I picked up a Gitane Tour de France this evening. I found it on Craigslist and it happened to be only a few miles from my house. This is the first full 531 bike I've had. It is also the lightest bike I've had. I got it for 50 bucks. It is a tad too small for me but I'll see how it works out. I have a son that is just the right size for it. The seller had used it for time trials in the past so it has the aero type bars on it. I'll be taking them off soon. He threw in a nice Mavic front wheel for it that has the flat blade spokes on it. It has what I believe to be the original Mavic wheels with Campagnolo hubs. How can I tell what model the hubs are? They turn incredibly smooth. The paint is in decent shape. The decal on the headtube isn't in the greatest shape and the only decal on the frame that is at all there is the 531 decal. The 531 decal is still on the fork as well as the Gitane decal (says Tour de France and shows the country of France). I don't know what the original components were but it now has Shimano 105 brakes and Suntour Cyclone 7000 derailleurs. The crankset is a Shimano 600 with Biopace chainwheels. It currently has Look pedals but I'd like to put some SPD compatible pedals on it. Anybody want to trade ? I'll get it cleaned up and post pictures this weekend.

Joe C.