Ed,You would be correct in your assessment that this is either a 1975 (...E
uropean market) or 1976 (...American market - we got the Huret honeycomb re
ar dropout treatment one year later) Gitane TdF. The "73" markings that you
see stamped into the head tube lug are the original angles of the respecti
ve lug receptacles (...something that is not visible on all bikes as these
markings are often filed off in the finishing process). It also might be wo
rth noting that said number does not necessarily mean that those very two a
ngles are, indeed, 73 degrees on your particular bike, as lugs of a given s
pecification were often "massaged" to a more appropriate angle as productio
n circumstance required.Regards,Robert "numerically challenged" Broderick..
.the "Frozen Flatlands" of South DakotaSioux Falls, USAP.S. And for whateve
r it might be worth, 1973 Gitane TdF models did have exposed chrome plating
on the lower / rear one-third of their front and rear dropouts and stays,
albeit the vast majority of those dropouts would have been Simplex and not
Huret, with the occasional Campagnolo bit borrowed from the Super Corsa in
cases where the bicycle in question was sold as a "Super TdF", or as used o
n the front fork only when paired with a Huret set in the rear.------------
-----------------------------------------------------------> From: ehbusch@
bellsouth.net> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 08
:24:01 -0500> Subject: [CR]Tour de France age question>> Hi All>> Recently
purchased what I believed to be a 1976 Tour de France, for my> next re-pain
t. It is chromed part way up the forks and has chromed> honey comb vertical
droup outs, which looks just like the 76's shown in> the Gitane web site.
What has me puzzeled is there is a tiny 73 stamped> at the top of the head
tube and at the top of the seat tube. Would this> be the head tube and seat
tube angles, or did the 73's have chrome drop> outs, and is this in fact a
1973 Tour de france?>> Any info and or any detailed photos of decals, and
their position would> be appreciated..>> Thanks>> Ed Busch> Vonore Tennesse
e USA>> --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---> multipart/alterna
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