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ROC

My winter restoration is over! A new life has been granted to SN 324277. I got the frame in '74, it got painted then & it's been ridden mainly by my wife for over 35 years.
Here's a picture of the urban commuter

The bike now has a hollow shaft compact crank, a 10 speed Ultegra cassette, a large diameter stem & bar, and weighs in at 21.5 lbs like it would have in '73...and no Tubasti!

I strongly recommend to never ever paint or modify an original TDF. In my case I was a logical option considering the history. I spent 3 months part time on it as a hobby project. Many hours of taking off the paint let me examine the lug work maybe a bit too much!
It was a lot of fun knowing I could fit any new style components to the bike, and for sure without decals there would have been no restoration.

I can honestly say that without GitaneUSA, Chas. and others, Cyclomondo, etc. the bike would still be gathering dust in the basement. A big Thanks to all! Long live Gitane!

Gtane · Last edited by Gtane on Sun Jan 18, 2009 1:08 am; edited 1 time in total

Richard,

That's a stunning job, it looks terrific. I'm guessing that wet rides are out.

How does it ride?

Thanks for posting the shots.

Tim

overfedlonghairedgnome

Richard

It's a beautiful color, makes those foil decals look timeless. Did you do the braze-ons? The compact cranks are a nice touch.

Jim

PBR Streetgang

Very nice!

the70sbike

I think you did an outstanding job! I wouldn't have done it without decals either.

smilingroadrunner

Richard, this is amazing. I think this is the first bike with images of Greg's decal work that I've seen. They look great!!!. Any tips to share about their application.

I've got too many questions, but to start could you share any light on the headset, bottom bracket-crank assy, seatpost. I assume the rear stays were widened. Neat update with modern components, just curious how it was done.

Any possibilty of some closer images of the replacement decals in the future???

I Like Steel !!!!
___________________
C.A.
Salina, Ks.

PBR Streetgang

ROC

Thanks for all the great support on this overhaul. My neighbour said that unless it's got the original components it will never look right...To each his own. In my case I've never had the whole bike 'cause I bought the frame in '74 after working in a bike store that was going out of business. It was violet, the decals were scratched but the frame size looked right.

So in answer to a few questions...
I have not ridden it on the road yet, I'm in Canada & the temp has been -17F recently with 3 foot piles of snow. 2 more month to go yet.

Decals:
Here are some pics...the first is the original head tube badge which was never removed (plenty of battle scars),

I applied the new decal over it.

The hardest decal to apply is the main foil decal & I saved it for last after I had built up some courage. I adopted my own method for all the decals. I pre cut the backing into two halves before application.
All were applied dry & I would carefully peel off 1/2 of the backing, slit the backing in half then reapply the half backing with a 1/4" gap. Then I would place this modified decal assy on the bike. This allowed me to place the center then gradually peel away each side with out any bubbles.

As for the down tube, In order to align it properly with the tube I projected a line from a tripod that I matched with the red line of the Gitane down tube decal.

As for the head set - it's a stronglight original issue (I think). I used an aluminum 1" to 1 1/8" headset adapter that was easily available. The center bolt pulls on a wedge inside the steerer tube as normal.

The Bottom Bracket was professionally tapped to english threading by a Bike Manufacturer in Montreal (via my local bike shop). Apparently because so many older French Bikes exist in Montreal they commonly retap many French threaded BB's. I don't know why but I wanted to see a hollow crankset in a '73 frame just for the challenge.
The seat post is a kalloy stock post, i settled for 26.0mm because 26.4mm was not available, $20.

The braze ons were professionally done over 30 years ago, that's all I remember. The rear stays were just gently pulled to accept the 130mm hub width at the back. in 10'th gear the chain kisses the chrome a bit.

Good luck in your restorations!

citternmaker

Beautiful work! Thanks for the additional information, I was wondering how you got that Ultra-Torque BB to mate up with the frame. Smile

BTW, how well does it shift with the modern cassette/derailleur and vintage shifters?

smilingroadrunner

Great work, and many thanks for the tips on the decal applications--I may have one of these projects in the near future---your insights and techniques will be helpful.

C.A.

ROC

citternmaker

Thanks Richard, I'd sure like to see a photo if you get the chance. I'm currently running a customized early 70's Crane rear derailleur on my '72 TdF (thanks to the mounting bolt disintegrating in 1981), but I'm only using a 5 speed freewheel on it at present. I was wondering how well the early campy shifters worked with a setup that required a longer throw than I'm using now.

vanhelmont

Richard,

The bike looks great, but one thing I don't get. How do you use a 26 mm seat post? Did you shim it? I got a 26.4 mm seat post from my bike shop, but it's not microadjusting, it's just a tube because my saddle has a clamp. But you can get 26.4 microadjusting posts on ebay regularly, at moderate prices.

Dave

Gtane

Richard,

Thanks for the updates and do let us know how the first ride goes when you get a warmer opportunity.

Tim

ROC