Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - 80's gitane road bike

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nedward
08-02-09, 10:01 AM
i recently picked up an 80's gitane frame and fork, and i'm curious what the model is. it has been professionally repainted, though the guy who had it repainted said that it was pretty close to the original color (i would consider it 'royal blue.') he was the original owner, but was foggy on the specifics and the decals were long gone. it is vitus tubing, lugged steel, has adjustment screws in the dropouts, and has internal cable routing on the top tube. it has a campy headset. he said he thought it might have been a tour de france, but those all seem to have chromed forks. i can't tell if the fork or chainstay is chrome under the paint, but assuming it's not, my best guess (based on the catalogue) is that it's an '83 criterium:

http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1983_pg3.jpg


here is the one i have:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39885533@N08/3780610383/

any guesses? i'm just curious - i don't imagine it is at all collectible. i picked this up really cheaply and i'm certainly not looking to restore it, i'd just like to know.

Ex Pres
08-02-09, 12:00 PM
You can you scrape away some of the paint inside the dropouts to look for chrome. Also look at the steertube. If a fully chromed fork sometimes the steerer is chromed, too.

Your pic doesn't really show any details like the head lugs, BB, seat cluster or rear brake bridge that might help ID it, but I doubt the catalogs have enough detail, either. You'll probably have to depend on the collective BF wisdom.

Edit: looking at the catalogs spec sheet, it appears that all 3 of the top models that year used the same frame, lugs, and dropouts. Only difference was in the amount of chrome and level of componentry.

Edit2: Your seat lug looks more like the 84's, & with the color, may further ID as a Crtiterium.