marius.suiram 

This bike was on CL in the last 3 months. What should be the value for it, like a keeper?
$400 looks too much, in this condition I should pay maybe 100...150. What do you thing?

1970s Gitane Tour De France 10 speed w/ Reynolds 531 Frame

jyl

That bike is more desirable than a PX10 - similar quality but rarer - so $300 would be a bargain.

marius.suiram 

So, if it is close to 400, must have except the Reynolds 531, some high end components. Campagnolo?

howsteepisit

Components are simplex and stronglight. I cannot tell from the pics the condition, but 400 is high to me. I used to sell both Peugeot and Gitane in the early 70's, they both had their strengths, but I think the PX10 was a better bike. The Gitane was sloppy in its construction details.

Kactus

If it were clean and maintained, I wouldn't hesitate at $400 if I was looking for one. In its current condition I agree with jyl... $300.

mparker326

That bike needs a lot of work. Even $300 is no bargain.

zukahn1

Would agree also that $300 or so would be an OK price if this is a bike someone really wants as a keeper. If your looking for a bargain or a great deal to possibly flip I would look else werer. The fact that the bike is still listed at $400 after several months and has not sold means that the seller isn't likely to come down off there price.

randyjawa 

That bike looks, to me, to be a Gitane Professional, the top dog in the Gitane line-up in the early to mid seventies. In good shape, I think $400.00 is a fair price, providing the buyer realizes that French bikes do present some restoration/refurbishment problems.

And, while we are looking, that hand pump is probably worth close to a hundred dollars, all by itself, if it is in good mechanical and cosmetic condition.

likebike23

@randyjawa: what pump do you think that is? I think I have one I picked up with a bike last spring. $100 would be good news.

howsteepisit

OK its real name ( On the bike) is Professional Tour De France, but everyone I knew called it a Tour de France. I believe its early 70's about 71 0r 72. IF thats a Zefal pump you'd be foolish to pay $100 for it, they never worked near as well as a Silca, but then again, you never know what somebody is willing to pay.

randyjawa 

I honestly can't tell the pump's pedigree from the picture, but my guess would be period correct and worth a buck or two. Do some digging and you will see that similar pumps are, somewhat, sought after. My opinion, of course.

likebike23

Will do Randy. Thanks for the reply. Mike.

ramzilla

If my memory of the 70's serves me right, I think the Tour de France was one of Gitane's top bikes. It competed against the Schwinn Paramount, Peugeot PX-10, Falcons & top end Bottechia's. It originally came equipped with tubular sew up tires. Weighed in at around 21 lbs originally equipped. Mass produced in France. Probably has some pretty freaky deeky threads on the hubs & bracket. If it's not completed rusted up and looks like it can ride again I'd say somewhere between $300 - $400 would be fair.

sail

I believe the Super Corsa was more on equal with the Paramount in the Gitane line of the early 70's with all Campy except Mavic center pull brakes and with sew ups. I sold mine last year for $450 on Ebay but it was beat up and repainted. I think same 531 frame but with Simplex? drop outs, not Campy. TDF more like PX10, is a nice bike if it suits you. Agree, with others, $300 is probably top $, frames not quite up to finish of other manufactures, decal stickers fell off, French threads. Zefal pumps look better than they work.

ramzilla

My memory of the early 70's is pretty fuzzy. Geeeez, I wonder why? I rode a 72 model PX-10 myself. Had friends with Gitanes, Falcons, Paramounts, Bottechias. Top of the line bikes didn't seem to be out of reach of ordinary folk back then. I can't remember how much I paid for that PX-10. But, it seems like it was somewhere between $250 and $500. Paid in advance and received it in a box from the bike store dealer. You're right about the Paramounts from that time period though. They were the best of the best. Beautifully finished bikes. Schwinn Bike dealerships were really magical places back then. Ahhhhh, the memories!

Trakhak

That's a Tour de France, the second from the top model. Looks like the original Nervar crank (I think). The original wheels, too, probably. Those are tubular tires, anyway.

I always wondered who at Gitane came up with the 75-degree head tube/72- or 73-degree seat tube geometry. Maybe a pro on a team sponsored by Gitane.

bikemig 

$250 in 1970 is $1557 in 2015 dollars. High end bikes were more affordable in 1970 than in 2015. The same is true for a lot of things. My brother and I got free tickets from a neighbor for Superbowl IX in 1975. We lived near the old Tulane stadium and walked over there to watch the game. Who the heck gives away superbowl tickets in 2015 to friends and neighbors given how much they cost?

rootboy 

A little bit of confusion here and there, most of which has been pointed out.
Top Gitane from that era was the Super Corsa. Campy Record equipped.
Professional Tour de France next. Simplex Criterium derailleurs and Stronglight 93 crank set. MAFAC Racer or Competition brakes. Stronglight P3 headset. French thread BB and headset. Normandy hubs. All the same equipment as the PX-10. But the PX came with a Brooks Pro saddle.
The PX-10 seems to command higher prices on the second hand market, for some reason. Was it a better bike? I don't know.
I bought the Peugeot PX in 72. My buddy bought one of these, for our bike tour. Both weighed in at about 21 pounds. Which is why we bought them.
That and the fact that they were about half the price of an Italian or English top end bike at the time.
I now have one of these.

I agree with most here on price. That bike looks pretty beat up and needs a bit of work. But it's hard to tell from that lousy pic. If that paint and chrome is in great shape, and most or all of the cheazy foil stickers are present, that could be worth 400+, all fixed up.
But, it's white. The most common, but least desirable color, to my mind.
Note the backwards pointing tire saver on the front wheel.

marius.suiram 

thanks guys for all the info.

big chainring

Really surprized people like the TDF here. Most french bikes and Gitanes get pretty beat up by the appraisers. I've bought and sold 6 TDF's over the last couple years. It was a very popular bike in the midwest and they pop up on CL frequently here. The orange ones get a little more money as they are just really pretty bikes. Getting more than $225 in rehabbed riding condition is pretty tough. Very few people recognize them as a quality vintage bike. Everyone pooh-poohs the Simplex derailleurs, even when they perform great after 40+ years. Usually equipped with sew-up tires that have a whole misunderstood lineage to them.

The bike in question needs some work. An afternoon wrenching and some new tires and bar tape would put it in good order. Really cant see it selling for much more than $300 all fixed up. But thats just monetary value. Its a great riding bike that could be enjoyed.

Bike has Campy Tipo hubs which is a plus. MAFAC Competition brakes. Stronglight 93 crank and Lyotard pedals. All together it makes for one of the classic and very underappreciated parts groups.

In similiar condition to the one in question here, I have bought the 6 I mentioned ranging in price from $150-200.

gioscinelli 

I agree with @big chainring and the time to bring the Gitane TDF to restore condition has to be factored in. Name recognition is important and the Gitane image is low end during the 70's bike boom. So $200 would be the max.

Kactus

The region can make a big difference. Where I live, TDF's are uncommon. PX-10's were everywhere during the bike boom years but upper level Gitanes, Motos and Merciers were few and far between.

bikemig 

This is a 2 year old but very helpful. I put an offer in a really beat TdF selling locally in this price range. We'll see if the seller bites. It would be unlikely you could get more than $300 for one fixed up in good shape here as well; I'd peg it's value at closer to $250 fixed up, less in beat up shape.

Kdogbikes

The bike is still for sale. I'm glad to run across this thread bc I've been watching this bike(gitane tdf) for couple years now,wondering why no one has bought it. It's always been out of my price range for a vintage bike.(I know I'm cheap but I'm having a blast on my stable of 100$ or less bikes. But.....I've come to like French bikes and this bike would make a good project and keeper.

bikemig 

Yes it is, https://cleveland.craigslist.org/bik/6047141453.html

It's gone down to $250. It has tubulars though. That's not a bad price; if it's your size, this would make a heck of a project to fix up and ride.