Hi Mark,
I would agree with Jerry about the AVA bars and also with his guess of "GB" as the maker of the bars found on your bike.
Most of my own GB bars actually have the GB logo and the wording "British Made" on the left, and some even state the model name as well, but I think this varied a bit depending on year of manufacture. If you check the right hand end of your bars you may find more info (such as a model name, or possibly even the bar's end width) stamped on your bars.
By the way, the 3TTT stems "usually" had 22.2 mm diameter quills... However, occasionally they were also made with a narrower diameter, designed to fit specifically into French 22.0mm steering tube steering tubes - and, yes, they were actually stamped as being made for that size. Although I've seen those before, I never thought to check the actual clamp diameters - which I would assume would have still been designed to fit 3TTTs own handlebars. Those were all 26.0 mm, but my own Record stems really do clamp down enough to securely grip 25.4 mm bars, which were a more common road bike bar diameter during that era. On the other hand, perhaps they even made some suited to accept 25.0mm French bars as well... ya never know.
Regards,
Bob Hanson, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
> [... where temperatures have been in the 95° f. range almost daily -
since early May]
"veterinary technician" wrote:
Thank you, the original stem is a "3ttt RECORD mm105" made in Italy. I maybe should have mentioned that the bike was built for a guy who never came and picked it up. My dad purchased it brand new from a cycle shop when him and mom were dirty hippies bumming around France.
Mark Steinke Denver,CO USA
>Jerry Moos wrote:
>
>Most of the TdF's of that era I've seen (including my own 1972) have
unmarked AVA bars. My guess is that English made bars would be unmarked
(in the visible area) GB bars like came on the Raleigh International and
models below the International. They would have looked very similar to
the AVA's. However, French bars, or a French stem would have been 25.0
mm, while English bars would almost surely have been 25.4 mm. What is
the stem?
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Big Spring, TX
>
>veterinary technician wrote:
>
> At the very end of the L side (where you would pop in the end cap) is
a stamp: "England". I have always said that one thing you could never
accuse Gitane of is consistancy. I believe that the guys grabbed
whatever parts were in the shop that day. Can anybody offer a thought as
to what the English bars may be? I like em'