PBYO988 

Hello,
After many attempts I finally got my hands on a Gitane Gran Tourisme last night.
It will be my winter project and as you can see from the rushed pictures I took it needs some tlc. I have a couple of question to all you knowledgeable vintage bikers.
Firstly the year of manufacture, I know they only used foil decals from the late 60’s to the early 70’s but I don’t know the year. Perhaps my pictures can help pin it down. Secondly I am worried that the stem shifters are not original. They are Suntour, while the rest of the bike is kitted out with campy. Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated. Thx.

SwimmerMike 

Hi PBYO988 I had a Gran Tourisme for a while. It was a little small for me so I moved it on to another BF member. Mine had Campy down tube shifters and I believe it was a '71/72. If I remember correctly they were only made for a few years in the early 70's. Your's looks pretty complete and like it should clean up pretty nicely.

It looks like a fun project.

Mike

romperrr 

Nice score! Looking forward to seeing it cleaned up, always fascinated by Continental touring bikes. The shifters might not be original spec but they are period correct (i believe...) so the OP may have specc'ed those when purchasing the frame. Those stem shifters shift great and wouldn't be out of place. You could go with bar-ends as well.

I can't help you regarding the year of mfg.

Good luck with your bike. BTW are in the Western or Eastern hemisphere? Asking because I haven't seen too many bikes likes this on this side of the pond.

PBYO988 

I’m in Brooklyn. I went to New Jersey to get it by train. The owner said it was gifted to him years ago.

bikemig 

Nice score. This will be easy enough to fix up and find parts for. The rear derailleur is a bit of a boat anchor and I'd sell it. Using suntour derailleurs and downtube or bar end shifters is not a bad idea. They work better than campy. If you want to stay with a triple, I'd be sorely tempted to use a stronglight 99 or a TA triple rather than the campy as they are more versatile in terms of gearing. It's pretty darn hilly north of NYC so the triple might make sense. You can sell the campy triple easily enough.

Slowride79

Really important you use mild methods to clean that bike so as not to damage paint (fragile) and chrome. Do not do OA bath as acid is indiscriminate. Do not use Aluminum foil ( this just smear Al everywhere) . Do use Brass bristled brush or bronze wool and wd40 (or equivalent) as lubricant on chrome . Make sure brass bristles are solid and not plated (ask how I know) . Scouring pads scratch so that’s a no no. Soft toothbrush is ok for nooks but be careful around lug lining paint as if too aggressive possible you can remove. Do not use simple green standard version (that eats Aluminum) instead use aviation version or Pro HD version. Evaporust is ok as long as part is submerged completely . Do not use evaporust on anodized parts (I think the campy red disks on derailleur are anodized) and I would not put that frame/ fork in it ( it would lift the paint). Recommend just soap water and wax on paint. Any wax ok but the best is microcrystalline wax.
Yes downtube campy shifters stock. Otherwise it’s all there 😉
Someone put the same shifters on the TDF I found earlier this year.




Here is catalog pic and spec sheet.

rustystrings61 

I'm thinking 1972-73 because you have the swaged seat stay tops without a rear brake cable stop bridge and the shorter lugs. I keep hoping someday there will be a combination of one of these in a 60cm size along with sufficient cash and the opportunity to acquire and ride it.

PBYO988 

Thanks for the advise. I just looked and maybe the reason they went with the stem shifters is because of the pump mount and gear cable stops. It may have been too busy on the down tube.

What do you think?

PBYO988 

That’s very good advice, and the spec page is pretty useful too. Thx

PBYO988 

I’m 6ft and this frame is 57cm so it’s not for me. I’m going to take my time and enjoy restoring it back to its original as much a possible then pass it on.
My fingers are crossed that your hope will someday be realised. I was lucky and got a good deal.

bikemig 

That could be the reason. Suntour barcons would be swell on this bike and suntour derailleurs will beat the heck out of that gran turismo on the bike. Just get a frame fit pump and then you can run different shifters.

A suntour long cage RD is just about the best vintage rear derailleur you can use. Those campy triples go for decent money and frankly don't do much. I don't think you can go below 36 on the inside. If you run a stronglight 99 or a TA, you can just run a 50/36 or 48/32. You'll end up with a simpler shifting and the same or better range. Or you can run either crank as a triple and end up with a wider range of gearing. The stronglight 99 goes as low as 28; the TA goes down to 26.

I've done my share of riding on both sides of the Hudson north of NYC. There are some serious hills long before you get to the mountains.

The Golden Boy 

Beautiful bike- I love the color and I love the painted flutes in the fenders!!!

Good luck!

bikemig 

I have a 60 cm Gitane TdF that's in pretty good shape. It's a frame, headset, and crank. It's too large for me as I ride a 57 . . . .

Btw, since you plan on selling the bike, I wouldn't change anything. Just have fun cleaning it up and let it go in the spring. You're in NYC; you should be able to get a good price on that bike.

PBYO988 

Yes the painted fender is a real touch.
I have no idea how I’m going to get a hold of the front fender and light.

jonwvara 

Yes, you can't go below 36 teeth with the granny ring on that crank. Or above it, for that matter: 36 was the only inner ring available.

It's self-serving of me to point this out, but you could keep the original crank, ditch the two middle and small rings, and install a Red Clover Components triplizer, which would let you use a standard 74BCD granny ring as small as 24 teeth.

SwimmerMike 

The crankset on the OP's bike doesn't have the the smaller diameter bolt pattern, so it would be limited to the Standard 41 tooth w/o serious modifications. I do run a 32 tooth Chainring on my NR triple crankset, but that required a custom chainring. If the OP is looking for low gears and unless the OP wants to source a NR Triple and a custom chainring, the a triplizer is probably the easiest and most cost effective solution.

If he isn't looking to go lower on gears, with the Crankset he has he might be able to run a NR RD if he wants to stay Campy and get rid of the Gran Tourismo.

The Golden Boy 

Yeah, that's going to have to be a "close enough for government work" solution:

jonwvara 

You're right, that crank isn't drilled for the Campagnolo granny--given the description of it as a triple, I had just assumed that it was. I...I am filled with shame.

So how is that set up as a triple--as a 52-47-42, or what? I'm hoping the OP will enlighten me. I'm not just imagining that I see three chainrings there, am I?

SwimmerMike 

Yes, I see it as a triple also. I've seen one other NR triple with a similar setup (3 rings and no smaller BCD holes) advertised on my local CL. I debated buying it just because I wanted to know what I was seeing. But it was $250ish and I wasn't that curious.

PBYO988 

There sure are some big hills. I think I want to keep this bike as close to the original spec as possible so I’ll keep the components as they are. For me half the fun is the locating of the missing components.

jonwvara 

PBY0988, can you tell us a little bit more about that crankset, and maybe post a photo of it taken from the back side?

What are the tooth counts on the three rings? Are all three rings mounted on the same set of bolts, with the small (inner) ring standing off from the middle ring on spacers? Inquiring minds want to know!

PBYO988 

Certainly, I’ll do it when I get home from work tonight.
I’d be glad to share whatever you want.

PBYO988 

Here are some pictures of the crank. I’ll do a tooth count when I get home.

Sierra

I'm going to make a WAG that the crankset is not original to the bike.

bikemig 

If you're looking to sell (which you are, right?), it likely isn't worth your investment in money to try to get this all original. Do it if that makes you happy but if you want to maximize your return, I'd just clean it up and move it on. Luckily for you, NYC is a good market to sell quality vintage bikes and this is a good one.