Markeologist

Here is my mid-60s (1966-1967) Gitane Champion du Monde frame set (crossed wheat fronds and world championship stripes with Model 100 designation on right fork blade). Nervex Pro Lugs, Reynolds tubing, capped and not crimped seat stay caps but before Gitane’s use of Carrie/Carre-style willow leafed caps, Campy fork ends and rear dropouts, no chrome socks as commonly seen on team bikes and foil-era decals. Could be a frame from a few years before and fitted with latest decals or proof that the chrome-era decals came out before 1968 as some have suggested.

Pcampeau

Well it’s clearly beautiful! Can we see a pic of the whole frame?

juvela

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what is the gold oval transfer on seat tube?

steerer Reynolds, NERVOR or other?

does the MICMO acronym appear anywhere?


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Markeologist

I've posted before...here it is with Campy bottom bracket and headset (pump too) which are incorrect for the CdM.

oneclick 

Fork-end and stay-end are different; are you sure they are an original pair?

bikemig 

This is a cool bike. It's the second top end 60s era Gitane to show up recently.

Markeologist

answers to the couple of questions above:

Oval label is a water transfer decal for BRUEGELMANN, from what I understand a long standing and famous bike shop in Germany who sponsored racers: https://www.bruegelmann.de/

No MICMO called out anywhere but clearly a frame from MICMO era. Gitane and Geminiani bikes were both MICMO and identical except badging up until 1966. This frame to best of my knowledge dates from time of split (66 or 67).

Concerning fork and stay ends. I too have noticed a difference in the way the ends are finished but that is not something unique (after having owned and looked at lots and lots of French bikes over the years). The fact that the color matches, both frame and fork exhibit high luster in the original paint, both exhibit identical gold pinstriping, the Reynolds stickers match (both in French, both in the early more-papery style and both in very good condition), that the condition of the Gitane decals is similar (most are very good and even those that have been damaged are good in some areas (no peeling/curling...this was not a neglected bike), Gitane decals in combo with Nervex lugs indicate both frame and fork are from same time frame, the amount and extent of wear on frame and fork is quite similar, both have Campy ends, and for the critical fact that both completely lack chrome (neither front nor rear socks AND a painted crown too...both very rare on high-end model) indicate that these are a matched set. Stumbling upon a fork that matches the frame of this age to the proverbial "T" is so highly unlikely that it could be considered impossible.

Markeologist

Here are a couple other 60s-era CdMs, one a year or so older than mine (has pump pegs) and another a year or so newer but still pre-68 when Gitane changed their numbering system. Both, like mine, have Nervex Pro lugs and short stack headset height for fitting Stronglights. Both these; however, have chrome fork crowns and the newer one (without pump pegs) has the full foil decal set including Service Course on top tube. Neither has the gold pinstriping along lug edges as seen on my frame. Well into 60s Gitane offered top end bikes like the CdM and the Professional that exhibited a mix of French and Italian parts...some catalogs, generally those for the European Market like the 1965 Gitane catalog (erroneously labeled as 1967 on GitaneUSA website) only offer the 100-CdM at the top end, there is no "all Campy" (save for brakes this being pre-Nuovo Record-era) equivalent like the Professional and Superb seen in the "1964" catalog on GitaneUSA. All three of these frames (mine as well as these other two) could be frames from a year or two earlier that were unadorned in factory storage and fitted with foil-era decals before they were shipped. The frame with pump peg being the earliest of the three and most likely candidate for being older stock fitted with newer decal package.

steve sumner

to oneclick: our shop sold Gitane from the late 60s until about 76 and all of the bikes that came
with forged ends used Simplex on the front no matter what was used in the rear