I'm might go look at a Gitane this evening. The owner is able to tell me absolutely nothing about the bike except that he thinks it might be a "26-inch" model and was made sometime in the 70's. So basically I know nothing except that it might be a Gitane and it probably has 2 wheels. If he could give me a model or a year I could at least look at the catalog on the Gitane site and get some idea of the model lineup but I got nothing to work with.

Outside of the old standby "Get excited if you see Campy components," what the short version of identifying a good Gitane? Did they have a name for their low end tubing I should be aware of? Did they make any bikes I should just avoid? I expect a low-end bike boom item here, but you never know...

If it's really a '70s bike, the only models I'd be interested are the Tour de France and Super Corsa. They're both 531 frames. The Super Corsa normally had Campy dropouts and the TdF had Simplex. There was a lot of substitution. My TdF came from the factory with Simplex rear and Campy front. The next model down is the Interclub, and it was made with no-name tubing.

Look for a rear derailler hanger, always a good sign, components tell a story, cotterless cranks probably good (especially the star-shaped stronglight variety), cottered steel cranks probably not good, alloy rims probably good, steel rims (especially Rigida "Chromalux") probably not great. Most of these french bikes had Normandy high flange hubs, so they do not tell you much. Leather saddle made by Ideale (or even Norex, made by Ideale), probably good, cheap plastic seat, not good. You see how it goes. Most important to the overall case with be frame tubing, which may or may not be obvious (sometimes decals disappear over time!). Generally a "named" tubing (ie Reynolds, Columbus, Vitus, Durifort, etc) is very good, even if it is just the 3 main tubes (trois (3) tubes renforce, in french), no-name (usually a number) not so good.
Just have to view and evaluate. Lots of cheap Gitanes around, and a few good ones. Good luck!

gitaneusa.com

I have a '75-'76 Interclub that has the 531 main triangle, and whateverelse the rest is? It has the honeycomb rear dropouts.

for $30 who cares. Buy it and sell it if you don't like it.

If it's got the foil sticky decals, it's a 1973 at the newest. In '74 they went to real decals and a totally different typeface. All Gitane's are decent bikes - Interclub's (I don't ***** about plain steel tubing) and up are really decent bikes. The bottom of the line bikes (Gran Sport?) are probably amongst the best of the bike boom bottom of the liners.

And that was all lower case lettering, correct?

Are you sure it's an Interclub? I remember a discussion a while back about a frame like that. There was some disagreement as to whether it has an Interclub or something they sold as a bare frame. I don't see a 531 Interclub in the catalogs.

I wouldn't go below TdF level. You can still get them way cheaper than PX10s and they're a better ride, if you ask me. I only paid $123 for mine.

Gah! He put me off for a day. Maybe tomorrow.

Did you get this bike?
What model is it?
What Year?