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sandranian · Site Admin

Visit www.Gitane.com to see the new line up.

http://www.gitane.com

More exciting news: If you visit http://www.velo-oxygen.fr/ , you can see under the "frame & forks" section that they are marketing Gitane track and cyclocross framesets...even a nice tandem!

GREAT JOB, GITANE!

verktyg

Sorry Stephan, plastic bikes do nothing for me.... Rolling Eyes

Maybe it's the generational difference, like the difference between red steel Radio Flyer wagons and scooters and multi-colored plastic big wheels. Twisted Evil

Chas.

sandranian · Site Admin

I can understand your point of view, however...I like riding all of them...old, new, metal, plastic...they all have their good points and bad.

I would agree, however, that the only truly collectable Gitanes are made of steel. But my daily rider is carbon.

Peter S. Horn

Sandman,
Thanks much for the pictures, etc. of the 2008 Gitane line! I must admit to much agreement with Chas. in regards to the lack of steel crafted velos.While realizing that many manufacturers are no longer working with steel, I, nevertheless, feel, particularly given Gitane's unrivaled legacy, that some of the great velos of the past should be continued.

My vote would go to revived T.D.F. and S.C. models. I can envision a T.D.F.with a Reynolds 853 frame (with Simplex dropouts) and a Sachs Force gruppo, plus an S.C. with a similar frame (with Campag. dropouts) and a Campag. (Chorus or Record) gruppo.

However, back to reality. I have to say that the 2008 line looks really great. Many do not realize that during certain stages of the 1976 Tour de France, Gitane-Campagnolo's climber supreme Lucien Van Impe, the eventual winner, rode (in addition to a super exotic 19.5 lb. thin wall tubed Reynolds 531/Campag. Super Record equipped Gitane velo), a special 7 tube, alu. lugged 2.5 lb. (frame) carbon fiber model designed by Composits Development Corp. (C.D.C.) of San Diego, Ca!

Then there is that "other" velo ridden by the Histor-Sigma squad in 1990. Officially equipped with Vitus GTI steel/Stronglight/Sachs-Huret spec'ed Gitanes, I, nevertheless, focused on the velo ridden by the great Stephen Roche at the Paris-Nice spring classic of that year. Almost certainly not GTI steel, with a silver (alu?) head tube (rather than the blue/black ones on the steel velos) and a flat black main triangle, my best guess is that this velo was a Team Gitane/Vitus Carbone. Three years earlier, Gitane sold a Vitus 979 aluminum T.D.F. with an excellent Speidel 6600 groupset in the U.S. Many of bikes of the 1992 R.M.O. squad were TVT Carbone velos. Therefore, I am still strongly considering a new Gitane-Definitive G-3 for later on this year.
Peter H.
Sacramento

sandranian · Site Admin

Peter:

Where did you get the information regarding Van Impe's bikes in 1976? I have never heard that...about him riding a bike made in San Diego...and all of the pictures I have seen (admittedly few) are on the 531 blue steel (Zoolander???) Gitane.

Regarding the new bikes, I am more excited about the fact that Gitane is still producing "high-er end" bikes than actually the product itself. A few years ago, Gitane was making NO high end bikes available to the public, and it appeared it was going the way of the K-Mart brand. While it isn't exactly Colnago, it is something!

verktyg

Stephan,

Chill out man..... Cut back a little on the coffee. Shocked

Chas.

Peter S. Horn

Sandman,
Always striving for the best accuracy possible, please permit me to list the source for the information on this early Gitane carbon framed racer.

Several years ago, I picked up an issue of Bike Tech:Bicycling Magazine's Newsletter For The Technical Enthusiast. The issue was dated April, 1987. The article was entitled:U.S. Composit Pioneer Helps Win 1976 Tour. The author was Jim Redcay, a well known cycling journalist.

It was a full page article and it would be difficult to transmit all of the information. However, it states, in part, that the idea for said velo originated from a conversation between Composits Development Corp's. d*** Kantner, Gitane Pacific manager Claude Fugere and Gitane (France) president Loiellet. Mr. Kantner claimed that "Van Impe definitely rode the Graphite U.S.A. frameset in some of the mountain stages of theTour". "Unfortunately, Kantner does not have any photos of Van Impe in action".

Photos (in the Bike Tech issue) of this way ahead of it's time frame indicate black graphite tubing (including forks and stays) with no graphics (Gitane or otherwise),with TVT like aluminum lugs and also including moulded composit water bottle and shifter bosses!
Peter H.
Sacramento

dvancleve

Are there any high end French built Gitane frames? From this forum I gather that if there are they would be aluminum or aluminum/carbon fiber...

Thanks and merry Christmas :^)

Doug Van Cleve
Chandler, AZ USA

Peter S. Horn

Doug,
Referencing Stephan's Nov. 20th post, the second and third pictures appear to be Definitive Gitane track and cyclocross carbon frames.

Definitive-Gitane is the upscale Gitane range. I believe that most, if not all of the Definitive-Gitanes, are carbon framed models. I am thinking that the road and off-road bikes are available as complete bikes, except for the aforementioned frames. The top of the standard Gitane line is the Gitane Mach 1800, an aluminum velo equipped with Shimano 105 components.
Peter H.
Sacramento

dvancleve · Last edited by dvancleve on Sun Dec 23, 2007 8:29 pm; edited 1 time in total

Thanks for responding, Peter, and merry Christmas :^)

It sounds like the carbon fiber models are Taiwanese, not at all surprising as most CF framesets are. What I am wondering is, are any of the other high end (say 105 or better components) road Gitanes made (ie. welded, bonded, whatever) in France?

Doug Van Cleve
Chandler, AZ

Peter S. Horn

Doug,
Merry Christmas; and thanks much, as well!
Re the Definitive, I'm inclined to defer to Stephan on this one, as he has
last year's like model. However, I believe that these frames are crafted in Taiwan. My best guess is that they are bonded; I'm doubtful about the welding of carbon frames!

I would like to get ahold of a Definitive frameset (Its' normally sold as a complete bike with Shimano 105 (G-1), Shimano Ultegra (G-2) or Sram Force (G-3)), to be set up (if I can lift myself up from my present parlous situation) with Campag. Centaur, or (if I find myself to be an unexpected beneficiary of a significant sum) a Campag. Record group!
Best Regards,
Peter H.
Sacramento

Peter S. Horn

Doug,
Well, I think that I only provided a partial answer. In regards to the regular Gitane line (I believe that these velos, most, if not all, aluminum, manufactured in Machecoul, France), appear to be TIG (tungsten inert gas) welded. They could be fillet brazed, but, as this is a pretty expensive manufacturing process, I would have my doubts. The carbon rear stays (see Stephan's picture) of the Gitane Mach 1800 (the first photo) might well be bonded to the seat cluster. Any thoughts on this?
Peter H.
Sacramento

Peter S. Horn

Re the 2008 Gitane Lineup:
Referencing the 2008 Gitane websibe recently (www.gitane.com), I am noting a change in the Definitive-Gitane lineup. The former top model, the Sram Force equipped G-3 was discontinued. The G-2 model, formerly Shimano Ultegra equipped, was upgraded to Ultegra SL.

The G-3 model has been reintroduced as a Campagnolo Centaur equipped model. Personally, I see this as good news. It is good to see Gitane and Campagnolo, once again, reunited. I believe that Campagnolo's upper mid range groups (Chorus, Centaur) are pretty close to Record in finish and performance, but it would, nevertheless, great to see a Record Gitane in the near future.
Bienvenue,

Peter S. Horn

Peter H.
Sacramento, Ca.

Peter S. Horn

All,
Leave it to an imbecile to fail to recall, at the time, that the new SL and XL carbone framesets had already been posted.

These latter framesets would, in my opinion, go quite well with either '09 Record-11 or DA-7900 groupsets or, if (such as in my case) one could deal with getting back on beggar's row, an '09 Super Record-11 group.
Bienvenue,
Peter H.