Originally Posted by
63rickert
It is a Bernard Carré build. Sub-contracted. He could do whatever he wanted with such as bridges. He did not build Gitanes to the standard of his other work, Gitane didn't pay much. It is still miles better than anything Gitane would have made themselves. It is a Super Super Super Corsa. No fork?
Maybe. I believe we are too quick to assign Carré as the builder when this style seat cap is encountered. The seat cap is very similar but BC did not have exclusive use of the leaf style cap. The idea that BC built for Gitane may come from the Carré built "Gitane" ridden by Jacques Anquetil in the 1964 Tour de France. Info I have seen is that Gitane continued to use the style on their in house frames. I have not seen info that Carré built for Gitane. I will say I have seen a Gitane with B. Carré stamped caps but was unable to determine if the bike is "dans son jus". This does not make it a lesser frame, just not necessarily a Carré.