rmfrance

Excellent score there! Looks like it still has the half-hoods on the brake levers, too.
I have a '75 and a '58, so know exactly how well they ride (and how addicitve Gitanes are..).

Hproduguidon

b.carré reynolds 531 5/10 not yet restored

Guy Retreau

1979 Mercier bleu Lugano pictured with 1978 Motobecane Special Course TdF

Pedigree is very French: Vitus 971 tubing, Bocama Competition R3 lugs, Vitus dropouts and stay caps.
TA Specialites Tevano Cranks, Huret Jubilee deraileurs, Mafac competition brakes, Atom 700 pedals, Philippe bars, Atax stem.
Wolber Super Champion Gentleman 81 rims

Restoration photos at shared location:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...xOcmJJZ09VZkVR

coldroadsteel

Been riding this 1982 PH10S a lot lately, have it configured just how I like it, it feels amazingly fast on the road for such an old and no so light bike, plus vintage just makes me smile.

tiger1964 

I have a different topic on this one, but I just got it together enough to ride up and down the street: 1961 Gitane:

Andy Antipas 

Separate thread for this restoration, but its French and thought it should be included here for posterity.

Flying G

Am deep in the refurb/restoration of this Super Corsa. Overhauled and cleaned up the wheels, pedals, brakes, derailleurs, etc,
and was just taking apart the headset when I heard a slight rattling in the fork. Tilted the fork and this small bit of paper fluttered out. If the frame builder/painter/chromer only knew the journey from when the paper, with burned edges, was placed in the fork to when it was retrieved almost 50 years later.
How cool was that? After showing daughter, the eventual recipient of the bike, the note, It might go back into the fork for the next person to find.

polymorphself 

And you're not even gonna drop us the link?!

opegel

Here's my Peugeot PE 403 IZOARD from 1992.
It's pretty much all original and in good shape.

Andy_K 

This is my 1986 Gitane. This was a quick build for a test ride. I was stripping down my Bianchi to send it out for powder, so I just moved all the components over to the Gitane. I seem to have done a terrible job getting the shifters at the right place in the curve of the drop bar, I'll need to fix that before I take another picture.

Chombi1 

Andy, what model Gitane is that? Was the the "Professional" for that year? I'm suspecting that's the case as it has a top tube racing number plate tab and the chrome on the drive side stays.

Chombi1 

I suspect the edge of the paper was burned when they were brazing the steerer tube to the fork crown in the factory?
Maybe your daughter should scan the original and put the copy in the steerer tube, then put the original in a safe, cool, dry place for posterity. It can then be safely passed on to all future owners of the bike.

Chombi1 

That's exactly how my 1983 PH10S (In pearl white and modded up with better components and lighter wheels) felt. Fast!! I still remember it even made great "whooshing" sounds when I mashed on the pedals to sprint. I had some of my best riding experiences on that bike.

Andy_K 

Well, that's an interesting story. It seems to have been a custom build. I can't prove provenance and I fully acknowledge how outlandish this claim is, but I think there's pretty good circumstantial evidence that this was one of two bikes that Gitane custom built for Martina Naratilova and her partner, Judy Nelson. If the theory is correct, I believe this would have been Judy Nelson's bike. There's a guy on the Facebook Gitane group who believes he has the other one and pieced together the clues for this theory.



The paint appears to be original. I found an old post on the Gitane USA forum where a bike with the same serial number as mine was described as having the decals shown above (which I'm told are using an unusual placement for this period). Perhaps the strongest evidence is that mine has a 72 degree seat tube angle and not the 74.3 listed in the catalogs of the time. The bottom bracket is stamped "86" (also "SCA001" and "NN"), but the US catalogs don't show a Gitane with this cable routing until 1987 and 1988. Another bit of evidence is the length of the chrome on the drive-side rear triangle. It goes higher on the seat stay than the other similar Gitanes I've seen and stops further down the chain stay, but it perfectly matches Martina's bike in the picture above.

It could be a non-US model or just about anything else. Who knows? But I like the custom story, so that's what I'm going with.

Markeologist

Andy K, as I've shown elsewhere, your bottom bracket markings do not match that found on my two 87 Team Pros (both original paint, owned one since new). I'm now thinking your frame is EARLIER even with the cable routing coming in from bottom...not a feature on production bikes until 87 and then only on the top flight frames but I think you have something special. There is a pic someplace I've seen of Hinault on his Renault Gitane with the cable routed in from bottom...kind of kicking myself for not buying that frame myself! Also for readers out there, the number tabs were not unique to the Team Pros.

Markeologist

Bernard Hinault in 1985 on team Gitane with cable routed from bottom...something that doesn't show up on the production Team Pros/Team Replicas until 1987.

Andy_K 

Well, I do appreciate your having brought it to my attention. I ordered replacement decals last night. Now I just need to figure out how to touch up the paint chips and scrapes.

Chombi1 

Thanks for the info on your Gitane Andy! Looks like you have a very special and rare Gitane. Keep us posted on any restoration work you might be doing on it!

Chombi1 

Thanks for the info on your Gitane Andy! Looks like you have a very special and rare Gitane. Keep us posted on any restoration work you might be doing on it!

CV-6 

This frame has been hanging in my basement for a couple of years. I was going to refinish it, but it is not my optimal size, so I am looking for something smaller. Decided to build it to try it on for size. Took a spin around the block and find it actually fits me pretty well. First time on a fixed in a while, so it was kind of interesting. Wheels are the Campagnolo hubs that came with the bike laced to NOS Super Champion Arc en Ciel rims and built for me by Earle Young. Looking for a Tevano track crankset, just to be different. More photos later.

Lejeune piste 2 by L Travers, on Flickr

gaucho777 

^Nice, Lynn. How's it handle? Looks like fairly road-friendly geometry with a not-too-steep head tube angle and fair amount of rake (for a track fork). Nice wheels/tires. Now get some clips & straps! I wouldn't want to ride a fixed-gear track bike without 'em.

classic8tubes

Cycles Poelaert , Reynolds 531SL tubing




Reymond Poelaert was a long-time employee (apprentice at the beginning) of René Herse and the mechanic of Lili Herse. He was the one who engraved the Herse cranks and also occasionally swung the blowtorch when René Herse was overloaded with work. . Later he built a few frames under his own name. The Cycles Poelaert lettering is hand painted, maybe the production was so small that it was not worthwhile to have own decals made.

Unfortunately there is hardly anything about him on the net, in this blog I found the above info.

la passion des randonneuses

Mavic Derailleurs and Hubs (rear derailleur is something special, never saw another one like this), Modolo Equipe KX90 brakes and levers, Edco Competition headset. Campy sr seatpost and sl pedals, Stronglight 107 crankset on Stronglight Competition BB. Ambrosio Sythesis rims (28h) .Satri (Mavic) stem, 3ttt handlebars. 9,26kg total.

bikemig 

I finished tweaking my 70s Motobecane Grand Record. The final finishing touches were Reynolds 531 stickers, a TA sticker for the crank, and red REG toe strap buttons. And I had to track down a longer stem and a wider bar. I can't believe how short the original stem (9 cm) was and how narrow the bars were (38 cm). How the heck did people ride these bikes back in the day with those narrow bars? My current stem is a 12 and the bar is a 41.

I think it's a 1974. The paint is crackled but the bike is mechanically sound and rides very well. When I found the bike it was mainly stock but I made a few changes (a campy seatpost and wheels with campy tipo hi flange hubs). I like the gearing combos you get with a TA crank.

CV-6 

I cannot attest to handling. I had not been on a fixed in probably four years and have not really ever been comfortable on one. So I was rather timid as I tried to reestablish a modicum of fixed gear riding skills. Then there was the headset issue that appeared. No clips and straps. Look pedals will be installed. All I can really say is that it was beginning to feel good under me.

motogeek 

Based on the Motobecane script on the down tube and the red lugs/black head tube I would say your GR is a '72, not a '74. Does your RD have a patent date on it?

I have an identical GR from '72 but it is a 52cm frame. I have a 110mm Phillipe stem and a 42 cm handlebar on it. It fits my 5'8" body better. These are very comfortable bikes.