I'm might go look at a Gitane this evening. The owner is able to tell me absolutely nothing about the bike except that he thinks it might be a "26-inch" model and was made sometime in the 70's. So basically I know nothing except that it might be a Gitane and it probably has 2 wheels. If he could give me a model or a year I could at least look at the catalog on the Gitane site and get some idea of the model lineup but I got nothing to work with.

Outside of the old standby "Get excited if you see Campy components," what the short version of identifying a good Gitane? Did they have a name for their low end tubing I should be aware of? Did they make any bikes I should just avoid? I expect a low-end bike boom item here, but you never know...