Does anyone know what model Gitane this is? Thinking about purchasing for $200 from a local used bike shop- but I wanted to find out the model.

Take a look. Likely located here.
Gitane USA - Catalogues

Grand Sport Deluxe. Great find. Enjoy it.

Great color, too. Two bills seems like a lot to me, however.

+1 at first read but it is coming from a used bike store as opposed to a yard sale. If it is in ready to ride condition with good tires/tubes then I'd buy it at $200. Also if it was for the wife or girlfriend .....

Absolutely, plus mixtes can be hard to find and in urban areas can often command a premium.

I just "overpaid" for a raleigh sport step through model for my wife. The seller was trying to convince me why the brooks saddle that was beat up to heck was worth more than the bike. The paint job was in awesome shape and that matters a lot when refurbing an old bike.

Pretty bike! That is 'retail' price but not unreasonable. And presumably buying from a source like that they've fixed as well as cleaned it up. It would make a big difference to me if the rims are alloy or steel. The hubs are 'high flange,' probably the Normandy version, and that suggests the rims are alloy. It's possible but unlikely that the hubs are Campagnolo in which case the wheelset would be worth $200.

A good deal only if the rims are not steel.

Thanks everyone for your input since this is my first bike purchase which will mostly be used for commuting around chicago ! I think I'm gonna purchase it- comfortable ride & I like that orange color.

I will have to ask if they are steel or alloy. Why is steel so much less desirable than alloy?

Retyred - it is actually for me, but I'm a female so the mixte is exactly what I'm looking for!

Orange is one of the nicest colors for these old Gitanes, CT. The steel rims on some of these old French bikes were heavy, and not great in the braking department when wet. The chrome looks cool, though, if in good condition. But just an off hand view, they look aluminum to me. Very nice bike. And it looks to be mostly all original.

Hey, CityTraveller, and welcome to the forum!

I had missed that you were in Chicago. If so, is that bike at Nearly New by any chance? If so, they are straight shooters by all accounts. I've only been there a couple of times, to buy a part or two, and everything looked to be set up well and fairly priced.

From that one picture it does look like the bike most likely has alloy rims.

Steel rims will be very shiny (or once were). They are much less desirable because they are much heavier than alloy, and more importantly because when they get wet the braking surface is like a mirror, and it's very hard for the brake pads to grab them. This means greater braking distance compared to alloy rims. If you know what to look for it'll be fairly obvious, or seller should tell you. If the bike has steel rims, you might use that as a bargaining point and try to get them to either replace them with alloys or discount the price. Used alloy wheelsets are not very expensive.

This doesn't mean that bikes with steel rims are death traps! You can ride them just fine, but need to be a bit more aware of braking distance. On a bike like that your pace is probably going to be leisurely anyway. For one thing, everyone you pass by is going to want to stop and ask you about your cool bike.

Hard to tell from the pic but it looks like it has the original MAFAC brake shoes on it. A good upgrade will be Kool Stop pads for those, CT. Ask the shop if the pads are original. If they are, they'll need to be changed out, for safety's sake.

Speaking of safety's sake, I've never trusted those MAFAC plastic brake levers, even when they were new. There is an identical metal version that you may be able to find, or you can switch to these:

https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...es-levers.html

They're much nicer than vintage levers and the price is right. I have them on two bikes.

Good point, GB. That plastic is mighty old by now and could be brittle. There are some things to consider, CityTraveler. Not to throw even a little cold water on this but.... A word or two about the rear derailleur might be helpful too. I don't know for sure but it looks like this could be the Simplex Delrin, plastic, rear derailleur. They get a lot of flack, deservedly so for some reasons, but they worked OK when new. It's not new anymore and some of them didn't age well. Make sure it isn't cracked and that the pulleys on it are not cracked either. The front derailleur was likely changed out because its body was cracked. It happens. This plastic is forty years old. For good reliability, and safety reasons, you might ask the dealer about these issues.

ChicagoAL - it is indeed from Nearly New! I'm glad to hear that you had a good experience with them! A couple friends of mine also said great things about the shop. I like that they offer a 60 day warranty on the bike... (had thought about buying a CL bike but I really have no experience whatsoever with bikes so wanted to buy from a shop).

Rootboy & GB: I will call them up tomorrow and ask about the brakes and the derailleur- when I did the test run, the brakes were pretty squeaky but they said they would fix that so maybe it needed new brake pads?
Also, I would like to add a basket to the rear if possible so I'll ask them about that too.

Thanks again for all your expertise!

So sad!! Called the shop and the bike sold already! I was in there Sat around 2pm, someone bought it later that afternoon.

search continues... Thanks for all your help however!

OH.. That's too bad. Well, another nice one will come along. You might contact Chicago AL and see if he has any leads for you.

If it's any consolation, those Frecnh bikes, while being definitely cool …I have three French bikes including a Gitane from the era…. can be a pain sometimes. The threading on most of the parts has long been obsolete and finding replacement parts if you need them can sometimes be a challenge. If those plastic rear derailleurs break it can be tricky to fit a newer, more modern version.

They're neat bikes, for sure. But in my opinion, you didn't miss out on a whole lot. Except of course, that it was orange.

Good luck in your search, CT.