Roger M 

This is the first post for me here, in a while. Life/family/etc. took over and I kinda just needed a break.

Anyhow, I came across an estate sale that was disguised as a yard sale, a couple of weeks ago. The deceased was a pretty big bike geek from way back. His family was selling all of his bikes and parts and tools, along with many other things. The photos they posted on Facebook were not very good, but I could make out a vintage tall orange bicycle in one of the photos. They listed a Gitane as one of the bikes, so I did some searching, and sent a message to the seller.

Scozim is my go to with Gitane(& French bikes in general), so I hit him with a bunch of questions. He determined that it was worth looking into, even though the photos below didn't tell much.

Roger M 

When I messaged the seller, I asked for a price. She gave me a vague list of bikes, along with the price for each. I scrolled through..

Gitane - $50

They wouldn't sell early, only when the yard sale started on a Saturday morning. They were about 45-50 minutes away. Come Saturday, I wasn't in the mood to drive for an hour to see a bike that could possibly be junk. I texted her Saturday afternoon and she still had it..

That was all I needed to hear. I went down there with my son. It wasn't pretty, and needed a ton of work.

But I hadn't bought a bike in a long time, a have wanted a big Gitane for a while. I bought it in rough and rusty shape for $40.

Roger M 

It's a Gitane Tour de France, and 1972 seems to be the year I'm told. The guy that owned it, bought it new and apparently rode the crap out of it. At some point (my guess is late 70s), he changed out most of the parts. It has Crane/Dura Ace brakes, shifters, and derailleurs. The hubs are Bullseye.

polymorphself 

Amazing score for $40! There are few 531 bikes I'd pass up for $100 or less. And I love orange.

Roger M 

I have never owned a full 531 tubed bike. That was part of the reason I wanted it.

degan

Looks like it'll clean up nice.

Roger M 

It cleaned up ok. I changed a few things, but I kept with the original thing.

Roger M 

verktyg 

Roger M for $40, that's GRAND THEFT BIKE!!!!

What you have is a 1972 Gitane Tour de France.

I'd check the seatpost insertion. Should be 75mm-80mm inserted into the seat tube. If it's less find a longer 26.4mm seatpost.

verktyg

nlerner

Great find, Roger!

bikemig 

Nice job on the bike and great score.

thinktubes 

There's a whole lot to like there. Everyone should own a 531 bike.

Murray Missile 

Love it. I wasn't as lucky on my recent Gitane Interclub purchase, I had to pay a bit more, but I'm still pretty happy with it. It's in about the same overall condition. Funny thing is, rough as it is, I'm as excited about getting it as I was scoring a near mint Nishiki International. The first time I went to look at it I turned and ran like it was covered in roaches but the more I thought about it the more I was drawn to it. Why? Is there some kind of Gypsy "spell" on them LOL? I have a bad feeling it's going to lead to another one down the road though. I passed on a chance to acquire a 62 or 63cm TdF frame and fork from another BF member a couple years ago and I think I'm going to find myself regretting that.

TenGrainBread

The Bullseye hubs are "trick" parts. Very nice. The sealed bearings should still be running smooth but if not you should be able to press in new bearing cartridges.

Roger M 

Thanks for the reminder. I knew the seatpost was at or near its limit. I'll check today

When I first saw the ad and started searching Gitane on the internet, my first thought was Interclub. The one thing I was hoping for was a bigger frame. According to what I have read, Gitane made a 64cm TDF. This one is 62cm(c-t, how they supposedly measured)

they spin really smooth.

Thanks everyone for the compliments and information. In the few short rides I've done, it feels real good, 'lightish' even.

I put these mustache bars on,, because I've never ridden with them(& they've been in my garage for about ten years. So far, I like them, but a long stem would be nice.

rustystrings61 

That era TdF is just magic, period. There is something about that geometry, which is subtly different from other French bikes, coupled with metric gauge 531, that just works. I’ve foolishly let some slip through my fingers, but my current ‘71 built up as a fixed gear is a keeper forever! Enjoy your new old Gitane!

Roger M 

Some more pictures




The fork cleaned up extremely well. If I were to ever repaint the frame, I would leave the fork as is.

Schreck83 

I love the way the paint has worn near the downtube shifters! Frame looks like 24 1/2" CTT?

Roger M 

Correct, 24.5" c-t. I was hoping for a little more, but I can make it work.

polymorphself 

Ok? Looks great to me!

steve sumner

I like that bike! Gitane's were the best bikes we sold when the shop started in 1970
be careful about the stem/bar combo as the stock stem's bar size is only 25.0

thinktubes 

I didn't notice the hubs the first time I read this thread. Definitely "hi-zoot" and more fun than Phils.

I have a pair waiting for the right project

unworthy1

a killer deal and great looking build, I had one a lifetime ago about the same vintage in metallic blue (also had the "leaf" stay caps and Simplex DOs) but would have held onto mine even longer (I say now) if it was orange! I think you're gonna love this TdF. The Crane is a good work-around for a better shifting RD (then the OEM plastic Simplex) that does not care about where the "stop" is on the hanger, but suspect the hanger got tapped with ISO threads already, correct?

Iniezione 

Great score, and love the color. These frames do have a wonderful light “athletic” feel to them. I’m also curious how the previous owner got the derailleur to fit the Simplex drops, was it hacked or rethreaded ?

dddd

The rear axle looks like it has eight-speed axle overhang length.
What is the OLD width of that hub???

Fantastic score, what Chas said.