Keep the French "flying purple people eaters" alive for another century! :thumb: They're definitely beautiful colors from an era that is long gone (but definitely not forgotten). Great post. :ride:

Thanks Kinst_VonSterga,
Yes, some of those classic old colors really send me back. By the way, anyone interested in trying to replicate this color, I found the Testors "Plum Crazy" to be a very close match. Perhaps just a hint too red but with a 1-2% addition of dark blue, might be just about perfect. From a previous post I did regarding trying to touch up this bike, I gather Plum Crazy was a Mopar color. As I remember, the color was the reason I bought this bike.

Cool bike rootboy.

In 1980 the Norwegian Olympic team came to the States to race, 1980 was the Moscow boycott. They were sponsered by Gitane. They rode purple Gitanes with white saddles and bar tape. It was quite a site to see a dozen matching purple bikes at the starting line. Dag **** Lauretzen was one of the notable riders from that team that went on to a long pro race career.

Why cant I type the name ******?

Sounds like Auto

**** **** ****

0tt0

Beautiful paint and decals. My first C&V rehab was my own purple TdF, but I stupidly had it repainted, including the chrome. Seeing your photos made me regret doing that all over again.
I will admit, though, that the upside down moustache bars really hurt my eyes. Maybe some modern aluminum north road bars would be just as functional and not look hideous?

Somebody had to say it.

Well, I was shooting for something short of hideous. Just an experiment.

I didn't meant that to sound harsh, though it probably did. Experimenting is good. I just don't like the way moustache bars look, especially when they're flipped. But that's just me. The bike is beautiful. I wish I'd left mine alone in all its purple glory, though the paint was moderately scratched and the foil stickers were pretty tattered.

That's OK jonwvara,
I appreciate it. Yeah, I'm not too keen on the way it looks either. Kinda funny looking. Some day I'll put the original drop bars back on it and bring it back to stock. Just trying to make a rideable bike for this busted up back of mine, but, in retrospect, Northroad bars would've looked a lot better. Thanks for the response. All opinions considered valuable.

Wow! What can I say that everyone else hasn't already? That is one stunning bike! Awesome job!

Your bike is in glorious condition. Although it is possible for me to find bike cheap here in france, they look like junk in comparison to that!

Damn, I was set on doing my TdF in orange, but this purple is nice! I might reconsider....

I don't know much about Gitane but there is one on Charlotte NC CL today. Yours looks much nicer.
http://charlotte.craigslist.org/bik/2371449694.html
Ed

Beauty, Rootboy! Really, really nice.

I'm also not a fan of the bar orientation, but that's how it works for you that's how you should rock it.

Thanks Colonel,
And all. I know what you mean. The more I contemplate the more convinced I am that these old "ten speeds" just don't look right with anything but their drop bars. Heck, I think this looked odd even when the moustachios were right side up :) Ah well. It's sort of comfy but ....
And Eddy, thanks. That CL bike is probably a Grand Sport model, or something. I think the seller has it confused with something he's seen on ebay and is asking about 3 times what it's worth.
Well, I'll ride this for a while as is and then, back to the Pivo death stem:D

Orange is way cool too Bennie222. I think I like them equally well, with green a close second.

Thank you Beckib

Here's mine:

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f1...a/e85cfb39.jpg

Ooo,
I've always liked that color too. Really nice bike.

Nice purple Gitane! The inverted moustache bars are different, all right - I think it kind of works with the brake levers out where they are, but I have mine set up more like the old Bridgestone arrangement, and I don't think inverting the bars would be as comfortable riding with my hands closer to the center.

Love the way the chrome and polished alloy look against the purple paint. That really came out clean, too.

Thanks K,
I'll have to go look up what the Bridgestone arrangement" looked like.

What a stunner! You did a beautiful job. I don't think the bars look that bad, and I hear you regarding the back problems. May I suggest these "Belleville" bars from VO? I've seen bars like these on a lot of old French city bikes and I think they look pretty good:

Kinda like this:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=201617

I like to ride with my hands on the hoods too sometimes. Having the bars slope down from the center fits the way my hands naturally settle... if you ride more with your hands back on the ends of the bar, that wouldn't matter so much.

Thanks Devin and Knife, for the input. Those Belleville bars look like a good option. No rise to speak of but that might be a good thing. I'm not sure a whole lot of rise is advisable while using a B-17. And K, that lever placement does look potentially more comfortable. I'm used to riding on the hoods too, on drop bars, and my placement makes doing that a bit more difficult. I'm also wondering, not having too much experience using anything but drop bars, is it a bad idea to use "standard" brake levers, or "original" levers, like the Mafacs, on upright bars? Were they designed with too much "throw", being designed, as they were, for drop bars? Thanks guys.

That is one seriously beautiful bicycle you have made. The detail and the polishing are excellent. I really enjoyed your pictures and narrative.

Bill

Thanks Bill !
All I can really take credit for is taking apart, cleaning it up and putting it back together. Well, and putting on a new saddle and bars ...and a new set of wheels. Glad you like it. Thank you. Scott