This caught my eye this morning, but is it a good bike? Will it have funny French-sized bars and stems? The stem on it looks odd and I'm contemplating making it a fast commuter with a threaded-threadless conversion and some comfy modern drop bars. I'd leave the drivetrain in tact maybe modernize the brakes, too.
Any info/opinions and persuasions are welcome!
Thanks!


https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/1963306678.html


10-speed Gitane Road Bike - $120 (Irvine / Laguna)

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Date: 2010-09-20, 4:28AM PDT
Reply to: sale-v9edm-1963306678@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

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Selling my 10-speed gitane road bike. Has been sitting in my garage taking space. Don't know much about it. Light double butted steel frame. Made in france. I believe its 58cm and should fit somone 5'11" and taller (6'1, 6'2) depending on how high you raise the seat post. Bike is pretty light, weighs about 22-23 lbs. Bike it complete and ridable but could use a tune up. Sugino and simplex components. Has front and rear eyelets for racks. If interested please email or call at xxx-xxx-xxxx.


















Location: Irvine / Laguna
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests



PostingID: 1963306678

hmmm...not 100% sure it's a Gitane, but certainly French (Simplex forged DOs are a good sign), the details aren't typical of Gitane. it probably will have FR threading...if that is off-putting then pass on it. Otherwise, seems like a high quality FR frame, repainted (?), and some weird components (the stem for one).

Don't see that it's a Gitane. Those seat stay caps say something else - LeJeune? someone on here will know. But it looks like a 70's and that means possibly French sizing and threading. Nothing to be scared of, just aware of.

Forged drops on a French bike from the 70's usually indicates that it was at least 3 tube 531 or one of the better Vitus tubesets. Not necessarily overpriced at $120 if it doesn't have issues, but not a giveaway, either.

Some early Gitane Super Corsa lugs for comparison:

note that stays used to be chrome and brazons were added at a later date..

Almost certainly French thread and tubing diameters, but a previous owner has already found a replacement stem that fits (physically, if not aesthetically). If you really want to go threadless (but why?), you'd need a new fork which would obviate the French thread issue. If the current fork/headset/stem/etc are ok, why bother changing them out?

You'd likely need to do some surgery on the drive side rear dropout to get anything other than a Simplex derailleur to work -- keep that in mind if you're thinking of a drivetrain update. Again, it appears a previous owner has already updated the crank, likely by using a new spindle with the original French thread cups. Nothing wrong with that; if it works, don't fix it.

Umm, what braze-ons?

cable guides, water bottle bosses and shifter bosses were added by a previous owner on mine. Probably done by Bernie Mickelson. I was referring to my frame pictures that I posted for comparison not the one he is looking at.

That stem might be one of those springed "suspension" jobies that came out in the 90's. Owner seemed to have attempted everyting to come up with an upright/softer ride. Not hard to reverse if you want a more sportier set up bike, but it will take a new stem and saddle at least. The stem might need to be French diameters to match up with the existing bar and steerer tube, which will be a little bit harder to find as some (good quality) French spec items are starting to get harder to find. cosider these costs before making a final decision as the price for it isn't that big a bargain to start with.

Chombi

I'm mostly interested in the threadless conversion to put in new bars and a more aggressive/lighter stem.

Sheldon has a bit on converting the stem:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/velos.html#handlebar

"

French stems are .2mm narrower where they fit into the steering column. A standard 7/8" / 22.2mm stem won't usually fit. In many cases, the limiting factor for fitting the stem in will be the headset locknut, rather than the steerer itself. Try removing the locknut before sanding down a stem. If the headset locknut is slightly tighter than the steerer, it can be enlarged easily with a small grinding wheel.
In cases where the stem really won't fit into the steerer, a few minutes work on the stem with sandpaper will usually do the trick. Wrap the sandpaper around the stem, grip it with your hand, and turn the stem round and round until it fits. You only need to remove 0.1 mm, which is 1/250", not much at all! If you convert from a French stem to a standard one, you will also need to replace the handlebars, which are a different diameter."

It actually looks a lot like a C.N.C./Raymond Fletcher frame to me. If it is they're great riding bikes.

Thanks for all of the input.

I think that I'll pass. I think there are too many unknowns and my schedule this week isn't very flexible, so it'll probably sell before I can get to it.

I also noticed that it has 27" wheels, which is also something I wanted to avoid, so I could have more tire options available.