in honor of it turning 50 this year (or perhaps next) i rebuilt and revamped my TDF

frame, fork, brakes, b.b. headset, cranks, and simplex derailleurs are the only remaining original parts.

n.o.s. simplex retrofriction shifters
wheels are sunrims on origin8 hubs
freewheel is suntour winner 13-14-15-17-19 ()
tapped the cranks to accept new MKS touring pedals
stem seatpost and brake levers are from velo-orange
new housing, cables, kool-stops and cotton tape. nitto bars and the almighty Brooks Swift

Superdan,
That is absolutely lovely. In a line-up, I'd call this a '71, but that's because I have 3 (well, 2 1/2) 1971 Gitane bikes.

Your sprucing 'er up looks mighty fine to me. Call me biased, but these are among the very best riding bikes of that era.

Thanks for the great images.

Owen

the model with Campy drops and full Campy gruppo was called the Super Corsa
the model with Simplex drops and top line French parts was call the Tour de France

‘71 Super Corsa build.

And one cannot help but notice the fine willow-leaf seat stay treatment. This frame was brazed by one of their best.

Shame it's too small, tho'

imho, obviously!

Hi Alepi
I have a bike like your gitane, could you find what exact model is this one with huret components and solida crankset ? Mine as a sticker with Tour de France . Thanks

Hey jordic,
I’d love to find out what model you got. Could you maybe post some pictures on here? That’d be very helpful!
Alternatively, what you might want to try is to search your bike (or a bike that’s close to what you have) in one of the old catalogues from Gitane. Just type „catalogues gitane“ into Google search and the first two results should bring you there

Happy riding mate!

Thanks, already gone through catalogs but could not find any with stamped rear dropouts (nervex?) , huret components, mafac racer brakes and solida cottered crankset like yours

It has a Tour de France printed on the tube, but I 've read Huret were more on Tour de l'Avenir models... let's see if I get 10 posts an can post pics

Superdan-
Nice job! Looks like a sweet ride. Watch that straddle cable on your front brake, it looks dangerously frayed. You wouldn't want any unexpected trips to the ER.
Enjoy!

I know, it's modern and far from French. My Taiwanese-made, Bianchi-sold Gitane City Link. Made for 130mm spacing, I thought it was a no-brainer to make it a 1x.

Very important to post accurate info on this one, what you've posted is not accurate - it's accurate for some years if you go by what's printed in catalogs, but it's not true in the reality of the bike boom production era given supplies on-hand and preference for other, bigger brands like Peugeot and Motobecane.

Near the turn of the 70s, the only difference between SC and TdF at the frame level is at the decal and, in some years, how they're equipped. The Campy vs. Simplex ends/DOs observation is not universally accurate, especially during '71, '72 and possibly other years, an issue of supply, they were using whatever they had in the bins. I have a TdF with Campy fork ends and Simplex dropouts, direct from the factory, for example. What would it be, a Tour de Corsa? That same bike came, from the factory, with Sugino cranks and BB. Won't find that in a catalog, but many here in the US can attest to having this setup.

Other fun tidbit I verified into after Chas posted about it: It wasn't just the SC and TdF using the same basic frame. The Gran Tourisme shares geometry and tubing, but adds a few accoutrements.

Quick edit: I recognize the fact 100% of the info I've posted above may not be correct. It's hard to prove personal experience, especially when you have catalogs which dictate otherwise. I'm always open to rock-solid proof to the contrary. Please, do share

Hey Francophile - Not to be argumentative on your last line, I also saw Chas's post that the Grand Tourisme had the same frame geometry as the TDF and SC. I know you two have way more expertise on Gitane's and vintage bikes in general. But as a owner of a Grand Tourisme (posted it on this thread back in August I believe), I'm sure there are similarities, but as I was debating the build of it I was thinking of going to a racier build with skinnier tires. When I threw on a set of 700c x 25 (replacing the 27 x 1 1/4) to check it out with the smaller/skinnier tires it did not result in the look of the TDF/SC (except with a funny fork). I noticed the wheel base is pretty long ~41" on a 57cm and there's about 3/4" space between the top of the 27x1 1/4 Gatorskins and the bottom of the fork or the brake bridge (for fender clearance). The 23's or 25's on 700c were swimming around in all the space. If I could find some 27 x 1 1/2 or 1 3/4 I would have room to spare and it would make a great gravel ride. So it definitely has at least longer seat and chain stays, and a longer fork, not sure about the frame angles. I have a buddy with a similar age TDF, once we get the bikes together I'll be able to do a better comparison.

Mike

Mike

Constructive discussion is constructive!

I think Chas is the resident Gitane expert here, on the CABE and the Gitane forums based on his life experience. Still, being who I am, I question everything and did what I could to vet the claim based on resources I have on hand. I'm being very careful to mention years and sizes here, I honestly think it makes a difference, probably important to add.

I have a friend who moved to the left coast (Sunnyvale) to work with the big "G" a few years ago. We used to ride together at least once a week, his main is a '70 GT. I have three TdF/SC, years are 71-72 era, two are 60, one 57, his GT is a 60 so lots to play with. Same friend is an engineer by trade, gearhead, we've worked on a lot of vehicles together while he was still living in town, I know I can trust his input and he's got the tools required.

tl-dr - the geometry of the main triangle on his same-sized 70 GT match my 71-72 TdF/SC. Hist chainstays within 1cm difference, but worth mentnioning I also had ~1/4cm difference between my two 60cm frame chainstays.

Is Chas' claim an absolute truth? Definitely not, not across all years, it can't be possible. Is it true in some cases? Clearly, it fit in at least this case. Same could be said for Steve's claim, at least for bikes produced prior to the massive explosion entering bike boom years.

I think this is one of those times where the fine details are important, and disclaimers are probably necessary to add (I've done just that last night, I think before you replied to me). Edit: I think it's also important to have open, level-headed discussions about this, sharing fine details where we have the ability. Clearly though, in looking back through this entire thread, seems the majority of bikes are '70-'75 era, full-boom, which probably explains a lot of similarities and differences!

Hey Francophile -

Thanks for the data driven comparison. Being an Engineer also, I always prefer to deal with data rather than "beliefs". I'm thinking my GT is a '72 (based on reading all of Chas' descriptions on how to tell the years, plus the hubs are dated '72 and appear original ). Once my buddy is back on the bike after his hip surgery I'll do some measurements also. My guess is your friend and I ride a lot of the same roads (I'm 5-10 miles from Sunnyvale) we may run into each other on some of the major routes and be able to do a GT to GT comparison.

Cheers
Mike

I probably need to hook you guys up, need to see if he actually sticks around through the pandemic or not. He's retired now and is always going on about moving back east to the Carolinas, heavily eyeballing OBX, but was waiting for another spike in real estate to sell. My only other long-time friend out there was working for the big networking company named after the city Rose & Crown is located but he moved back to PGH 3 months ago after realizing this pandemic stuff isn't ending, and he's working remote anyway. Several cohorts in NYC have followed suit, moving to cheaper areas to finish out their last years of work before ageism ultimately pushes them out.

Before to avoid derailing the thread, if you remember, please tag me if you get more info. Always interested to add more details in the noggin.

Here is my European Model No. 100 frame. Reynolds, Nervex, Campy dropouts, finished seat stay caps (pre-Carre willow leaf style), foil-era decals, and NO chrome socks. Has Campy headset here but that is incorrect, has shorter (Stronglight) stack height. VERKTYG (Chas), lets talk, please.

that is an awesome build. I hope you enjoy many happy miles on it!

Very nice!

One of the nicer things about many TdFs of that vintage is that they used Simplex rear dropouts without the integral derailleur hanger. It's convenient to be able to use any derailleur you want just by mounting the appropriate claw.

Indeed! Very Nice!

85 Professional. Still need a Columbus tubes Team Pro and a Cyclocross frame. Hard to find.

That is very sweet!
Love the "minimalism" of the Super Record crank.

I finally reached 10 posts, so I can now upload pix of my 1978 Gitane Audax 1716 tandem.
Reynolds 531 frame and fork, Campagnolo Rally RD and Nuovo Record brake and shift levers. PO replaced the rear wheel with a Nashbar branded Italian made (perhaps Miche?) sealed bearing hub.

Another data point regarding 1970 Gitane TdF. I recently bought one that was in storage for decades. It has:
Reynolds 531 frame and fork,
Simplex rear drop outs and Criterium RD,
Mafac Competition brakes and levers,
Campagnolo fork ends, Nuovo Tipo hubs, NR front derailleur, and NR shift levers,
Stronglight 93 crankset and headset, and
Brooks B15 Champion Narrow seat (unfortunately the leather is torn across the middle)

Sounds like it may have gotten some upgrades.