bought this bike and new here

[jellyfishhh]

Hi,
I bought this bicycle here in Spain. I has a bit of rust but it looks ok.
Should I restore it? is it worth? It's my first vintage and quite different to my felt F1 hhehee.

[scozim]

Definitely restore it and ride it. It's got a desirable crankset, the derailleurs can be upgraded and the honeycomb dropouts are fantastic.

[sandranian]

It's a top-of-the line Gitane frameset from the mid 1970's. You won't find a nicer riding bike out there. That is full Reynolds 531 tubing. Classic.

[verktyg]

It looks like you have a 1974-75 Gitane Champion Du Monde. They were the second from the top Gitane models during those years.

They were mainly a European model and not that many made it to the US.

The frame was made of Reynolds 531 tubing. The one that I owned had lighter gage tubing than was used on most Gitane frames back then.

The chrome looks a little rough. I suggest that you try some medium then ultra fine steel wool on it. Some people suggest copper or bronze wool but that stuff is made for woodworking. Any fine bit that get into the wood surface will not stain like steel wool will.

The paint's a toss up between touching it up or a re-spray. A professional paint job will set you back $200-$400 - re-chroming another $200+.

You can get replacement decals from Cyclomondo on eBay or from his website at cyclomondo.net. They cost ~$45.00 plus $3.00-$5.00 shipping.

http://cyclomondo.net/page11.htm

My first suggestion is to clean the bike up a little, repack the bearings, put on some new brake and derailleur cables plus new cable housings then make it rideable with what ever else it needs.

Take it out and see how it rides and handles to make sure it fits you and you like it before spending any more money on it.

A frame that's too big or too small is not worth messing with.

You will NEVER recover the amount of money you'll spend on a good restoration so make sure the bike works for you first. Do it as a labor of love!

This is the Champion Du Monde frame that I had. Unfortunately it was too big for me.



Against my advice, the person that I sold it to invested maybe $1000.00 in it and then tried to sell it. He probably only lost $500.00-600.00...

$1000. 00+ later




Good luck

[jellyfishhh]

Thank you very much.

I live in Norway and I bought this bike to ride one month every year when I'm in Spain. I didn t pay a lot but I looks quite scary to full restore a bike.

I wil post some pics I took. I saw this on internet And I tought my bike was alike (frame and crank) but the model is not the one you suggest.
https://dneis.wordpress.com/velos/gitan ... ance-1974/

I don't even know if the components are the original ones?. As I said before, I will repair it, ride and one day I should full restore it. I didnt buy it as an investment. I would appreciate as much info as possible.

[Frenchbuilt]

looks pretty original to me except for the handle bars and stem.
I believe the TDF and Champion de monde both were pretty much the same except that in france most seem to have Sugino Cranksets. Anyway, the frames were the same, I have several.

[verktyg]

looks pretty original to me except for the handle bars and stem.
I believe the TDF and Champion de monde both were pretty much the same except that in france most seem to have Sugino Cranksets. Anyway, the frames were the same, I have several.

Well Pilgrim.... au contraire mon ami!

From the 1960s until the end of 1973 when Gitane started using Huret Honeycomb rear dropouts, European model Tour de France frames were "3 TUBES RENFORCE".

Pre-1974



Post 1974



Only the 3 main tubes were made of butted Reynolds 531 tubing. The rest was seamed whatever tubing. Up to 1968 it was usually Durifort forks and stays.

Starting at the beginning of 1969 until the end of 1973, the "all" Reynolds 531 TdFs were made for Mel Pinto Imports for the US market only.

In 1974-5 Gitane Pacific took over US distribution of Gitanes. Those folks didn't have a clue! They were SoCal entrepreneurs trying to make a fast buck off of the US bike boom.

They focused on low end and entry level bikes just when the bike boom fad was ending! After 1974 the US market had matured and many people who were still riding their gas pipe bike boom beaters were getting out of school (high school and college) and had a few more bucks to spend on their second 10 speed bike.

$200-$300 mid range bikes like the Gitane TdF, Peugeot PX10, Motobecane Grand Jubile and Raleigh Competition were becoming popular.

Gitane Pacific offered an up-scaled Interclub and a dumbed down Tour de France that was pretty much the European 3 Tubes Reynolds bike with 27" clinchers vs. tubulars that came on the earlier model TdFs.

Both of those bikes imported by Gitane Pacific were priced WAY over market value. They also had the bizarre Huret Honeycomb rear dropouts that even first time bike buyers considered the UGLY! We ended up selling most of our 1974-75 Interclubs and TdFs at cost just to get rid of them!


European model TdFs came with either a variety of different Huret derailleurs or Simplex Criterium derailleurs and after 1972 either Stronglight 93 or Sugino Mighty Comp cranks.

ALL TdFs came standard with Stronglight P3 headsets!

One way to spot a pre-1974 European model TdF, there's no chrome on the rear triangle.

The Pre-1974 European TdFs came with either proprietary Huret dropouts for Huret rear derailleurs or proprietary Simplex dropouts for... you guessed it, Simplex derailleurs.

Proprietary Huret dropouts



Proprietary Simplex dropouts



Universal Campy style dropouts



Huret Honeycomb or Spiderweb dropouts. Almost all derailleurs on the market at the time would fit on these dropouts.




In 1976 Gitane did a major upgrade on the Tour de France. The frame went back to all Reynolds 531 tubing (well almost all), 1/2 chrome rear triangle and upgraded components. Not many of them reached the US shores because by then Gitane Pacific was listing heavily like the Costa Concordia!


The Gitane Champion du Monde was one step below the Olympic which was the top European model. It had the same frame except with a shorter steerer to fit the Stronglight P3 headset.

The Olympic was all Campy except for MAFAC brakes. The Super Olympic had Campy brakes.

The Champion du Monde had French components... "les sp?cifications sont sujettes ? modification sans pr?avis"...

They seemed to have only been offered in the French Gitane catalogs and only between 1973 and 1975??? Not many of them made it to the US.


In 2009 I picked up a Champion du Monde frame that was advertised as a TdF. It was a size too big for me but the price was right and I saved it from the fate of becoming a rattle canned fixie!



It took me a little while to figure out what had. The frame had pre-1974 Reynolds stickers but Huret Honeycomb dropouts and 1974-75 Gitane decals which placed it as a 1974 model.



The chrome was really nice too.



The all Reynold 531 frame had lighter gage tubing than was commonly used on French production bikes. It took a 26.6mm seatpost which meant the seat tube had a wall thickness of .9mm x .6mm vs. 1.0mm x .7mm which was the heavier gage Reynolds.

They were pretty uncommon bikes in the US. I never saw them mentioned in the Gitane dealer literature. The few CdM frames or bikes that I've seen on eBay were listed as TdFs.

Also, Cinelli bars and stem were standard on the CdM... les sp?cifications sont sujettes ? modification sans pr?avis....

Chas. Defender of truths, buster of myths, breaker of hearts (I should be on Antiques Roadshow)

[Frenchbuilt]

Your right of course, what I ment is that there are a lot of gitanes coming up for sale here in France with the same configuration of full reynolds frame, chromed rear stays and Huret drop outs. Of the higher quality older Gitanes here, this configuration comes up quite often and with the simplex derailleurs and Sugino crankset. Regardless of the name, the bike posted seemed to have this common configuration except for the cranks.

Once stripped down, these frames seem to be lighter than the equivalent PX10 frames which feel a bit "thick"

Thanks

[jellyfishhh]

Thank you very much. You guys have so much information!! I really enjoyed reading this stuff

[mrlousi7]

I know many of you have an extensive cycling magazines library.
I'm working on a blog and website where we're trying to collect a picture for every pro race Greg ever participated in.

[jellyfishhh]

Is it possible to use this stronglight crank with new shimano spd sl pedals? I tried it and it looks like it doesnt. I' m I right? I don' want to destroy it trying it!

[verktyg]

Is it possible to use this stronglight crank with new shimano spd sl pedals? I tried it and it looks like it doesnt. I' m I right? I don' want to destroy it trying it!

The Stronglight model 93 cranks used on most French bikes have M14x1.25 metric threads. Pedals with this size thread have been obsolete since the ISO Standard for bicycle threads was adopted 25-30 years ago.

The new standard for bicycle threads in 9/16" x 20TPI (threads per inch) which was the olde British standard.

The pedals holes can be re-tapped to the slightly larger 9/16" x 20TPI size thread for use with modern pedals.

You have to find a shop with the proper taps and someone who knows how to properly use them.

Here's a set of Hozan brand pedal taps US eBay They have guide pilots to insure that the pedal threads are cut straight:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HOZAN-C-401-Bic ... 25a7809416

They're selling for $31.50 USD which is a good price. No relation to seller...

[jellyfishhh]

Thank you very much. This is just the information I wanted. I will try local bikeshops before going for the option two.

[jellyfishhh]

I thought about it and used the bike with toeclips. Nice ride.

[jellyfishhh]

Selling this one. I haven riden it in to years...