MAFAC Competition brakes had an oblong hole which allowed the caliper to be raised or lowered about 3mm from center line.



As bike left the factory. Notice how the brake block doesn't line up with the 700c sewup rim!



I had to file the bottom of the hole in the bridge about 5mm lower to get the brake pads to line up with a sewup or 700c rim on my 1971 TdF. A 27" wheel would not fit the fork! See arrow.

[url=http://postimg.org/image/


[/url]


*This doesn't apply to low quality gas pipe department store bikes which many times came with 26" wheels! Confused



Chas, the back rim is 27". I'm guessing this guy threw these rims on the Campy hubs to do the Bikecentinnial ride. Looks like he was carrying front and rear panniers. Maybe it was a load thing. I put a 27 x 1.25 back there this afternoon just to see, and it clears the brakes ok.

When I dug through the bits the guy was selling, there were two or three sets of 700 C tubular rims; I think I'll go back Monday and pick this up, as well as dig some more. I also got a nice Shimano Crane rd and a shiny unused set of TDF Lyotard pedals. She came with a beautiful Silca pump also, and fits well via a Sheldon Brown despised pointy pump peg.

After scrubbing on her, looks like she might have been white. I also found a number stamped on the inside of a rear drop 5225.

Paint looks very old and a lot like an old oil painting, with cracks and such. The head piece logo looks like there was a man painted at around 10 o'clock.
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 4:07 pm Reply with quote
jakenok
Joined: 24 Sep 2012
Posts: 20
Location: Kansas
I had to do it, put tires n tubes on her, lubed the chain and gear shifters, and took her for a short ride. Wonderfully sweet, I love it. Going to relube the bottom and head, clean and adjust, and enjoy as is for now, dirty cotton tape and all. I'll put some tubulars on her come spring.




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