Chas-
Thanks for the wonderful info. Another lister indicated that they were Huret as well. It has been a rather long time, so please forgive my hazy memory. Thanks for the link too. I am not sure of the advantage of that design, but the definitely were pretty cool and yes, given the model I had was set up with a triple up front, it had a Campy Rally rear der. and threads matched as you indicate below.
Nels Cone Seattle WA
From: Verktyg@aol.com Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:51:46 -0400 Subject: Re: [CR] Durax >>> 76ish Gitane TdF drop-outs To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org CC: emiliobozzi@hotmail.com
Nels,
I'm pretty sure that those dropouts were made by Huret. Most bikes that came with them had Huret Jubile, Challenger or Success rear derailleurs, also they had Huret front dropouts. We called them Huret "honeycomb" dropouts.
They came on Gitane Interclub and Tour de France models imported into the US between 1974 and probably 1977.
There were also a number of non US mid range Gitane models that also used them. The 1973 French Gitane catalog shows several models with those dropouts.
http://www.gitaneusa.com/
I remember seeing a mid 70s VeloSolex bike with those dropouts also a British bike, probably a Dawes from about 1976 or 77.
All of the these dropouts that I've seen were designed work with Campy compatible derailleurs. Huret had an optional part that allowed their derailleurs to fit Campy style dropouts.
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA
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