Originally Posted by
verktyg
jonwvara, nice finds!
You're right on the money on the year... 1972-73.
Here's several starting places for original components... Read my posts under
"verktyg":
The Definitive Gitane Tour de France bikes: Late 1960s to 1974
gitaneusa.com :: View topic - How to identify my bike - read first
gitaneusa.com :: View topic - Gitane TdF or Super Corsa?
For starters, that "TriBar" setup in the front has to
GO... Reminds me of a radar array on the nose of a WWII German Heinkel night fighter!
I bought a 1987 Centurion Ironman Expert with one of those rigs... Could never figure out how to get the radar detector to work!
The paint is going to be tough to match. The 1970-73 US Gitane catalog calls it Champion Blue (I call it Turquoise Blue). Red, Champion Blue, Gold, Green and Violet were "Flamboyant" colors, also called Candy Apple Colors in the US. They're dyed transparent lacquers applied over top of a white, silver or gold base layer which gives depth to the color. They tend to fade over time in direct sunlight.
Gitane used a darker blue up until ~1967 and then again after 1974. Some European models came in the dark blue during those years - what I call the foil decal era. The US models where "Champion Blue". In the late 70's Gitane switched from flamboyant to metallic colors. Match Blue was a light solid color that ranged all over the place.
What kind of crank is that? Shimano?
I wont comment much on the kludged mounting of the bottom end Shimano rear derailleur.
Simplex Super LJ would look nice on your bike, Those rear derailleurs would look nice on your bike. The rear derailleur will fit with no modification.
They're getting quite "spendy" these days, so the SX410 or SX610 derailleurs are still reasonably priced and work very well. If you go that way, be sure to get one that's direct mount without a claw hanger.
verktyg
Chas.
What, you don't like those handlebars?
Okay, they
are pretty hideous. The dirtdrop-style stem and stem shifters are another nice touch. Lots of signs of neglect--the hub cones are shockingly loose, and the bottom bracket turned like a coffee grinder, thanks to a teaspoon or so of shredded bearing race and rust mixed with the bearing balls.
I think the crankset is a Sugino. It had Sugino dust caps, but there are no manufacturer's markings on either the crankset itself or the 52-42 chainrings. Maybe Gitane ordered them without markings so as not to call attention to the non-Frenchness? The bottom bracket is stamped Sugino, and is French threaded.
The paint on the top tube, especially, is quite faded. I think I may not mess with a color match--I may just clean up the chipped areas and coat them with some kind of clear finish to prevent rust.
Thanks for the derailleur recommendation. I haven't had a bike with Simplex derailleurs since 1971, so I thought this would be a good excuse to give them another try. The claw-mounted Shimano rear derailleur was awkward, all right, but I give the previous owner credit for not cutting off or butchering the original hanger. Given its unlikely survival to this point, I'm certainly not going to fool with it now.
But getting the low gearing I prefer could be a challenge. Long-cage Simplex RDs seem to be scarce these days, and I've heard that they don't shift especially well. Or is that just because I've read too much of Michael Sweatman's jaundiced commentary about Simplex over at
Disraeli Gears? I may be able to make do with a mid-cage model if I skew everything to the low end. I don't need much in the way of a high gear these days, anyway.