Note, this is posted in the single speed section. I was recommended to try it here too.

Earlier this month my soon to be father in law gave me a Gitane Service Course. Part of the label is missing for the model. What I was told is that his friend got the bike in the 70s and later down the road my FIL got it from him. Its been hanging in his garage for a number of years.

So, today I had a chance to get a good look at it and give it a good cleaning. As of now the frame is stripped of all components, except for the seat, crankset and handlebars. The frame does show its age. The paint is faided in most spots, chipped and rusting in a number of areas.

What I'm looking at doing is turning it into a single speed due to the fact all of the deraileurs are beyond repair. The brakes are still useful, Weinmann calipers. Some cleaning and they will be back to a useable state. The wheels are junk, cracking in a few spots where the nipples are and the spokes are rusting.

What Im wondering if the frame, fork, and original gearset would be worth the effort into getting it running. My concerns are that the rust is weakening the frame. If not I was thinking of if I should strip the frame, prep prime and paint it or leave it in its current state showing its character. Oh, one thing I like about the frame is that it was hand made, and it has the licencing info from CA and HI, adding to its character.

I do have pics, I dont have the time at the moment to upload them.

Hello zack, what do you mean the derailleurs are beyond repair? are they bent? are they rusted in two?

I think before you do anything you may regrett you ned to post some pics. I know Menomonee Falls, WI is pretty flat but one day you may end up down by Prairie Do Chicken and wish you had some different gears.

Pretty much my goal for this bike is to make it into a commuter that I dont need to worry about being stolen as much as my trex 7.1

1. Around here, anything gets stolen, from the Walmart crap to the good stuff.

2. I can redo/replace derailleur system with used bits for about the same as it costs me to convert to SS. Others may be more creative/more efficient.

3. Old rigid frame MTBs make terrific commuters IMHO, and an ugly one MIGHT be less likely to get stolen.

4. 70s french bike = french threading, which tends to cost quite a bit more for parts (and very limited choices). In particular, BB can be a bit of a challenge, just a couple of options out there on new stuff, at 3X to 5X the cost of the standard threaded parts. Now if you plan to reuse the existing bb and crankset, then that will not be an issue. LAte 1970s/early 1980s can = swiss bottom bracket, look out on those....

Pics of bike and components.

Go internally-geared hub rather than SS. I bet the rust isn't that bad, a little bit of scratch-X goes a long way towards bringing out old faded paint.

Taking your advice, I am holding onto all the original gear that was stripped off earlier this morning. The front deraileur is a suntour compe-v and the rear is a simplex simples-prestige brevete. it also has S.G.D.G on it. the shifters were also simplex too.

That Simplex Prestige stuff was pretty crappy. But any of the Suntour stuff is pretty good. Compe V is fine, I've had it on several bikes.

Single speeds are lots of fun and will build your strength, too, as you have to work to get up hills. I say go for it.

Neal

Taking a closer look at the components, they are pretty dirty form storage and who knows from what use it had, it looks as if they can be used. I will post pics soon. It's been a pretty busy day sofar so bare with me.

What I will to if i have time tomorrow is take it to a bike shop to get their thoughts on it too.