Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Help me build a French track bike.

Ok, so I am seriously considering selling my Concept and building up this Gitane from Fyxomatosis:

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/3536/forsalegitaneny4.jpg

Actually, I have my Concept apart right now and am planning to take pictures tomorrow and then put it up on Ebay. But, the thing is, I have seriously limited experience with French track components. I would love for you guys to help me out. I would also appreciate this like nothing else.

I have a wheelset, pedals and saddle already (subject to change later though), and as you can see, the Gitane comes with BB and headset. I still need seat post, stem, bars, and crankset. Maybe a new saddle also if the seatpost I buy has different rail size. I'm trying to keep it period, and background specific, but i'm sure that can come at a later date.

So, I humbly ask, how should I build this beaut up?

Well, the french threaded BB is all set.. what diameter stem does it take? I know older french stuff is narrower than 1".

I'm fairly sure older French stems are 22mm. I'll check on that.

I had a friend who managed to fit a regular nitto stem in his gitane with no problem.

bb will have odd threading, too, but phil wood will solve that. the only other oddity ive seen with french bikes is that the front spacing for the hub was narrower. but a very minor resetting of the fork solved that...

Yeah, sheldon says to just take 5 minutes to take a normal stem, wrap sandpaper around it, twist.. and ta-da! It fits.. and yeah, my pug conversion had a narrower front fork, but it works with a little "persuasion".. do that a bunch of times, and it won't be necessary anymore.

it needs a white bandana.

Yea, i've been looking around and it seems I can just convert parts to fit. Which is a lot easier for the early stages of the bike. I'll probably just build it up with pretty random parts, and wait until I win the lottery nto go French specific.

So what do you guys think I should put on it? I would love to hear everyone's thoughts.

i just converted a gitane roadie i found in my rafters at home to fixed.

campagnolo, campagnolo, campagnolo!! (i am thinking rounded, not fluted for the cranks, crec if you win the lottery?)

front end should be ttt or cinelli.

at least, thats how i would do it.

Yeah, sheldon says to just take 5 minutes to take a normal stem, wrap sandpaper around it, twist.. and ta-da! It fits.. and yeah, my pug conversion had a narrower front fork, but it works with a little "persuasion".. do that a bunch of times, and it won't be necessary anymore.

5 minutes my @ss. You can do it, but not in 5 minutes and sandpaper. It took me like an hour, but it's doable. But if you decide to, only do it to an alloy stem, steel will rust.

BSA= 22.2
French= 22.0

BTW Velo Orange has some rad gold french headsets for pretty cheap too.

http://www.bikecult.com/works/chainring/smudgcr.jpg

campagnolo, campagnolo, campagnolo!! (i am thinking rounded, not fluted for the cranks, crec if you win the lottery?)

front end should be ttt or cinelli.

at least, thats how i would do it.

Oh god yes.

I'm thinking ttt for stem and bars as well. This is mainly because a) I can get them for real cheap from a friend, and b) they are hott.

I should probably find out with the spindle length for this BB is.

Specialities TA

too vintage-y for that frame, in my opinion. that thing is calling for 80s parts. TA's modern stuff looks very bland to my eye.

http://i13.ebayimg.com/05/i/08/bb/fb/bc_1.JPG

http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1978_pg6.jpg

1978 catalogue. matches those decals. i stand by my previous build idea tho, id change a few things from their stock build. that stem. blech!

Wow... thanks so much 128. That gives me some great ideas. I want those tires as well :D.

That frame is wicked overpriced with shipping from AU. $700 for just the frame shipped! You'd be lucky to get $700 for your complete concept..

^^^I agree that the price is a bit high, but the fact that he has multiple vintage track frames in stock at one time is pretty cool. To my knowledge, there's not a lot of people keeping 10-20 vintage frames in stock that are all available for sale to anyone.... He should certainly be able to charge more for that service and make a bit of money out of it.

If you find a frame you really like, I don't think there is a problem with paying a little more than its *worth* to get it. It might be a while before a similar Gitane pops up on eBay with a well maintained hs and bb in this same size.

The ****ty us dollar and the shipping is what kills you..a few years ago the exchange rate used to be like 1.50-2AUD/1 USD or something.

i've got a cool 3ttt stem for french steerers up for trade...
perfect vintage for this frame.. its a bit long, 135mm

Great idea for a vintage build! You have good taste.

Stronglight Crankset
TA pedals
Mavic wheels
Ideale Saddle
Campy hubs
3ttt stem
Dugast tires

serendipper - its a pretty build, but it wont hold up to abuse. theres a balance between restoration and function. also for some reason the japanese are tripping out over high end ideale saddles, they are going for way over their value. they love the vintage french componentry.

I'm fairly sure older French stems are 22mm. I'll check on that.
Let me check my parts bin - some older Polish frames used 22mm stems - I had two of these: 100 or 110mm and 70mm. I will PM you when I find them.

...its a pretty build, but it wont hold up to abuse. theres a balance between restoration and function.

You just gave me a wicked insight into my current project's conundrum.

okay dosh here you go

http://www.velo-orange.com/specials.html - these guys also have really nice leather stuff for bars and stuff as welll as french headsets
they have the old style 3-pin pro track cranks by ta totally vintage french chic get the ta pedals to match
thebikebiz.com - has one nos camypy 13 tooth cog - perfect for your bike

I personally have a set of atax guidons philip bars with matching stem that I would trade for a decent stem and bars - (they are road but they look good and realy sharp pm for pix )
39cm wide stem is 110 or 100mm long

or if you wanna go with a mid to late 80's look
mavic 631 - starfish cranks
mavic gels laced to mavic track hubs
cinelli bars and stem

Stronglight crank (looks like you have a SL BB to moi)
Lyotard Berthet pedals
Simplex post
Normandy Luxe Competition or Maillard 700 hubs (both exist in Track versions. Failing that, an Exceltoo Super Competition will do, if only because no one else will have one)
Atax stem and Guidons bars
Mavic rims
Ideale saddle (the comments about Japanese liking 'em are right, in fact, when I sell off high end vintage french stuff, I always get a parade of will you ship to Japan questions)

There you go, all French.

did maxi car ever make track hubs? i think these are road hubs but they sure look wonderful, and i hear good things about them.

http://static.flickr.com/39/92341101_2a089b241b_o.jpg

heres a good article about gitane from ebykr. http://www.ebykr.com/?p=70

http://static.flickr.com/39/92341101_2a089b241b_o.jpg


I can see Phil Wood's inspiration from here.;)

haha freal, righ?

i picked these up for cheap a couple weeks back. mystery french hubs.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/126/317495734_e2e6d0ce6d.jpg

Let me check my parts bin - some older Polish frames used 22mm stems - I had two of these: 100 or 110mm and 70mm. I will PM you when I find them.

Hey thanks man. I really appreciate you looking for stuff :).


Great idea for a vintage build! You have good taste.

Stronglight Crankset
TA pedals
Mavic wheels
Ideale Saddle
Campy hubs
3ttt stem
Dugast tires

Mmmm. I would love to do Campy laced to some 280's for the track. How sweet that would be. And with cotton Andre Dugast tires? Oh ****.

So i'm trying to figure out price and all that, and have recently come up with around $1600 for everything minus the wheels. I'm sure it will differ, but with me going after vintage Campy/Cinelli/3t parts and such, does this seem accurate?

I might be in way over my head haha. I really want to do this, but money is a huge issue. And like someone said before, my Concept is going to get like $400 heh.

That frame is wicked overpriced with shipping from AU. $700 for just the frame shipped! You'd be lucky to get $700 for your complete concept..

He has 10% off frames (before shipping) until the end of the year...

I can see Phil Wood's inspiration from here.;)

the funny thing is maxicar hubs were one of the earliest models made with sealed cartridge bearings,
a distinction often credited to phil

i think they were mainly for touring and tandem applications.. i don't think they ever made a track hub..
french track hubs in general seem pretty rare..

the funny thing is maxicar hubs were one of the earliest models made with sealed cartridge bearings,
a distinction often credited to phil

i think they were mainly for touring and tandem applications.. i don't think they ever made a track hub..
french track hubs in general seem pretty rare..

Maxi-Car hubs didn't have sealed bearings like the ones we see today. They just had a labyrinth of seals keeping moisture away form the bearings. Apparently legendary maintenance-free operation though..

i have a gitane super pista from 74. it's the jam. note that that frame (from the original post) isn't the highest end gitane of its era. the fork crown and some other features lead me to believe that it's probably somewhere between 74 and 78. the decals are like the 78, as 128 pointed out, but the fork crown is definitely more like the 74 (non-sloping). i'm thinking it's the "mexico" model, maybe 76, 77.

see: http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1974_pg2.jpg

Thanks for showing me that Shants... do you think it is worth $700?

Thanks for showing me that Shants... do you think it is worth $700?

in all honesty, i would say, no. 70s gitane track frames surface somewhat often and they typically roll around 250-300 for the frame/fork combo. mine was ~250, but didn't have original paint.

i love gitane frames to death, but they aren't known for their attention to detail. the lugs are really nice, but the finishing can be a bit sloppy and crude. i can confirm this from both my track and road frames (i have a 70s road frame as well).

this said, i really recommend getting into 70s french frames. because of the inconveniences associated with their sizing, which i think are exaggerated*, people are scared away by them. i think they're just as nice to ride as any italian 531 rig, but sell for significantly less. maybe they're getting more popular now?

let me know if you have any other questions. i love these bikes.

*the higher end frames, since they were made for cinelli parts, will often fit standard 22.2 stems. this is the case with my super pista. the fork on one posted looks identical to mine (mainly from the crown), so it might be good. both of the pista models of that vintage rocked the cinelli equipment. stronglight a9 needlebearing headsets are still made in french and bsc threading. i swap forks on my gitane conversion in the winter and don't have to change out the pressed cups. also, the phil bottom brackets are a snap (be sure to use loctite -- ****ing right hand threading on both). you can even just buy phil rings and dig up an older shimano un-72 cart. cheaptastic.

. maybe they're getting more popular now?

Between the insane Japanese market, and the rise of the portuer/randonnuer scene, in a word....yes.

what's notable, though, iss the early use of cartridge bearings


Maxi-Car hubs didn't have sealed bearings like the ones we see today. They just had a labyrinth of seals keeping moisture away form the bearings. Apparently legendary maintenance-free operation though..

Between the insane Japanese market, and the rise of the portuer/randonnuer scene, in a word....yes.

And just as it was piquing my interest too...Maybe I should take Mr. Grimm Kogswell up on his offer of 650b goodness.

there are some sweet prior track hubs out there, among other frenchies. i couldn't find a pic of a track, but i have seen them and can vouch for their existence. here's a pic of the road version:

http://www.blackbirdsf.org/bikes/images/bits/hubs_prior.jpg

i have a matched pair of pelissier high flange track hubs from the late 60s early 70s. french manufacturer, but with english threading for a standard cog. maybe with the digital camera i might be getting from santa tomorrow i can take some pictures of them. as usual, for trade or for cheddar.

A french bike? That's trouble.

Might as well surrender now.

I bought this Gitane from an old lady in St. Pete for $20 and converted it into a single speed for my girlfriend. It's the Vitus cromoly, not the Reynolds 531, but it still rides very nicely.

http://www.usfbs.com/UserData/GangsterOfBoats/Images/20061221075509.jpg

Only the three main tubes in that Gitane are Reynolds 531.

Only the three main tubes in that Gitane are Reynolds 531.

aye, that's one of the differences between the mexico and super pista models.