I like this site. It is clearly biased toward Gitane, but quite openly and honestly so. Personally, my favorite French bike is Peugeot, but Gitane is a very important marque as well, with many TdF victories, albeit heavily concentrated from the mid 50's through mid 80's.
I think this highlights and importaqnt distinction among CR bikes. You might say there are two major categories. "Production" marques of which even the top model had productions of many thousands, versus small-volume custom bikes. "Production" marques would include Gitane, Peugeot, Raleigh, Schwinn, Bianchi, etc., while the custom bikes would include, Singer, Herse, Ephgrave, Jack Taylor, Masi, and US masters like Baylis, Sachs, Gordon, et al. There seems to be a segment of the CR which prefers the low-volume custom machines and views the production bikes almost with contempt, while others embrace the production marques as demonstrated by web sites like Retro Raleighs and GitaneUSA.
Personally, I tend to lean toward the production marques, even though I own and prize a few true custom machines including a Weigle and an Assenmacher. While the workmanship on the production marques was almost never as good as a true custom machine, the quality of the top models of these marques is still very, very good compared to 99% of the bicycles the average person will encounter. I mean, when compared the typical Huffy, a Schwinn Paramount, Raleigh Pro, PX-10 or Gitane TdF is truly a superb machine. Perhaps we should try to keep that in mind.
Another factor in favor of production marques like Gitane is that they had a much greater social impact than the low-volume custom machines. Hundreds of thousands, often millions, of people have owned Schwinns, Raleighs, Gitanes and Peugeots. These bikes opened up a sport and a healthier lifestyle to whole generations. In many cases, riders started out with a basic models and later graduated to the top models. I think there is a good analology to classic sports cars. Which is the better cars, a classic Ferrari Testa Rosa, or an MG-TC? No contest - the Ferrari. Which is the more important car? No contest - the MG. The same might be said of a Masi or Herse versus a PX-10 or Gitane TdF.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, TX
cmontgomery <cmontgomery15@cox.net> wrote:
Please remember before you skewer me again...gitaneusa.com is a site made
by a fan for fans. It is history and propaganda (is that redundant?).
Gitane's ARE the best bikes ever made...>
Stephan Andranian
> Costa Mesa, CA
> http://www.gitaneusa.com
One of my favorite lines from Christmas Story: "Some men are Catholics, some are Protestants. My father was an Oldsmobile man."
Craig "if it ain't English, it ain't squat (to a degree)" Montgomery in Tucson