Classic & Vintage - Nervor forks

Are these forks any good?

I took them off my 75' Gitane that im in the process of restoring.



Thanks,Jeff

I don't recall reading anything negative about them. I've seen a few French bikes having the forks bent. Not the sturdiest of frames as they were lightweights, a respected Co. I don't think I would replace it with a different either. Let's see what comes up.
Some of the Gitanes are sought after and I suppose that they made economy models too. I've seen mostly nice ones.

I've never heard of a Nervor fork. What model is your Gitane? They don't all use the same fork.

I believe bmxkidin's referring to a lug, crown piece or some other fixture found on French bikes. A photo or full description of model will help.

Alright im putting some pictures up(sorry for the lousy fuzzy kitchen pictures, its already dark and its raining out.

My Gitane is a Tour De France, ive been told, mines probably just a low end model, i dont really care though. Im making this bike to fit me.lol. IM almost done restoring it, i just have the frame left to strip then repaint, then rebuild the crank, and all the other components to make it into a single speed(the shifters and all that didnt work to well anyways, plus i didnt really know how to use them.lol) then im starting on my redwood.haha

Anyways heres the pictures, ill take some better ones after work tomorow.

http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/The_Emo_Gearhead/1975%20mystery%20road%20bike/010-1.jpg


http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/The_Emo_Gearhead/1975%20mystery%20road%20bike/011-1.jpg


http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/The_Emo_Gearhead/1975%20mystery%20road%20bike/012-1.jpg


Thanks,jeff

Allthough theres a Nervor stamping I would say the forkcrown is Nervex. Go to classicrendevouz.com

It's a cool fork, unless it's bent, stay with it. Gitanes are cool bikes. Even the cheapos.
Lots o' stuff on those bikes were Nervar , less so Nervex.

The Tour de France was 2nd from the top of the line during the early 1970's boom. The main triangle was Reynolds 531 but the forks were lesser grade, hence the Nervor imprint. I think they are good forks but not great forks, however unless you specifically do not like the ride characteristics they impart, there is no reason to change them.

My Gitane Tour de France from '71-'73 has a full Reynolds 531 DB frame and fork, according to the original decals. The triangular 531 decal appears on one fork blade, opposite the map of France decal.

The Tour de France was 2nd from the top of the line during the early 1970's boom. The main triangle was Reynolds 531 but the forks were lesser grade, hence the Nervor imprint. I think they are good forks but not great forks, however unless you specifically do not like the ride characteristics they impart, there is no reason to change them.


The only thing i dont like about these forks is that there are no cup bearings, when i dismantled it it was the old ball bearing style(just a bunch of little ball bearings coated in grease) so could i get some cup bearings and put on this? im talking about like the bearings on a bmx bike.

Also i guess its part of the headset? but the bearing holder at the bottom of the fork tube(that big pipe) has the stronglight name on it, i do have a stronglight headset on this bike as well.

My Gitane Tour de France from '71-'73 has a full Reynolds 531 DB frame and fork, according to the original decals. The triangular 531 decal appears on one fork blade, opposite the map of France decal.

Yea my bike has no decals :lol: , i was told it was a Gitane from the guys here in this forum.

You wouldnt happen to know where i could get a decal set at do you? After i get it painted i'd like to make it look like an actual Gitane.

Allthough theres a Nervor stamping I would say the forkcrown is Nervex. Go to classicrendevouz.com


Fork crown?? Im pretty much a noob when it comes to bicycles.

The only thing i dont like about these forks is that there are no cup bearings, when i dismantled it it was the old ball bearing style(just a bunch of little ball bearings coated in grease) so could i get some cup bearings and put on this? im talking about like the bearings on a bmx bike.

Also i guess its part of the headset? but the bearing holder at the bottom of the fork tube(that big pipe) has the stronglight name on it, i do have a stronglight headset on this bike as well.

"Cup beraings"? do you mean sealed bearing cartridges??
I dont think you can use those unless the frame hed lugs were designed to accommodate them.
You can improve your bearing situation in your headset by just going with a loose bearing installation. Get rid of the bearing holders and you can fit in more ball bearings to spread the loads better at the races.

Chombi
84 Peugeot PSV
85(?) Vitus Carbone 7 Plus

Heres better pictures as promised.


http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/The_Emo_Gearhead/1975%20mystery%20road%20bike/005-1.jpg


http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/The_Emo_Gearhead/1975%20mystery%20road%20bike/001-1.jpg


http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/The_Emo_Gearhead/1975%20mystery%20road%20bike/002-1.jpg


http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/The_Emo_Gearhead/1975%20mystery%20road%20bike/004-1.jpg


I wish i had taken some pictures before i stripped the forks and repainted them.

The only thing i dont like about these forks is that there are no cup bearings, when i dismantled it it was the old ball bearing style(just a bunch of little ball bearings coated in grease) so could i get some cup bearings and put on this? im talking about like the bearings on a bmx bike.

Also i guess its part of the headset? but the bearing holder at the bottom of the fork tube(that big pipe) has the stronglight name on it, i do have a stronglight headset on this bike as well.

That's just how bearings are on old road bikes. Loose balls within a bearing race. It makes them easy to service or replace.

What you described as the bearing holder at the bottom of the fork tube is called the crown race and is a part of the headset. The fork tube is called a fork steerer.

Also since the forks match the frame I would not replace them.

I wasnt planning on replacing them, i was just wondering how good they were, and maybe how old they are(im still not sure if its a 35 year old bike) Where could i get more of those little bearings at? when i finally got the forks out they went all over the place, i still have a few but lost most of them.

I was under the impression that just the steerer was Nervor, whilst the blades were 531, at least until Gitane went back to 3 tubes only on the TdF. The Nervor steerers were heavier, probably cheaper, than the Reynolds counterparts. My early 70's TdF had a Nervor stamp as well. Your fork crown is indicative of a TdF model. The Interclub (model below) was not as fancy. I'm not sure, but your frame might be older than a '75. TdFs went from Nervex to Prugnat to Bocama lugs, with maybe some Wagner crowns in there if I'm not mistaken.

Time to look at the gitaneusa website.

Some "all 531" LeJeunes had Nervor steerers and blades, so who knows on the blades, one would have to strip the paint to know for sure, as to weight, the Nervor component fork I have is lighter than many other 531 forks, so no telling.

Strong enough? Yes, worry about it? no. Might it have been cheating the tubing label? Yes.

I did find this bike which looks almost identical to mine, only mine had the shifters on the bottom tube, not on the ends of the bull bars.

http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/models/tourdefrance/1970GitaneTourdeFrance.jpg

also mine doesnt have a place for a kickstand.

I have noticed a lot of French bikes with this crown. My 72 Motobecane w/531 Tubes:
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae332/SJX426/Le%20Campion/LC_FrntCrnr_01.jpg

I was never clear to me, but I don't think anyone used 531 DB on the forks just 531 steel. I have noticed this crown on Peugeots as well.
http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae332/SJX426/Le%20Campion/LC_Shftrs_01.jpg

[QUOTE=SJX426;9936404]I have noticed a lot of French bikes with this crown. My 72 Motobecane w/531 Tubes:
I was never clear to me, but I don't think anyone used 531 DB on the forks just 531 steel. I have noticed this crown on Peugeots as well.

That's a very nice looking bike, but the fork crown does not look anything like the the OP's. It doesn't look like any crown I've seen on a Peugeot, either.

I did find this bike which looks almost identical to mine, only mine had the shifters on the bottom tube, not on the ends of the bull bars.

http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/models/tourdefrance/1970GitaneTourdeFrance.jpg

Your Gitane is not a '75 if it has those foil decals. They were only used until 1973. Repacements are available for $45 on eBay from Greg Softly.

Those shifters are not original to the bike in the picture and it does not have a kickstand. Those are called drop bars. My Gitane is the same bike in the same color.

When i first got my bike it didnt have any decals. It got resprayed with red spray paint at some point in its life.

Heres some pictures from before i started restoring it.

http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/The_Emo_Gearhead/1975%20mystery%20road%20bike/002.jpg


http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/The_Emo_Gearhead/1975%20mystery%20road%20bike/010.jpg


Heres a picture of what the forks looked like before i cleaned them up and repainted them

http://i453.photobucket.com/albums/qq254/The_Emo_Gearhead/1975%20mystery%20road%20bike/019.jpg


All i have left to do on the bike is to finish dismantling the frame(i have the crank,seat tube thats stuck, and the bearing holders left on the frame) then repaint it, get some of those expensive foil decals and install, get a new seat tube, then put it all back together after i make it extra shiny, im still not done wiht the forks, theres a few places i need to touch up then i need to wet sand and polish the paint, and then i need to polish the metal.

Your Gitane is not a '75 if it has those foil decals. They were only used until 1973. Repacements are available for $45 on eBay from Greg Softly.

Those shifters are not original to the bike in the picture and it does not have a kickstand. Those are called drop bars. My Gitane is the same bike in the same color.


The only reason ive been saying its from 75' is i took it to a local collector to see if he could tell me anything about it, he guessed it in the early to mid 70's so i just went with it. Where can i find these drop bars? itd be alot easier to push those down instead of leaning it up against stuff :lol:

Definitely a Gitane Tour de France. Mine is the most beat up in my collection, but I think it rides the best of all of them.

The crank, seat post bolt, pedals and possibly the headset are the only original parts I see.

Definitely a Gitane Tour de France. Mine is the most beat up in my collection, but I think it rides the best of all of them.

The crank, seat post bolt, pedals and possibly the headset are the only original parts I see.

too bad someone thought of 'upgrading'

SJX426; great looking bike!

Definitely a Gitane Tour de France. Mine is the most beat up in my collection, but I think it rides the best of all of them.

The crank, seat post bolt, pedals and possibly the headset are the only original parts I see.


They do ride very well!! :thumb:

teh only thing i didnt like about how mine rode was the shifting, i wasnt alive when these were the "top of the line"(ten speeds) by the time i started riding bikes they already had the newer style of gear selectors. I'm sure i could learn and may put the rd and fd back on when i get the frame repainted, i was thinking of making it a single speed. The most beat up bike in my small collection is my newest purchase, my yokoto thats half the age of my Gitane! :lol:

The only thing i dont like about these forks is that there are no cup bearings, when i dismantled it it was the old ball bearing style(just a bunch of little ball bearings coated in grease) so could i get some cup bearings and put on this? im talking about like the bearings on a bmx bike.

Also i guess its part of the headset? but the bearing holder at the bottom of the fork tube(that big pipe) has the stronglight name on it, i do have a stronglight headset on this bike as well.

Yes, that race sitting on the fork crown with the (it's called the) steer tube going through it is called the crown race, and it is part of the headset. This being an older French frame, you could have problems finding a different one with a different design. Besides, there's nothing wrong with the quality of the Stronglight parts that your bike has now. Unless you've run into some problem?

You want a "cup bearing", but I'm not sure what that is. What you have is the normal design for a threaded headset, French, Italian, Brit, US or whatever. It won't be easy to find anything different, even if you have a correct description of what you want. Gitanes are nice old bikes, but you might be better off hot-rodding a non-French frame. You might be best off rebuilding the existing headset and just going with it.

"Cup beraings"? do you mean sealed bearing cartridges??

I believe the OP meant caged bearings as opposed to loose bearings.

You'd probably have difficulty finding a French standard cartridge bearing, as these have different threading and steerer size, but you may find a cage if that's what you want.

[QUOTE=SJX426;9936404]I have noticed a lot of French bikes with this crown. My 72 Motobecane w/531 Tubes:
I was never clear to me, but I don't think anyone used 531 DB on the forks just 531 steel. I have noticed this crown on Peugeots as well.

That's a very nice looking bike, but the fork crown does not look anything like the the OP's. It doesn't look like any crown I've seen on a Peugeot, either.

The fork crown on the original poster's fork is a Nervex Pro. The crown on the Motobecane is a Wagner, I forget which model.

These can show up on any number of brands of bikes, Raleigh bought a lot of Wagners at one point, Nexvex Pros were used by many, Peugeot included for a time.

This is the crown most often seen on mid '70s PX10s.

http://inlinethumb04.webshots.com/35139/2678783790068014369S600x600Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2678783790068014369PelDWM)

Sometimes they would sustitute this awful thing from their low end models.

http://inlinethumb39.webshots.com/41766/2168420150068014369S600x600Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2168420150068014369gCrAWC)

SJX426; great looking bike!
Thanks, Yes it was. Bent up in May. Had it for 36 years!

[QUOTE=Dirtdrop;9937345]

The fork crown on the original poster's fork is a Nervex Pro. The crown on the Motobecane is a Wagner, I forget which model.

These can show up on any number of brands of bikes, Raleigh bought a lot of Wagners at one point, Nexvex Pros were used by many, Peugeot included for a time.

Thanks for the clarification! I do appreciate it!

not close enough, but thats a Wagner fork crown on my -75 Monark.

Nice bike - beautiful blue colour you've resprayed it. What paint and colour code is that?

From what I understand most Gitane's have that brand forks. My 73 Interclub ( low level bike) came with them.

Oldpedaller; thats 100% original colour! The glossy style was introduced in
-72/73 I believe. The "real" Monarks were always blue; a sort of team colour in the 60´s and 70´s when competing the orange team...the Crescents. Jump over to www.cykelhobby.com (http://www.cykelhobby.com) and visit my friend Kjell`s nice world of swedish bikes and others.