gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » 70s Gitane Tandem    View previous topic :: View next topic  70s Gitane Tandem   Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 8:17 pm kc0yef Joined: 26 Aug 2012 Posts: 11 Hello everyone new to French bikes and Tandems This one? Just picked this up and was wondering if anyone thinks it might be OK to put 700c and can anyone identify the model? It currently has Atom drum brake to a Mavic 27 rear and an unidentified hub with several oil ports on the front to a Rigida Rim both 36 spoke so I am sure I want some more spokes... And could anyone say if this fork could support 500lbs of riders? I read most of the search.bikeforums-list! The top tube is two tubes left and right of the seat Tube so it seems pretty strong. Or should I just cut it up and make a cargo bike out if it? Thanks for any advice Re: 70s Gitane Tandem   Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 9:36 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area kc0yef wrote: Or should I just cut it up and make a cargo bike out if it? WHAT!!! Go buy a cheap cargo bike! There were only so many of these tandems made and only a few have survived! kc0yef wrote: It currently has Atom drum brake to a Mavic 27 rear and an unidentified hub with several oil ports on the front to a Rigida Rim both 36 spoke so I am sure I want some more spokes... The Atom brake drums worked pretty well, no need to change but you will need both rim brakes and a hub brake to stop 500 Lbs. Get some of the Kool Stop brake pads: http://www.koolstop.com/english/mafac.html 700c rims are about 4mm smaller than 27". The European versions came with 700c wheels. You could get by with oversize stainless steel tandem spokes. They may not fit through the ferrules in standard alloy rims or the spoke holes in the hubs. Another expensive solution is to go with 40 or 48 spoke Phil sealed bearing hubs. If it were mine and I planed on riding it a lot, that's the way I would go, at least in the front. kc0yef wrote: And could anyone say if this fork could support 500lbs of riders? I read most of the search.bikeforums-list! I've never seen a fork on one of these bikes fail. They're are made of oversize tubes. The headsets were oversize and hard to find. kc0yef wrote: The top tube is two tubes left and right of the seat Tube so it seems pretty strong. Again, never saw one of these frames fail but the most we ever weighed when riding one was about 400 Lbs. 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 Cargo Bike   Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 6:44 am kc0yef Joined: 26 Aug 2012 Posts: 11 verktyg, OK OK no re-engineering interestingly enough I have a set of 48 spoke phil's on some Mavic T217s with Arai Drums front and rear which is why I was considering the swap to 700c! Vive Le France! and Phil. I know nothing about the Gitane Tandems are they really rare? I am 90% certain this is a 1974 the rear dérailleur is a Suntour dated VGT Touring 1974 with a nice half step setup. Also the right rear Cantilever Stud has been repaired so some new paint is in order.   Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 7:03 am kc0yef Joined: 26 Aug 2012 Posts: 11 in this catalog scan http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1969/pricesheet/1969-Price-Sheet-001.jpg it mentions Alex Singer as a custom builder for Gitane are there any examples I have searched the forum but didn't come up with a picture Re: Cargo Bike   Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:51 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area kc0yef wrote: interestingly enough I have a set of 48 spoke phil's on some Mavic T217s with Arai Drums front and rear which is why I was considering the swap to 700c! Vive Le France! and Phil. Finding high quality 27" tires is getting difficult. For 500 Lbs. of riders, I'd suggest 700x32c sized tires as a minimum, preferably 700x35c or 700c38c tires would be better. Get tough well made "touring" tires and stay away from the light weight "ballerina" racing tires. You might run into some fender or frame clearance problems with larger tires so check them out first. In flat areas, 125-150 Lb. riders can get away with rim brakes only, that's the kind of riders that most bike components were engineered for. In your situation drum brakes are almost a necessity. kc0yef wrote: I know nothing about the Gitane Tandems are they really rare? I am 90% certain this is a 1974 the rear dérailleur is a Suntour dated VGT Touring 1974 with a nice half step setup. Also the right rear Cantilever Stud has been repaired so some new paint is in order. Tandems were never more than about 1% of total bike sales. They were more popular in parts of Europe (France and the UK) but were mostly a novelty in the US. Rear derailleurs and rims are probably the least reliable components to date a bike by. Rear derailleurs could easily be sucked into the spokes, especially on a tandem and rims got bent from hitting pot holes. Gitane used the foil decals like on your bike from about 1968 until 1973-early 74. I estimate that the "street life" of most bikes sold in the US during the 70s was about 5 years, especially for entry level models. Most of them became Toyotas and Datsuns long ago! Owners of mid range and better quality bikes tended to hold on to them whether they got ridden or not. Same thing with tandems. That's why there are more of these kinds of bikes still around. kc0yef wrote: in this catalog scan http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1969/pricesheet/1969-Price-Sheet-001.jpg it mentions Alex Singer as a custom builder for Gitane are there any examples I have searched the forum but didn't come up with a picture Those bike were custom built for Gitane, maybe even the importer Mel Pinto Inc. I've only seen one of those tandems. The frames were made of Reynolds 531 alloy steel tandem sized tubes. they had a mix of Campagnolo and other top quality components. A friend had one of them back in New Mexico during the 70s. It weighed about 38-40 Lbs. vs. close to 50 Lbs. for the standard model like your bike. Your frame is made of standard Gitane carbon steel tubing. It is adequately strong, just heavier than the Reynolds 531 tubes. Also, your bike has aluminum alloy TA Cyclotouriste chain rings which fit on the steel cottered cranks. My suggestion is to do a tuneup, change the cables, tires/wheels/drum brakes and so on then ride it for a while before spending time and money on a repaint job. _________________ 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 Still Alive!   Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 4:43 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Hey, I may be one of the few people still alive who actually saw one of those Alex Singer "Gitane" tandems much less ridden on one of them. The century ride that I mentioned was The Tour Of The Rio Grand Valley around 1976 or 77. We started off riding with the racers. Every time I looked over my shoulder there were 20-25 "wheel suckers" drafting on us. They'd drop us on the hills but on the way back down we'd reel them back in! I was fun watching them try to jump on our wheel again when we were spinning out the 60-13 gears at over 50 mph! _________________ 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 I HAVE ONE OF THESE!   Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 8:45 am pargeterw Joined: 30 Aug 2012 Posts: 6 Hello! I have the same model (albeit a european version)! I've started a thread here: http://www.gitaneusa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2356 where I plea for your help and advice. You all seem highly qualified, and I'd really appreciate your input! Thanks, Will   Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 7:18 pm kc0yef Joined: 26 Aug 2012 Posts: 11 I know what is wrong with your dérailleur inappropriate use of a inexpensive dérailleur YIKES Danger MUST replace NOW! and did you run over a cat? What are all those fibers? Put your drag, drum brake on a thumb shifter that will be supremely better however, your cantilevers are well unbelievable YOU Should NOT Ride this bike until you change the steel rims and the brake pads and ONLY use Scott Mathauser or Koolstop Salmon while your doing the V-Brake swap send them to me your old cantilevers I will pay for shipping and send you a thumb shifter You have some choices in hubs sealed cartridge Bearing hub up front on some touring Rims $45 on ebay right now! Total Rider and bike and bags weight 500lbs 48 Spoke 300 lbs 40 spoke 250lbs 36 spoke but nothing less than 36 spoke you can also replace the rear with several modern alternatives internal Gear Internal Drum brake there are many choices... I suspect the noise is faulty maintenance must... not ...type ...any ...more... about ...maintenance... you know what to do and if you don't take it to a shop. The fibers in your chains are for sure causing issues excessive chain wear at least. Yours has also been updated to cotter-less cranks so you need to service the bottom brackets chainwheels pedals etc.. the standard rebuild-tuneup! This might also have something to do with the rear dérailleur besides out of align, form the pictures, and it is a $5.00 dérailleur you must replace it with something that costs $100. If I keep mine I am going with Phil Wood 48 Hubs Arai Drum UNshaven! on T217 Mavic rims Arai's come up on occasion I will keep my eye out for you but there are many modern alternatives freehub etc... My cranks are steel and steel is real though isn't it! So I am going look into building a tandem set from some spares I have. I am not sure about the bottom brackets however, foregoing the French Connection and Cotter-less will be an endeavor. After an initial cleanup I found the right rear cantilever brake mount had been replaced and then not painted so I polished off the rust and exposed the wonderful brazing job whoever did it! So then I started hitting the rust and am just polishing the rust down to non black and putting a coat of primer on it until I do a full restore. Brakes are perfect and aluminum wheels are good it stops on a dime! The chain is not worn and lubed needs tires and I can ride it and work on it in sections.   Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 3:02 am pargeterw Joined: 30 Aug 2012 Posts: 6 kc0yef wrote: I know what is wrong with your dérailleur inappropriate use of a inexpensive dérailleur YIKES Danger MUST replace NOW! and did you run over a cat? What are all those fibers? Yes - The plan was always to replace the dérailleur, but what is the 'danger' with not doing so? I didn't run over a cat, but it has recently been living in the part of the garage where a shaggy dog walks through every day on his way outside to... Quote: while your doing the V-Brake swap send them to me your old cantilevers I will pay for shipping and send you a thumb shifter My plan was to put the drum brake on one of the existing gear levers, having put the gears onto some new bar ends. Do you think a thumb shifter would be better? How would this fit onto drop handlebars? Re: Swap to V's - The current idea is to stick with the cantis until we've at least swapped rims, and then re-assess if V's are really necessary (as budget may or may not turn out to be problematic) What's your plan with the old canti's? Quote: You have some choices in hubs We're around 300lb (140kg) together, plus panniers on top of that (although we rarely take more than water and a picnic, no tents etc.) Quote: The fibers in your chains are for sure causing issues excessive chain wear at least. fortunately those hairs have only got there since it was last ridden, so have not be causing wear, although I will be careful to sweep the whole garage, and do the dirty work in a more protected environment! Quote: If I keep mine......... Good luck with this - maybe you should start a blog about it! Thanks for everything, Will   Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 7:47 am kc0yef Joined: 26 Aug 2012 Posts: 11 Yes - The plan was always to replace the dérailleur, but what is the 'danger' with not doing so? The derailleur will fail at an inopportune time What's your plan with the old canti's? put them on another bike I have an extra set of Levers The thumb shifter goes next to your thumb or on the stem somewhere out of the way as it is a drag brake and you use it on the downhill. The rear cantilever brake mount had been repaired on mine and what I thought to be brake dust was rust so I sanded it down and revealed an excellent repair job and shot some primer on it and I have started working on all the other rust spots My wheels have been replaced with Aluminium alloy and I am thinking about swapping the 27's over to 700c 48 spoke sealed bearing hubs with drum mounts front and rear that I already have and a set of Arai drums that should slow me and my partner down down hill we are 250kilos loaded. Rusty paint   Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 10:39 pm Frenchbuilt Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 443 Unless you are doing structure analysis, I wouldn't put 500 lbs on a 50 year old Gitane designed for two 1960's vintage strong and lightweight Frenchmen.   Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 6:36 am kc0yef Joined: 26 Aug 2012 Posts: 11 Excellent so explain a constructional analysis... I would guess you would want me to visually inspect the frame with radar check the weld penetration and of course stress fractures what else?   Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 7:37 am Frenchbuilt Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 443 Do what you want.   Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 10:03 am kc0yef Joined: 26 Aug 2012 Posts: 11 Frenchbuilt wrote: Do what you want. C'est un vrai casse-tête! Frenchbuilt wrote: Actually kind of interesting but I like bent bikes. you are evil 70s Gitane Tandem     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.