I recently got an old mixte gitane from a guy who recycles rebuilds and fixes bikes. It is in fairly good shape except the paint was seriously faded and the rims and cottered cranks rusted to bits. I can't really tell what age or model but not high end. It was a brilliant orange at one time and has the fun funky rainbow stickers. He said he would fix it up so I picked it up yesterday. He had replaced the rims and the cottered crank. While I knew something about the evilness of french threading, he did not .
As I biked home I quickly found the pedals were all wonky. Finally at home I inspected and he had put a sugino cottered crank on and it is not compatable nor does it work. My husband spent hours taking it out and trying other cottered cranks we have and was freaking out over cottered cranks. He is also working on an old peugeot and a bottechia which both have messed up cottered cranks.
We must get rid of the cottered cranks, especially now that Velo orange has sealed french threaded bottom brackets! If I keep the simplex derailleurs can I put 3 chainrings up front and change the rear cogset or do I have to stick with 2 front and 5 rear gears? What are the limits of the simplex derailleurs? Are they worth keeping other than their frenchness? I want it to be a fun fast road bike.
merci beaucoup.

Heatherbikes, without pics it's hard to be definite, but judging by your story it sounds like you'll be wasting time and money trying to fix this bike. Low-end Gitanes are not rare and you should be able to find one in better shape than this one (rusty BB / cranks ... NOT a good sign!). Then again, mixtes are harder to find, so why not post a few pics anyway. You might also try the gitane.usa site; those guys really know their Gitanes!

Joseph

The gitane was bought on impulse and supposed to be a beater/winter bike but I got a bit sentimental. Repainted etc it would look very nice. The bottom bracket itself is fine but the wrong cottered cranks were put on and the original too far gone. The frame has little rust and nobody would dare steal such an ugly looking thing, but the fenders, derailleurs, shifters and mafic racer brakes are all in excellent condition. I want to know more about simplex derailleurs and what they can handle.
I'd like to find a really high end french mixte but for now I want to get this bike running again as the bad weather approaches.

If you want a rider, rather than an accurate restoration, and if you crave a wider range of gear ratios, I recommend replacing both derailleurs with some older SunTour or Shimano units, or even Huret. The primitive Simplex pushrod front unit is OK for a double chainring, preferably with a 12-tooth or smaller drop. In back, the easiest upgrade is to replace the 5-speed freewheel with an ultra-6, which is only marginally wider. Lose the pie plate spoke protector, and you may be able to fit the ultra-6 without adding an axle spacer and redishing the rear wheel.

The Gitane sounds like a great transportation beater, like my Peugeot UO-8.

Heres what I did. This Gitane was pretty bad when I started. Pulled the cottered crank and put on a Sugino crank, and used the original Gitane BB cups. Suntour Gt and Sprint Derailleurs had already been put on by previous owner. The Suntours work way better than the Simplexes. I also painted the bike with a brush and worked around the decals. Two coats of Gloss enamel matched to the original color.

Wow! What impeccable brushwork...

Thanks! What a nice paint job! My gitane is/was orange but a much deeper orange. I might repaint it if I really like the ride-otherwise superbeater it is. I already have a precious fair weather only vintage 5 speed raleigh in original glory EXCEPT that I did put a mega range freewheel on the back because of the hills where I live. I will definitely put an ultra range on the gitane!
I am looking for a spindle that might work and to look for a crank set. I am undecided about a double or triple front chainring since I can actually get around on the 5 speed raleigh. I will keep in mind that simplex are not that great. The derailleurs were not working very well when I test rode the bike so no love lost there.