My next project will be this Gitane Super Corsa frame/fork that I acquired from a fellow BF member. I have big plans for this project and with a little luck it will be complete by spring's return. I do have one question about the frame.

What is the purpose of the of the bridge directly above the brake bridge?? I have searched online for a photo to show the detail with no luck. Here are photos of the frame and two of the only relevant photos that I could find online. They really do not show the detail however.

Untitled by irishbx4th, on Flickr

Untitled by irishbx4th, on Flickr

Untitled by irishbx4th, on Flickr

bridge by irishbx4th, on Flickr

Andranian1970 by irishbx4th, on Flickr

Looks good, Greg! That bridge (plus some hardware) would be for a cable housing stop when using centerpull brakes. A headset spacer w/ cable hanger would take care of the housing stop at the front. If using caliper brakes as in the last photo above use of these stops is omitted. Second to last photo you can just make out the rear cable stop as used with centerpulls.

I'm looking forward to seeing this one come together, know you have some big plans for it!

Sweet, everyone needs a French bike like this.

[MENTION=358081]Sir_Name[/MENTION] I figured that it was for a cable stop for centerpulls but I have no idea what hardware to use. I would have thought that the hole would have been facing vertically instead of horizontally...

Here's a better pic -

[IMG][/IMG]

I think you can use the stop and adjuster from a Weinmann or similar sidepull in those bridges, or perhaps you can raid one from a front centerpull hanger. I am jealous of the lovely brazed-on willow-leaf seatstay caps on your frame, and I look forward to seeing how this bike turns out!

Wonderful frame. Gitanes from that era are really nice. If-I-could-only-have-one-bike-etc.-kinda bikes.

One thing to be aware of: these Gitanes tend to need a front brake caliper with a really short reach.

I would like to us a pair of Mafacs or the new productions Gran Compe centerpulls that I have in the parts collection. This is not definite and all depends on what I end up doing with the drivetrain...
[MENTION=342124]rustystrings61[/MENTION] Great photo thanks!

I thought you might, which I why I mentioned it. I found that even the short reach "RACER" was too long. The MAFAC "Competition" should work, though. I didn't have a pair available at the time for my TdF, so I mounted Weinmann 500 sidepulls for the time being. As you can see, even those are at their limit:

[MENTION=173992]non-fixie[/MENTION] Wow! I will have to check out a few possibilities prior to deciding I see.

Gitane forks can vary - I had one TdF several years ago that could not accomodate 27-in wheels with 1-in tires. On the other hand, my slightly later TdF allows a nice mid-slot brakepad placement with Weinmann 500s, as seen here -

[IMG]IMG_3571_zpsglfomddv by Russ Fitzgerald, on Flickr[/IMG]

- and I will echo non-fixie - there is just something special about Gitanes from this era, especially the Super Corsas and TdFs. Every time I sold one I regretted it later, so much so that this battered specimen converted to fixed-gear is a keeper, period.

My first TdF, which had the centerpull hanger bridge like these but came stock with a Sugino Mighty crankset, had stock Mafac Competitions. I don't remember what the brake reach was like, though.

If you have not read this yet, Chas. Colerich, aka verktyg, posted this helpful information on the gitaneusa.com site in the vintage forum there.

Not to throw "cold water" and in this case it really isn't cold at all, but would this be a Super Corsa given the centerpull brake bridge or more likely a Tour de France with Campy dropouts? We know Gitane substituted dropout brands with cheerful abandon and since the fork's gone we don't know what forkends came with it...I just thought Gitane left the CP hanger bridge OFF the SC which came with Campy sidepulls. But then again, it IS Gitane in the '70s, so all bets are off.

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?

The French are pragmatists...to say the least. My 71 SC (front hub stamped "70, rear hub stamped "71) has side pulls (Campy) so no added brace.

Yes I do have the fork. I should have taken a photo. The steerer tube has the original vivid red paint.

so what are the forkends: Campy or Simplex...or Huret?

I believe this is the Super Corsa [MENTION=202066]BlueDevil63[/MENTION] was selling a while back. If that's the case, it has Campagnolo dropouts.

Really nice frame.

[MENTION=17926]unworthy1[/MENTION] Campagnolo dropouts and forkends.

Untitled by irishbx4th, on Flickr

Untitled by irishbx4th, on Flickr
[MENTION=31158]satbuilder[/MENTION] Yes it is. This should be an enjoyable build.

My TdF has Simplex dropouts and Campy fork ends. The fork is so short that original Competitions are a bit too long, even when slid ali the way up in the slotted mount.

[MENTION=27118]Grand Bois[/MENTION] Do you have any brake recommendations? I am going to check the fit of the Gran Compe 610 center pulls this weekend.

Super Corsas did not all come with Campagnolo sidepulls. The two I owned both had the centerpull hanger bridge, and the one I owned that came with its parts had Mafac Competitions.

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.

I once walked one of these Gitanes into framebuilder Ron Boi's shop. At twenty feet, while talking on the phone and with tools in his hands, with as yet no view of the seatstay caps, the first words out of his mouth were "that's not a Gitane". He had never even heard of BC, knew instantly what he was looking at. Look at the work. Look at the frame. That is not a Taylor overlapping cap or a Herse overlapping cap or any overlapping cap but a Carré cap. Look at the frame.

I recommend measuring carefully and then choosing brakes with the appropriate reach.

I did. And I considered carefully what I wrote. I did not say it is not a BC. It is not necessarily a BC. The only way you could say it is definitively a BC is if it were stamped as such or you knew the frame from its inception. I own numerous Lejeunes and even with the known history of BC building for Lejeune, I always preface with likely or probably Carré. To my knowledge there is no known history of Carré building for Gitane save what I related in my original post. So I could say it is possibly Carré for accuracy.

The more folks add to this thread the more I look forward to starting the build.