The Gitane track bike is, for me, an object of desire. I owned a white, 21 incher, cottered crank, steel bars, bolt-on hubs, tubulars, etc, just like Todd described in the 70's. Never saw a track, but rode in the street, in city traffic. Could it have come from Stuyvesant in NY? I think they supplied the shop in Philly where I worked after school. (Anyone local to Phila. remember The Mogul Ski Shop?) Got a lot of pleasure just by lifting the bike to carry it. "Hey, feel how light this bike is!" Besides my Bottecchia Pro, I would really like to reclaim one of these as a simple way to reconnect with days past.
Fred
**********************************
Fred Yavorsky
Jenkintown, PA
fred@twistcomm.com
http://twistcomm.com/
> From: "ternst" <ternst1@cox.net>
> Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2005 12:55:13 -0700
> To: <thteach@sonic.net>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Subject: Re: [CR]Gitane Track Bike ID
>
> The replies to the old Gitane track bike models is "ride" on. These bikes
> were sold as entry level models and many cyclists bought them for winter
> fixed gear training and training on the track for bike handling and interval
> sprint and speed work to augment their road riding without busting the
> budget. We sold quite a few in the'70's.
> Ted Ernst
> Palos Verdes Estates, CA
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <thteach@sonic.net>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Monday, April 25, 2005 10:06 AM
> Subject: [CR]Gitane Track Bike ID
>
>
>> I'm sure someone descibed this before.
>>
>> In the 70's Mel Pinto from D.C./Virginia area imported Gitanes fior the
>> east and midwest regions. One model was a low end fixed gear. It was
>> comparable in build to the "interclub" model. It had a hi-tension steel
>> frame, steel cottered crank set (nervar, solida), wheels with Normandy
>> hubs and Mavic rims, a Pivo stem and bars, and a plastic saddle with a
>> conventional steel seat post. Can't remember the pedals, probably low end
>> lyotard
>>
>> It sold in the mid 100's. It was a good value for the young racer who
>> wanted to try track without spending a fortune to do so. It was also good
>> as an early season trainer. We were told to start the season riding a low
>> fixed gear. It was cheap enough so that you didn't worry about chipped
>> paint, corrosion and other deteriorating aspects of riding in cold/wet
>> parts of the country.
>>
>> Todd Teachout
>> Hercules, CA