Hi! Picked up an old Gitane "ic interclub" with one Panaracer Record Tire on the back Mavic rim,and nothing in the front. Everything seems to work fine, except for missing a tire and rim! I just planned to buy a new rim and 26 inch tire. As I investigate, this is getting very complicated. Could I just put any old rim and tire on this bike? Must I replace the back one too, if it is tubular (which I think, from my reading, that it is). Tubulars sound not so sensible for regular road cruising for my 18 year old son. Thank you SO much for any suggestions.

700C tires were first introduced to fit on bikes with sew-up tubular tires, to provide a more durable training tire. So a 700C rim is the same diameter as the tubular rims- You should get set up with 700C cllinchers- (They won't fit on the sew-up rims- the rims or the whole wheels need to be changed.

you probably want a decent road bike set with a rim about 3/4 of an inch wide (19mm) or else an inch wide (25mm) if you want a little bigger tire. The small rim will take a 28mm or less wide tire, even some 32mm x 700C- they generally aren;t labled real standard-like between different tire makers- so sometimes it's best to see them before buying off the internet

I restored a 1973 Interclub this past Winter. They were Gitanes entry level racers, not the lightest bike around, about the same as a comparable Peugeot with the carbolite frame but the quality of workmanship is much better than Peugeots in my experience. I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely the bike rode.
The wheels probably are tubulars. Changing to 700c clinchers would be an advantage in some ways i.e. easier installation and flat fixing on the road but these bikes were designed for tubular tires and the ride, with the light tubular wheels and tires, is way better. There are also a lot of reasonably priced tubular tires available fron online cycling shops so don't dismiss tubulars too quickly. Depending on the age of your bike the rear axle spacing will be either 120 or 126mm so you'll have to take that into account if you shop for new wheels.

Thanks for your advice. I appreciate the details. -TD

This is what peter_d's bike looked like before he did a pretty decent number on it...



Pretty sure that I have one set of original wheels left for this bike, in case anyone is interested. They are sew-ups.

Tara, if you decide not to go with the tubular tires you may be able to find a suitable set of 700C clinchers at a local bike co-op, or you could check out the website of the guy who posted just above this, Randy Jawa may be able to help you out with a set of wheels.
One other thing, your Gitane will probably have either a Huret or Simplex front derailleur, if its Simplex and has a black or weathered greyish clamp holding it to the seat tube, take a very close look at the clamp, they often cracked where the clamp bolt screwed in.

Wow. you guys (gals) sure know a lot about bikes! Thanks again.

Peter D...Gorgeous bike. How much would you want for your tires if you find them? And are they from 1973 and need to be fixed up?

I also have an early 70's Gitane Interclub. I was a bike that I originally upgraded and modified circa 1976. It's been collecting dust since the early 80's. I'm considering restoring and upgrading again but I've been out of cycling so long I just don't know about new parts, what they cost and is it worth it.

THe bike has the following:

Tara Drake
I believe the suggestion to go with 700c clinchers is a good idea for your son. I would keep the tubular rims should you wish to try them out in the future. Search on this site for "totally tubular" for a good discussion on the topic. It will help you asses what you have and what you may want to do in the future. Nice bike BTW.

bsacco
I would not be too much in a hurry to sand and paint. As some say, it is original only once. I would clean it up and ride it before investing any money in a ground up restoration. The problem is manifold but included is the reduced value due to repaint even with original decals. If you don't care about value but interested in just have a good rider, then determine if it is one first. I don't like the idea of parting out in any case, but thats just IMHO.

Rigida 13-19 do sound rare. I have 3 1320's that I am trying to salvage from some minor alignment issues. They were nice and light in the day. I don't think there would be a problem finding tires for the 13-19's Back in the day Specialized offered 1" tires call Turbo S that had a kevlar bead so you could fold them. There are equivalent or better choices today from many manufacturers.

That's no Gitane bsacco,
That's a Campagnola bike!


That classic Gitane is more than worth it to restore and get back on the road.
Gitane replacement decals are all over eBay to choose from if you want to get it back to it's former looks....

Chombi

bsacco

See this thread and order some 27 X 1 Paselas right now! You won't find a better deal.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...TiresDirect-nt

Yikes! My first real road bike was a '71 Gitane Interclub. Durafort (sp?) tubing--not sure whether that was fancy name for hi-ten or something better. Steel cottered cranks and Huret Alvit, Mafac Racers, etc., but the real difference over other lower end bikes was tubular tires, and if you could choose one thing to make a bike faster (or more efficient, if you prefer) that would be it.

I could have stuck with that bike longer--it was everything I needed for club rides, but graduated to an all Campy Cilo Pro a year or so later because I lusted for Campy, but I outgrew that quickly, and got the Merican Pro frame to hang the Campy on, which I have to this day.

The Interclub rode well--so yours is worth some time and trouble to restore, IMO. 700c clinchers will definitely fit since it was spec'd with tubular tires.

The owner of the big local bike shop (Wilber Scott) once told me the Junior state champoinship was won by a kid on an Interclub wearing tennis shoes--must have been '70 or '71.

IIRC, the interclub was kind of their base level "sport touring" bike, back in the 80's. Nothing fancy at all and may have low spec tubing. comthing maybe comparable to Peugeot PH10s., so a solid enough frame to mod up for performance improvements, but don't ever expect top line race handling or super light weight from it even after mods, as it was never its mission in life.

Chombi

I think it's almost exactly comparable to a Peugeot PA10. It was an entry level or junior racer. I like my PA10 a lot, but it's had some upgrades.

thanks Chombi but this Gitane Interclub I acquired in 1975 used. So, it's at least early 70's maybe late 60's. It was white with all the Gitane Interclub stickers before I stripped it and re-painted it silver. It came with the chrome on the forks and a PIVO headstock, steel 27 1/4" rims, center pull brakes, Normandy hubs, steel arm crank etc... All that I ended up replacing. So now I stuck with a decision to either restore the Gitane Interclub with modified (upgraded) parts or just part the entire bike out on EBAY. Any suggestions are welcomed.