Classic & Vintage - 1972 Gitane Gran Sport de Luxe

Just a lowly Gran Sport, but I thought it turned out sorta good-looking for $40 and a set of fenders.

http://home.comcast.net/~mswantak/wsb/media/1477/site1517.jpg

It's gorgeous!

My first 10-speed circa 1970. Started my lifelong hatred of French bikes.

It's a beauty. I love Gitane's choice of colors. Why can't I ever find $40 beauties?

My first 10-speed circa 1970. Started my lifelong hatred of French bikes.
WTF???

Are those whitewalls? Where did you get them? Also is that the standard Simplex Prestige, or some other model?

I love Gitanes! Very nice!!

Are those whitewalls? Where did you get them? Also is that the standard Simplex Prestige, or some other model?

YES! Do tell. I'm looking for some whitewalls to go on my Araya rims.

I've got 2 Gran Sport de Luxe mixtes right now. One is your turquoise color(maybe a little greener), and the other is baby blue. I love the blue one, but for some reason I dislike the turquoise one. It's on permaloan to my roommate, though, and she enjoys it. The blue one is our guest bicycle (it's got a 53cm seat tube, so it can accomodate a decent height range).

WTF???


OK. Heavy frame, uncomfortable plastic seat, out of true steel cranks, clunky, crashing Huret deraillers, steel bars, steel rims, steel seatpost, worthless brakes, marginal hubs, crappy headset. Should I go on? Its only attribute was its cheapness (98 dollars out the door!)

Sorry, after less than a year on that hunk-o-junk I moved on to 531, Campagnolo, alloy, Brooks and sewups and never looked back.

Its a bike, but nothing to aspire to.

Actually, I've had a number of French bikes but usually I move them out of my life as soon as I can, though I have a couple I'm keeping (a Campagnolo Stella and a sweet 60s Raphael Gemniani). Mostly I hate the French components, fragile and it seems you adjust and adjust, and still they never work that well. Honestly, my preference is for English bikes, I like 531 and their geometries.

Mostly I hate the French components, fragile and it seems you adjust and adjust, and still they never work that well.

To each his or her own, I suppose, but I have a Gitane Tour de France with Simplex and it shifts flawlessly. I also had a Gitane Gran Sport de luxe that was equipped with SunTour, maybe if it had Huret or Simplex Prestige I would feel the same way you do. It did have an odd feel to the crank set, though.

To each his or her own, I suppose, but I have a Gitane Tour de France with Simplex and it shifts flawlessly. I also had a Gitane Gran Sport de luxe that was equipped with SunTour, maybe if it had Huret or Simplex Prestige I would feel the same way you do. It did have an odd feel to the crank set, though.


I had a Gitane Tour De France with Campagnolo. Only complaint was the Maystop brakes.

[QUOTE=mswantak]Just a lowly Gran Sport, but I thought it turned out sorta good-looking for $40 and a set of fenders.

Well, there's nothing lowly about it i.m.h.o., that's a lovely Gitane!

Very nice Mike.

I've got a similar '71 in white that needs a redo and I hope it looks like that when it's done. Also an early 70's TdF in same turquiose but a good amount of fading on the top tube. That color ranks up there as one of my favorites for vintage bikes.

Reasonably priced on CL, IMHO. Even if you did slip in some Nitto's. ;)

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/292040542.html

Not whitewalls, just older Specialized touring skinwalls. The RD is a white-label Prestige I had aound. The FD and shifters are original. What I found unusual is the Weinmann brakes and levers rather than Mafacs, and the diamond-pleat saddle instead of the usual hard plastic anvil.

I also found a '71 GSdL 60cm, Mafacs and Huret mechs. Bronze-green paint in better shape than the '72, but chrome a little worse. Dunno if I want to pay $50, though.

Got a few bites from the CL ad so far, but it's still here. Man, the volume of bikes on the Bay Area CL is just unbelievable this week; pretty high asking prices too. Spring must be in the air.

The RD is a white-label Prestige I had aound.

That sounds like the Criterium model used on the TdF and the Peugeot PX10 from the same period. I have both bikes with this derailleur and although I hear a lot of folks complain about them, I think they shift pretty well. It's probably a matter of how worn they are.

It's got a white label like the Criterium, but otherwise it's identical to the red-labeled Prestige. As long as the idler wheels have teeth on them, they shift as well as any contemprary low-end derailleur.