In a message dated 2/11/02 3:59:57 PM Eastern Standard Time, velocio@meta-net.net writes:
> Ummm ... given that it's not stock, worn, has some rust - I would say it's
> safe to say it has zero collector value at this point. For whatever it's
> worth, I've owned two Gitane TdFs now, and have never paid more than $75
> for one.
I think I paid about that for mine, with the Tipo & Mavic Monthlery tubular wheels, and I may have gotten a Claud Butler "Record Tipo Strada" in the deal. I maight build the Claud for the Cirque, depending on whether my 25 1/2" Raleigh Professional frameset is ready (Ken).
Gilbert recently allowed me to ride an all-original 1975 PY-10LE (?) 25 1/2"
in like-new condition (some minor touch-ups) that he was selling on
consignment for $450 if I remember right. If not, he'll correct me, for sure.
> A footnote about Gitane's nicer bikes of that era - they can be a tad spooky
> as fixies, I think. The BB height tends to be kinda low, both on the older
> TdF and the slightly nicer Professionnal Super Corsa models. I know I was
> always a bit apprehensive even when using 165mm cranks on my PSC fixie.
>
I'm riding a Gitane Tour de France 24 1/2" (I think) as a 6-speed with somewhat modified equipment, and it is about the best climbing bike I own, though it really seems to have a lower top speed during descents than anything else I ride. That said, the frame build is horrible, with bits stuck on all akimbo. I had to use the Park fork tools to straighten the fork blades to the point where they were more or less aligned, and it required a LOT of bending. Plus, there are gaps and blobs all over at the lugs. That it holds together at all is rather a wonder, and I admit that sometimes I DO wonder...
I wouldn't trust it as a fixed gear conversion. Adrian Hand is riding my spare fixed gear conversion, an old Falcon son Aaron used to ride, now. I ride a Miyata fixed gear with a front brake and Aaron got a KHS with a bent seat tube off the Net, but the Gitane is too "oddly" brazed to give me confidence in it as a fixed gear.
I did do a couple of Peugeot UO-8 conversions while working at the Durham
Cycle Center, and no one died.
> Final odd note - yeah, I may have been identified with Peugeots - but in all
> brutal honesty, I think the comparable Gitanes handle better.
This might vary from frame to frame or by frame size. The 25 1/2" Peugeot PY-10LE Gilbert allowed me to test ride rode rather sluggishly, compared to Aaron's 23 1/2" one or my Gitane. The difference was remarkable, and was why I didn't buy it - even though it matched son Aaron's down to the decals.
> Russ Fitzgerald
> velocio@meta-net.net
So, Russ, where have you been since rfitzer ? Have any big Peugeots for sale ?
Glenn Jordan - Durham, NC