gldnedge

I've been looking for a winter bike and stumbled across what seems to be a nice one. The only problem....it may be a little small, but I'm not sure. Anyhow, here's the description:

- Early 70's(?) Gitane Professional Tour De France (56cm)

- Mavic Montlery wheels w/ Campy hubs (tubeless alum)

- Campy Nuovo Record

- Stronglight cranks w/ Christophe Special toeclips

- Mafac Competition brakes

So here's the skinny.... I ride a 57cm 2007 Lemond Chambery that fits me great. This Gitane is 56cm, but seems greater than 1cm smaller than my Lemond. Is it within reason to S-T-R-E-T-C-H this baby out a little and still have a good rider? Maybe a different stem and seat post for starters?

Ideas? Opinions?

I really want to ride this thing!!!!

TIA

Aaron

Drakonchik

Most likely has a standard 22.2 stem and 27.2 post, if so then yes you can get more reach etc. It will NOT have a hard to find (ie French) seat post size. However it most likely has a French BB.

Ex Pres 

Sorry, (French) metric tubing and has either a 26.4 or 26.6 post (mine was 26.6) and a 22.0mm stem w/25.0mm bars. For my 56, I couldn't find a period correct seatpost long enough so I used an 80's SR post to get enough height. I loved mine, but just could never get it dialed in quite right for me. For reference, I'm 5-11.5.
And it has a French BB for sure.

Drakonchik

Sorry, but I've got a TdF under my roof right now which I just measured at 22.2 stem and 27.0 post. Guaranteed facts.

Ex Pres 

Early 70's with the foil decals?

SoreFeet

The mavic rims were probably a luxury OEM item. They are good strong rims. Polish the hubs up and you'll be good to go. Get a fresh bearing replacement in there if the cones are still good. It will run nice and smooth.

The Campy parts should be sold on ebay for cash. Suntour is better, cheaper and lighter!

Ex Pres 

Those are all spec components on the "upper spec" early 70's TdF. (Kind of a Super Corsa/TdF mix). No way should he part it part it out. Blasphemy!

There's a better name for this version but it slips my mind. If this bike's in good shape it could sell for some nice change.

gldnedge

I don't intend to part this bike out......I want to ride the silly thing I agree that it should be kept as close as possible to spec.

I'll have more questions (and pictures) tomorrow for anyone willing to help me get this bike on the road. I've only had the bike for a couple hours, so I'm virtually clueless as to what it is, not to mention what it's going to take to make it roadworthy.

Aaron

muccapazza

pics to prove it because I don't believe it. my early seventies TdF has 26.4 seatpost and 22.0 stem as bob barker says.

to the OP: I think you should be fine, my experience is that it has a longer toptube than normal, with a short ish stem (mine came with a 90mm Pivo, I put on a 120mm), so I don't think the 1 cm difference in seattube length would be a deal killer. (just fyi, the dimensions on mine are 63cm seattube and 60cm toptube) but as always you will need to try it out on your own, also.

edit: unless your 2007 has one of the sloping toptubes, then is it really a 57 seattube?

gldnedge

Regarding the hub polishing...... does this require wheel disassembling? I'd like for it to look nice, but I want to ride it in the near future. FYI, I'm not a mechanic, just a rider.

Aaron

gldnedge

Simply put, this Gitane just seems very short for 56cm. I'm 6' 1" and my 57cm Lemond fits wonderfully. Maybe the difference between old and new geometry? I don't know this, just guessing.

Guess it would be to my advantage to post some pics tomorrow, huh?

Thanks everyone.

Aaron

unworthy1

If that's so then Stephan at gitaneusa.com will really want to know about it. I'm with Bob and muccapazza on this: my *early '70s* TdF most definitely had metric 531 tubing and took a 26.6 (or .4) seatpost and a 22.0 quill stem...yes it had FR BB threads and FR HS threads too, mine had a Campy HS.

Charles Wahl

56 cm is a very short bike for someone over 6 feet tall, IMO. You're going to have a ton of seatpost out there. As posted before, the bike may have a longish top tube for its height; but I'd have looked for a larger frame.

CV-6 

One should never use the words standard and French bike in the same sentence.

T-Mar

Bob, too bad you could not find a Satri-Gallet post. They were the sweetest post for French, boom era bicycles. Had Campagnolo beat beat my a mile and a few years.

BTW, I agree with it having the 22.0mm stem and 26.4/26.6mm post for this era.

Ex Pres 

Yes. You're 6'1" and riding a modern 57cm frame. The appropriate sized C&V geometry frame for your height would be more like a 61.

Grand Bois

I read that one of the design features of early seventies Gitanes was their short top tube. I always thought that my TdF is so comfortable for me for that reason.

Definitely 26.4mm post and 22mm stem.

Ex Pres 

Courtesy GitaneUSA.com:
Frame is square if you measure ST c-t and TT c-c

gldnedge

Thanks for all the help everyone. Much appreciated!

Just returned from the LBS and I have pretty good idea what it's going to take to make this Gitane a rider. I understand it's *technically* too small for my frame, but all I want it for is around town rides, nothing epic. That said, the mechanic (a friend) said we could easily make it ride a tad longer which would work for my minimal needs.

Sooooo.....I'm now in the process of tearing it down for a good clean-up. I have a large ultrasonic cleaner which I'll be putting to good use on the small parts. Still debating about totally dismantling the wheels, but I sure would like to see those Campy hubs shine like new ones!

I'll take a picture in a few minutes....show y'all what I have. More to come....

Thanks again!

Aaron

CV-6 

You can polish those quite nicely without disassembling the wheels. Takes a while longer, but it is doable.

gldnedge

Would you mind describing this *assembled* polishing process? The quicker (and easier) the better.

Here's the pics, guys. The seat is virtually all the way down and the stem is an ultra-short junk aftermarket BELL....85mm tops.

hhabca

I think you already owned the winter bike ... and you just bought a sunny Sunday summer bike?

I think it looks great - a real 'survivor' as they say in the collector car world. Thanks for the pics!

hhabca

I just wanted to add that it's bikes like these that keep me coming to the CV forum - a part of the past, well preserved until someone finds it and gets it back on the road again.

I think a longer (and better) seat post and stem will have you fitting on that bike in no time.

T-Mar

You can polish the built hubs with your choice of aluminum polish and an old toothbrush, preferably a relatively stiff one. The bristles will get down between the spokes. After polishing, wipe with a dry cloth to remove the oxide residue. Q-tips can be used for residue in tight spots. If you use paste polish and are fanatical, residue in the tight spots can be picked out with toothpicks or scrubbed with the toothbrush when completely dry.

gldnedge

LOL....busted! Yeah, I want a rider, but I want a fun vintage project as well. I think this'll work for the short term and not cost me an arm and a leg in the process. Believe me, it's not easy finding bikes like this in West Virginia. It may be a tad small, but I can work with it.