Great find! Those were a rare bike ! I remember seeing one in the catalog, this was about 1971. I think I saw an actual bike, chained to a pole in San Diego one time. It was a bit ratty and not a good example of the marque.
What the heck were "Mafac Racer Luxe" brakes ?
As for the foil transfers, good luck getting replacements; you might have to make your own. Some laser printers will print on Mylar, and adhesive backed stock should be available somewhere! Had the same problem when deciding whether to re-paint my early - 70s Pogliaghi, which had foil backed transfers on the downtube. I ended up going with a somewhat later decal set. Not completely authentic, but acceptable. I found out later, when viewing Jack Bissel's stunningly restored silver Pogi, that Cyclart can reproduce the foil decals. Whether they have done the Gitane transfers would be worth a phone call.
===================================================== Mark Petry 206.618.9642 Beautiful Bainbridge Island, WA mpetry@bainbridgeisland.net
===================================================== It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent. It is the ones most adaptable and responsive to change.
Charles Darwin =====================================================
Date: Wed, 09 Apr 2003 15:35:45 -0400 From: "Martin O. Walsh" <mowalsh@erols.com> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Gitane Hosteler & Gran Tourisme
Dear Wes and CR list,
It sounds like your "find" is a pair of reworked Gitane Hostelers. My
old Gitane Hosteler is now retired to the "LARRY BLACK COLLECTION", in
Maryland. According to my Gitane catalog from listmember James Narlesky,
the two touring
(randoneur) style Gitanes from the early 1970's DID NOT have canteliver
brakes, rather they had "Mafac Racer Luxe" brakes. The Hosteler (31
lbs.) and the Gran Tourisme (25 lbs.) were the two touring bicycles in
the Gitane lineup in the early '70's. The Hosteler frameset had seamless
"lightweight steel", and the Gran Tourisme frameset featured Reynolds
531 double butted. The Hostelers were not very common and the the Gran
Tourisme even less so. Both the Hosteler and the Gran Tourisme had
fenders, front/rear racks, toe clips,straps,head/tail lights
(generator),pump and kickstand. Hosteler Crankset: Durax 36/46/52 Gran
Tourisme Crankset: CAMPAGNOLA 36/46/52 The Gitane Gran Sport was the
entry level Gitane in the early 70's.Cost about the same as a Peugout
UO-8 and the most common. The Hosteler cost about $130.00 in 1971 you
had to place a deposit on your order and wait a few months for
delivery,from Mel Pinto Imports shop called Sports and Cycles back
during the BOOM (which doesn't seem that long ago). Yours truly, Martin
Walsh in Vienna,Va. I still have my 1971 Gitane Interclub. I'm looking
for ANY INFORMATION ON FOIL DECALS FOR GITANES FROM THE EARLY 70'S
Wdgadd@aol.com wrote:
> Our town is having its twice yearly bulk trash collection day-
> always a good time to keep an eye peeled for interesting unwanted
> bicycles. I found a matched pair of old, maybe pre-1970 Gitane gaspipe
> "touring" bikes with the