Thanks! Yes, it is a Crane RD. Here's another shot of the bag mount. I'm also using of the the small TA support racks that attach to the MAFAC brake studs.

Cool! I've probably seen that type of mount before, but don't recall where or who made it. Looks like it is intended for bags other than the old Cannondale-style bags that hang from the struts pointing forward.

Almost done with my 84 Gitane Pro build.
​​​​It's been my dream Gitane grail bike since the 80's......


Just have to install the cables, levers bar tape and chain. I still have to buy the DT SS butted spokes I need to build the wheelset (Spidel 700 LF 32H hubs and 32H Mavic GL 330 rims). Just have to push myself to finally calculate the spoke legnths and order the spokes and brass nipples (Unfortunately, the spoke legnth calculators on the internet do not have these older hubs and rims in their database.).

Look forward to seeing the final product !
I have used the sapim calculator with success in the past .
It allows you to put in your hubs/rims parameters rather than having detail of brands etc .

https://www.sapim.be/spoke-calculator

It’s always good practice to measure the hubs and rims to ensure you have what you think you have anyway.

When it’s all done, you’ll be the American who’s ready to take on the Badger!

The above is a timely post for me.
I'm finally getting around to building up an early seventies Super Corsa frameset that I bought years ago.
I think I have everything I need except wheels.
I have a set of nicely polished Campag. Record hubs and a NOS pair of Mavic Module E rims. I just need spokes.
Looking for recommendations for which spokes to use and the best place to get them.
The last set of wheels that I built were years ago, and I was able to get spokes locally from a shop that that had a cutter & threader and custom made them for me at a reasonable price. They no longer do that.

Well, I had my own topic last year on my Gitane but what the heck, here's a photo of it:

My experience is most of the spoke length calculators do have specs for all the older gear. Still, doing it yourself is a good learning exercise.

For spokes, my most recent order was from lkspoke@yahoo.com He does sell on E-prey, but I went direct. He will cut to precise measure, which I really like. His name is Lee K.If only for example: 36 x 272.2 Silver J-bend Double butted spokes @ $0.67 each came to US$24.12. This was for the front. Rear spokes were split by measurement, but also @ $0.67. 72 12mm Silver Brass spoke nipples @ $0.11 each came to $7.92.

I found that he was very nice to deal with.

I used to know a great cheap shop, but they’re gone now, too. Sigh.

Very nice! How well does the 543 derailleur work?

It certainly shifts well. However, I have fine tuning to do as:

(a) Not getting enough chain tension to the point where the top of the chain between freewheel and chainring is 100% straight,
(b) I'm using an Atom Compact 6-speed freewheel and I am not getting it to shift to the 6th cog,
(c) Not quite certain what the correct shift level tension should be, particularly to prevent slipping -- note that, in the smallest cogs, there are TWO springs pulling on it.

LeicaLad, thankyou for your recommendation!

Damon Rinard's spokecalc spreadsheet says the 330 is 615 erd. It doesn't have the Spidel 700 (or Maillard 700, which I assume is the same), but you can measure and then plug the numbers in his spreadsheet and get your spoke lengths the easy way.

And I have that same saddle on my current favourite ride, you might like it.

This started probably back in the bike-boom days when a frame with these special dropouts showed up at the LBS.
They captured my fancy but not my pocketbook.
When, some decades later a large internet auction site began operating I bought this frame - and then another, as it showed up shortly after and was better (more on that frame in a separate post-to-come).
Both frames I had shipped to and stored with a relative in the US, and when a few years later I later visited they came back in my luggage.
They both got painted, then languished for more decades (nicks and scratches); and recently the top of the pile has shrunk down to their level.

As far as I can tell this was an Interclub, it takes a 25mm post.
The frame weighs 2540 gm, the fork 840 gm, so it's not a real lightweight.
As built it's well under 11 kg.

Everything is french except the saddle and consumables - freewheel & chain, cables and housings, bar wrap, top-tube clips, and tyres.
Mafac Competition brakes
Not sure of which Mafac levers, they have the Course 218 adjusters and hoods, but solid levers (and the nipple seat is unslotted).
Hubs are Normandy, the rear a bit of a bodge; a long time ago it had an italian freewheel forced onto the french threads, with predictable result - so I unlaced the wheel and cut english threads on the other side.
Rims are Fiamme red label.
Stem is Ava, bar is Guidon Phillippe, wrap Benotto.
Seatpost is Rubis 983.
Saddle is just something stuck on there for testing.
Stronglight 93 crank, Atom pedals.
Shifters are Simplex retrofriction.
Rear mech is Simplex SX410, front is SJ A102.
The tyres are also just for testing, likely 40 years old...

I quite like riding this, it seems a little long and slow turning, but straight on it does go when you tell it to.

Congrats on such an iconic bike, can’t wait to see it finished - what a beauty!💙💛

oneclick Lovely build and my all time favourite bar tape! 🍾

Hi,
pictures of my two gitanes.
One is a Gitane Criterium 1978 (durifort steel frame). It is a frame my father bought brand new, and mounted with various parts available. I got this bike for a present when I was 15 years old (I am 55 now).

The second one is a Gitane "Route de france", 1979.
about stock, except the brake lever tektro I prefer (more comfortable ).

Time to put my 72 TDF on this thread. Aquired, refurbished, and ridden last summer. Looking forward to another riding season.

That's the first Simplex JUY 543 I've seen mounted on a Gitane; they're normally more Peugeot (and possibly Singer) territory. Pricey items now!

Hi fellow Gitaniacs,
Just a quick reminder, if I may, that higher-end Gitane models sharing the same names differed/overlapped between those produced for mainland Europe and North America.
That said, why did they choose to call Olympics - Super or otherwise - Corsas for North American markets? Could it have been to suggest a more exotic Italian rather than French image? We might never know.
Whatever we call them, I just love these classic bikes...

I admit, the derailleur is not original to the bike. I bought the Gitane in early 1974 as a teenager, a box of parts hanging up in the back of a bike shop; I think only the frame & fork, the crankset and brakes are still original. The 543 I bought a couple of years later, unused, in a box (the term NOS had probably not been invented yet!)

A recent acquisition - just did a little work on this before it goes back in the shed to wait for warmer times - mainly clips and straps, big rear sprocket, wrapped the bars, swapped out the rear mech so it'd work with a 34.
To complete it needs a Simplex front (an SJ102 or 103) - please say something if you have one with which you can part.

I finally managed to ride a few kilometres today on this 1970 TDF. I did a separate thread on it last year though final assembly and adjustments were just recently done. Using 25mm Vittoria tubulars for now but have some Challenge Stradas I will mount at some point. This TDF was owned by a collector who might have swapped out all of the original components for mostly Japanese from around the early '70's, they were all new and never used and the condition of the paint and decals suggests it was stored for many years.

The only original parts left are the Stronglight P3 headset, bottom bracket bearing cups,and brake cables but the housings are a bit worse for wear so looking into correct replacements. At least the bike still looks good with mostly French parts. Due to future gearing changes I opted for a Shimano Crane rear derailleur. Dia Compe centerpulls, Suntour front derailleur and shifters are all that remain from the original swap. Nice riding, very stable - rides hands free with ease but would be even better with 28mm tires, I doubt 32mm would fit due to clearance issues under fork crown.

Gitane forks are frustrating that way, but a silver lining is that I can do a 650b swap without even having to change the calipers out to RAIDs up front!

Still, you should be able to get true 32’s up front. Unless Jean had a bit too much wine over the lunch break and cut the blades even shorter that day…

58cm supercorsa.

carried this onto a bus over the hudson as a frameset with the bb, hs, and barstem unattached, along with some random sunshine 27inchers and a slightly too wide seatpost that I probably could’ve done without.

the guy had the remainder of the parts sold off already and I had to source the rest elsewhere, but most likely the included french campy bits are original to the build.

not at all my size, so a decade’s probably way too long to have been keeping it around.

rides pretty damn smooth, tho.

Not mine (yet). Around this time of year, I start looking at Raleigh Sports/Sprite/Superbe for cooler weather commuting. I think I want to try this Gitane Tourister this year. Paint looks great, which is always a nice surprise with Gitanes. Anybody have any experience with these?