xcx4x

Finally, after inheriting this 1970ish grand sport deluxe gitane from an old friend, i have completed giving it the love and care it has dearly needed.


Here are some pictures of the process:

The "organs" of my bike(spot the broken wrench!):


My scary(because im afraid of messing it up) cottered crank:



Sanding(this took forever, definitely going to let a professional do it next time, but a must needed experience)


Paint choice:


Primer:



The beautiful green paint(oh so beautiful!):


Greasing the bottom bracket(spot curry chicken??):


Removed the crappy handlebar tape and polished up the stem a bit(look at that sexy hand of mine):


more after the jump!

xcx4x

Greasing the top bracket(spot one of the rings, i decided to paint it black shortly afterwards!):


Putting on the top bracket thingers (youll notice i painted the brake cord holder black because it was super scarred and such from the sands of time)


Can't forget the brakes!(also cleaned of the specks of white paint)


Top bracket assembled(stem put in proper depth this time, GETTING so close!)



AWW it looks so cute without its wheels, like a baby horse looking for its mommy!:


AND FINALLY! the result! with the before and after effect employed!


Before:

After:


Before(ewww):

After:


more after the jump!

xcx4x

Before(look at how dangerously high that stem is!):

After(much better!):


Before(what a cool angle):

After(=[ goodbye label):


Before:

AFter(notice i painted the cateye black! black and green are such great colors together!):


Before:

After:


Before:

After(look at the hub its so clean!):

xcx4x

and finally one more for wrap up:


yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!


Still needs handlebar tape but i couldnt wait because it looks fine right now!
overall it took me quite awhile
most time was spent on the sanding process and painting

the painting sucked because i would mess up and TWICE resulted in cracked paint in some areas which were pretty mysterious because i foundout all causes and did none of them.
never am i ever going to paint a bike ever again! i will take it to the shop and get it done way better there. however, the experience was invaluable, and now i know.

and the rest is HISToooooooorrryyy

eMXiMeR

awesome conversion!

IMO with a new saddle, black bartape, and a new wheelset that will be one good lookin sumbish

kringle

Nice, but put the rear brake back on.

the_don

Why remove the derailleur if you keep the rear cluster?

CameronC

Great mechanical aptitude and she cleans up real well.
Nice job !

eMXiMeR

No rear brake

xcx4x

it didnt come with the rear brake. what you see is all that there was of it. id have to find wire and cable housing etc etc

didnt come with the derailer either, working on fitting a single speed cog into it soon but for now this will have to do.

Redline927

good work, i know what this process is like, and how much time is involved.

I would def recommend getting a wheel set that is built for single speed. Would look tons better.

kringle

Is this not the rear brake?

operator

That bike is worth dropping zero money into it. Keep it as it is. I mean everything is deprecated technology there. Steel wheels. Cottered cranks...

Noobert

Operator is the ******* from the mecanics forum, so don't take what he says to harsh.

FlatSix911

XCX4X ... nice work on the repainting ... one suggestion is to paint the frame lugs in a contrasting color ... Gold or Bronze would look great

operator

Lol, why isn't that censored?

Noobert

Operator, your knowledge is great. Your responses help me in the mechanics forum. And you bring alot to the table. SO don't take offense to that last message.

But yes, Operator is an Internet-*******

Instead of getting a wheel set you should try to make it single speed- dishing, and the whole 9 yards.

xcx4x

oh right, of course, what i meant was that was what was left of it, i havent found the time to get the brake pads, cables, cable housing etc.

yeah that is why i like it, its quite "vintagey". i know everything is old technology, but it still rides smooth and nice! im just taking pride in making it all pretty again. i dont have the money to get new wheels and a new crankset. worth zero money to me because its priceless to me.

thanks FlatSix911! ill definitely take that into account when i install the rear brake cables and such. it sounds like a great idea to add contrast.

operator

Not saying it isn't. It's a perfectly fine bike.

Seen too many situations where someone tries to "convert" a perfectly good bike like that to a 'fixie' and in the end all the end up with is a polished turd. Keep it as it is and ride the **** out of it.

operator

I was honored by that description of me actually - no offense taken

Scrodzilla

For whatever reason, the fact that "*******" wasn't censored made me laugh so hard that beer came out of my nose. Good job Noobert!

Noobert

If Bike forums has the technology, maybe they could make it so ******* is only uncensored when used in the same sentence as operator.

gelpicorp

basically to bike shop folk,at least here in my city, the only bike worth putting a cent into is the new trek carbon plastic fiber peice of scheisse they have for sale on the show room floor.

meh.

very nice looking bike in the end. but yes, sanding sucks (use jasco instead). and painting with spray paint is the most awful experience i have ever tried.

but, you learned never to do that again and that's what counts! lol!