gitaneusa.com :: View topic - Jay's 1971/72 Gitane Tour de France

greyhundguy · Last edited by greyhundguy on Tue Nov 24, 2009 6:50 pm; edited 1 time in total

Good morning all,
I am pleased to find this Site and forum and will jump right in and share. Attached are photos of my circa 1972 GITANE "Tour De France" of which I am the original owner. I purchased the Bike while attending College in Richmond, VA. I bought it at a Dealership outside of D.C.

The specifics...Condition: Excellent original, with much less than expected paint/decal issues. All components are original with the exception of, a soon after purchase, upgrade to an Italian 3ttt Gran Prix 'Special' stem and Nitto Olympiade 115 handlebars. (both Aluminum alloy). I do not know if this is unusual but it came with a Freccia D'oro plastic saddle. (I would like to upgrade to leather) Member recommendations appreciated. It also has the Campy Hub option. I think I added the Campy/Silca air pump.

Please don't ask about the dangling rear brake handle. It's a long story. I still have the cable clips somewhere.

Also of note: the rear tire is original and still holds air.

Looking forward to comments.

Regards,
Jay

natprice

Great looking bike! Looks exactly like mine, except in a lot better condition...

sandranian · Site Admin

Thanks for posting the pictures. Truly a wonderful bike, and in such great condition! That saddle looks painful....is it covered plastic?

I don't think there is a nicer looking crankset, when it is in good condition (like yours is).

I took the liberty to edit the title of your post, so that it is easier to locate pictures of bikes, if people are looking.

Welcome to the site!

greyhundguy

Stephan, Thanks for the Subject edit. The saddle is all plastic and after riding for several days there were no Sore Issues with it. It measures 130mm x 275mm and as mentioned, I would like to replace with Vintage Leather. Ideas anybody?
Jay

sandranian · Site Admin

My suggestion would be an ideale saddle...but Brooks are more readily available.

Plastic saddles look uncomfortable, but aren't necessarily so. The classic unicanitor saddle by cinelli was a plastic saddle, with leather stretched over it.

verktyg

WOW! Beautiful bike. I've never seen one in turquoise except in pictures. I'm envious. Cool

Everything looks original except as you mentioned the stem and bars (also the shift levers). The bars and stem were a reasonable and normal kind of upgrade.

The TdF bikes came with metal Simplex Criterium shift levers not the Prestige levers on your bike. But.... during the 70s Bike Boom manufacturers used whatever they could get.

You can usually find these on eBay if you ever want to upgrade. You can also find Simplex or Huret top tube brake cable clamps if you need them. They sell for around $25.00 for a set of 3.

The Simplex derailleurs work quite well when properly adjusted and well lubricated. I recommend one of the new SRAM chains for 6-7-8 speed gears. They shift so much better than the old chains ever did.

As far as saddles go, the original ones were designed for torture and "mortification of the flesh". Freccia D'oro means "Torquemada will take care of you!" Twisted Evil

French made Ideale leather saddles would be more correct for a French bike but the Japanese collectors on eBay keep the prices for these through the roof. Most of the top end Ideale Model 90 saddles have a greasy black dye that keeps rubbing off for the the life of the saddle or your life whichever comes first (that's why people rode with black shorts). Confused

The Ideale Model 80 saddles are the next common models down from the Ideale Model 90s (lots of rare models in between) . I'm currently riding a Model 80 on one of my bikes. It's a lot harder than a Brooks Pro and will never match a Pro for comfort.

Brooks Pro saddles are my favorites. They'll currently set you back ~$125-$160 USD new. Brooks Pros take about 200-300 miles to break in your butt but after that they are like a comfortable pair of shoes (for many riders - YMMV).

You should also get a 26.4mm micro-adjustable seat post. A change of a few degrees or 1/8" in height can make a big difference in comfort.

BTW, Can you post the serial number for your bike?

Chas.

natprice

My bike is the same color but with the way it is rusting I think I will have to repaint it soon... Sad

. I have the same seat too and although I haven't taken the bike on any serious rides it is plenty comfortable for just getting around on.

verktyg

Most of the bikes built during the US Bike Boom era had narrow round top saddles. These types of saddles were always VERY uncomfortable for me. They caused pain and numbness in the central area of my sitting region. Mad

I could never understand how some people found those kinds of seats tolerable, even comfortable! Confused

In the early 70s I tried dozens of different saddles before I discovered a Brooks Pro. The old Cinelli Unicanitor plain plastic saddle was the least worst saddle up until that time. I need a flat surface in the rear of the saddle where my pelvic bones make contact.

Avocet were some of the first anatomically designed saddles to be marketed. I rode an Avocet I Woman's saddle offroad until the men's models became available.

I think that saddle discomfort is the main reason most bike owners don't ride their bikes very often. The old myth about "Just ride it, you'll get used to it." is the major cause. A lot of riders don't understand that their seats can be adjusted for comfort. They keep ridding in discomfort thinking that things will get better. Most people can endure just about any saddle for a few miles. After 5 miles or so is when things start to get uncomfortable.

For some riders Gel saddles feel great for the first few miles but after they sink into them for a while, pressure and numbness sets in.

Chas.

greyhundguy

I'm thinking about a Brooks B17-N. Does anyone have any hands on or backside impressions (pun intended) of this saddle? Seems to be close in size to what I have.

The Serial # on the dropout is 62361. Posting a photo here and will post 2 photos to the Serial # Project Forum shortly. On the back of the dropout it is stamped N4. Is that a Simplex designation?

Thanks for all the input,
Jay

verktyg

Wow, those are really old simplex dropouts.

B17 saddles are wider than Brooks Pros. The leather is generally thinner. The B17N is narrower than the Pro.

I've never ridden on one so I can't comment. I have a bunch of Brooks Pro saddles. They're a lot more comfortable for me than the B17 saddles which I find too wide. So it looks like the B17N is narrower than a Brooks Pro with possibly thinner leather.

Chas.

natprice

I recommend the Real MAN Saddle!

http://sheldonbrown.com/real-man.html

greyhundguy

Thanks "natprice" ROFLMSAO!!!

Gtane

That's a very nice bike indeed. It's in such terrific condition clearly showing the care that you have given it over the years. You've looked after it very well.

If you do change the saddle, do hang on to the existing as it's part of the original kit.

I'm a true advocate of the Brooks Pro and have only ridden the B17 a few times on other people's bikes. I agree with Chas' comments on posterior suitabillity and much prefer the Pro. I've never ridden a B17N but would personally opt for the Pro if the leather is thicker. Just to throw another choice in to the works, the Brooks Swallow would be worth a look if you could find a good mature example.

Thanks for info. and shots.

Mackroe

Jay....I've just joined this forum after googling for a Simplex derailluer... and saw where you have a bike near to what I have, so I hope you won't mind terribly if I ask you some questions about these Gitane bikes. I own a 70's vintage Gitane Tour De Sport, which I bought from the original owner in the mid-seventies. I have not ridden it in decades, having relegated it to a corner of my basement...sitting forlornly in the gloom with perpetual flat tires and loose hanging wires. Damn, that rhymes. But having recently moved to the N.C. mountains, with a great "level" riding road beside the New River, I began to dust it off and see if I could revive it. Its really still in great shape, but the Simplex derailluer had come off, and was in two pieces, with the part of the derailluer that has small "wheels" or the chain sprockets on it, ect...those wheels had busted and need replacing. My question, Jay, after all this blah, blah, is whether or not a Simplex derailluer can be rebuilt or maybe replaced off another vintage machine ?? I have recently gone to a bike shop and bought a cheap and lightweight derailluer, which I've started to mount, but I'd rather keep the bike all original. Anyway, I'm gonna keep digging, but if you know anything helpful, please share it with me, thanks so much.
Ride careful, man. Stephen Hill...Todd, N.C.
( just 10miles out of Boone, N.C.)

Mackroe