Fifty Plus (50+) - reworked my vintage roadie

finished the rework of my old Gitane (Professional Tour de France model) yesterday and took it out for a quick 120km loop of our local concessions. Reynold's 531 frame set, Shugano Racing crank/cog set, Simplex derailleurs, original Mavic 700x25 rims...

quite the bike...serial # B3

Like the bike. Not so much the bars.

I like. Good use of vintage steel.

dislocated both my shoulders mountain biking (not at the same time)...drops are just wishfull thinking nowadays

What's that other two wheel contraption in the background of Pic #2?

dislocated both my shoulders mountain biking (not at the same time)...

One of my coworkers separated his shoulder (mountain bike spill) such that the lateral end of his clavicle now protrudes. His orthopedist recommended leaving it alone unless it becomes painful or debilitating.

Like BluesDawg, I prefer drop bars. But still, I really like your Gitane. Nice work.

Quite the bike indeed. I borrowed a friend's Gitane and, totally unprepared (zero training miles) started north from Chapel Hill in a sweater and made it to Danville Va the first evening. I had forgotten money, and went to police station where a disinterested clerk handed me a pass to a downtown flophouse. I continued the trip up into the virginia skyline -closed for winter- borrowing clothes and staying in Salvation Army houses. I once got off the bike after one long freezing downhill and wimpered like a child. The Gitane became part of me and cut along beautifully through the winter isolation and then down into Virginia's warm valleys and on to Wash DC where a rear hub component broke and forced me to stop. I loved that bike and will never forget the adventure.

finished the rework of my old Gitane (Professional Tour de France model) yesterday and took it out for a quick 120km loop of our local concessions. Reynold's 531 frame set, Shugano Racing crank/cog set, Simplex derailleurs, original Mavic 700x25 rims...

quite the bike...serial # B3

A "quick 120km loop?"

Would you mind entering an account of some of your longest rides in the thread on long rides on non-drop bar bikes? I'm trying to construct a repository of notable long rides on bikes that had different types of handlebars. Something that someone might find in a search if they were interested in what is achievable on different types of bikes.

Reynolds 531....Chrome....Simplex...WOW!

Do you actually ride it with the seat positioned that way or was that just for the pics?

My daughter's 1985 Vespa...she's going to paint it pink

Do you actually ride it with the seat positioned that way or was that just for the pics?

yes, it was comfortable for a while...kept me in an upright position, less weight on the bars, but you did notice some pressure after a while

This bike now has a Specialized Body Geometry saddle from an old bike

A "quick 120km loop?"

Would you mind entering an account of some of your longest rides in the thread on long rides on non-drop bar bikes? I'm trying to construct a repository of notable long rides on bikes that had different types of handlebars. Something that someone might find in a search if they were interested in what is achievable on different types of bikes.

hi tom...this loop on the new flat bar Gitane took me from Wasaga Beach to Creemore, on to Glen Huron, to Duntroon, to Collingwood, then to Woodland Beach (through Wasaga), then back to Wasaga.

The challenge here is the climb up the Niagara Escarpment (550 metres above sea level)...a vertical of about 1000 feet over 5 km (you do it twice as Creemore is at the bottom...Duntroon at the top again...see pic of wife on hill)

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=address&country=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=home&formtype=address&popflag=0&latitude=&longitude=&name=&phone=&level=&cat=&address=&city=wasaga+beach&state=on&zipcode=

My longest ride is my annual birthday ride from Toronto to Collingwood...Staying on the back roads its about 170km. I now use my comfort hybrid...a Schwinn Sierra 700 gsx...8 spd 11-30 cog set, 52T big chain ring, 700x38 tires...its set up to for panniers to carry tools, tubes, water, food, etc.(see pic)

We also do a 100km loop through the concessions south of Wasaga on a Trek 7.5fx...my wife uses a flat bar Opus roadie which is a better bike for this...after rain, she uses a hybridized Peugeot that I built for her a few years ago for asphalt...she usually is good for about 100km/day

When out for a couple of hours (40-50km), she uses her Trek 7300, but she is beginning to hate this bike

Would you mind entering an account of some of your longest rides in the thread on long rides on non-drop bar bikes?

I enetered it below as I can't locate the thread on long rides on non-drop bar bikes

Well, I like the bars......thinking of doing something similar to my Trek 610. My neck just can't stand any more riding on drop bars. Please tell me what the shifters are and what you used for bosses for the shifter cable housings. Do you have a six or seven speed freewheel? Thanks for any advice.

Roger Hill

Well, I like the bars......thinking of doing something similar to my Trek 610. My neck just can't stand any more riding on drop bars. Please tell me what the shifters are and what you used for bosses for the shifter cable housings. Do you have a six or seven speed freewheel? Thanks for any advice.

Roger Hill

That part was the hardest to find...non-indexed friction shifters for the 5 spd cog set. I have a 6 cog tri-bike that I'll be converting as soon as I find another set (the front was easy, but they don't make these for the rears anymore)...it would be nice to find a rear from a 7 spd...you need that extra travel to get the chain up to the big cog (unless you're running a 25)

Also, the brake levers for cantilever brakes work best...the fulcrum point is different than V-Brakes

I found a double clamp-on boss from an old road bike that replaced the two levers on the down tube...these are common on bikes with shifters on the stem

The toughest part was installing the bar itself...using the original stem I had to bend the clamp open as the new bar is bigger than the drops and then bend it carefully back (a hammer worked well)

Lastly. I had to replace all the cables and three of the housings (only the white one is original). It will be interesting on the tri-bike as the rear brake is on the left and the housing is routed through the top tube

Briefly, if I hadn't made this conversion, I would no longer be able to ride this bike...but it's one of the best riding bikes I have...no oversteer, not twitchy, very fast, with a wide range of gears...and comfortable

You won't regret making the switch...takes about 2 hours

Well, I like the bars......thinking of doing something similar to my Trek 610. My neck just can't stand any more riding on drop bars. Please tell me what the shifters are and what you used for bosses for the shifter cable housings. Do you have a six or seven speed freewheel? Thanks for any advice.

Roger Hill

actually, because of my back, I tried these bars on it first. It put you in an upright position, but the geometry just didn't work

That part was the hardest to find...non-indexed friction shifters for the 5 spd cog set. I have a 6 cog tri-bike that I'll be converting as soon as I find another set (the front was easy, but they don't make these for the rears anymore)...it would be nice to find a rear from a 7 spd...you need that extra travel to get the chain up to the big cog (unless you're running a 25)

Have you tried eBay? I often see the old thumb shifters for 6, 7 and 8 speeds there. The Shimano ones tend to go for too much, but the Suntour shifters are as good or better and usually go for less. Most of them have friction option and some are pure friction.

BTW, my comment about the bars was more about their lack of sweep than their uprightness. I find a straight bar to be very uncomfortable, even offroad. But your shoulder condition must make the straight ones work better for you.
I've noticed that Salsa is now making MTB bars with 17 deg. rear sweep. I may give them a try on my Rockhopper.

yes, it was comfortable for a while...kept me in an upright position, less weight on the bars, but you did notice some pressure after a while

This bike now has a Specialized Body Geometry saddle from an old bike

Whew! It made me sore just looking at it. :eek:

The toughest part was installing the bar itself...using the original stem I had to bend the clamp open as the new bar is bigger than the drops and then bend it carefully back (a hammer worked well)


That sounds kind of scary. I don't like bending and taking a hammer to load bearing aluminum parts (or is it steel?). Must have been an odd sized drop bar. Current standard is 26.0mm for drop bars and 25.4mm for flat. But no telling what an old French bike used.

That sounds kind of scary. I don't like bending and taking a hammer to load bearing aluminum parts (or is it steel?). Must have been an odd sized drop bar. Current standard is 26.0mm for drop bars and 25.4mm for flat. But no telling what an old French bike used.

you're probably right...the old drop bar was very skinny, but this seemed to work well. The hammer came in handy to curl the bracket around the new bar so that the bolt would line up...yes, it is aluminum

The alternative would be to replace the stem as I did on my wife's old bike...

Have you tried eBay? I often see the old thumb shifters for 6, 7 and 8 speeds there. The Shimano ones tend to go for too much, but the Suntour shifters are as good or better and usually go for less. Most of them have friction option and some are pure friction.

BTW, my comment about the bars was more about their lack of sweep than their uprightness. I find a straight bar to be very uncomfortable, even offroad. But your shoulder condition must make the straight ones work better for you.
I've noticed that Salsa is now making MTB bars with 17 deg. rear sweep. I may give them a try on my Rockhopper.

We have a few bike jobbers in Toronto...they supply used parts to couriers and people like me...you can find just about anything, but non-indexed friction rear shifters are scarce

this is my favourite:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannyboy/sets/50180/detail/

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I'll check out e-bay, but I usually pay about $3-$5 for these so shipping and commision would be prohibative