I have a Bertin with very similar graphics to yours, also black, with foil silver block letters. Can't tell in the photos, but maybe yours are foil as well. The foil letters look really cheap and tacky compared to earlier Bertin decals, so I thought maybe they were a homebrew replacement, but your bike looks to have the same ones. I'm 99.9% sure this is the same Bertin, they evidently just had a few years of very forgetable graphics.
Mine came with Spidel badged components, which should put it in the early 80's or very late 70's.
Here is an interesting website (actually blog) I found on Bertin Cycles:
http://bertinclassiccycles.wordpress.com/
I had thought Andre Bertin was actually Belgian, but this says be was born in a small village in extreme nothwest France very near the Belgian border, and established his business in the same area, again just on the French side of the border. This site discusses the evolution of Bertin bikes including the tubing used and the graphics. It does say Bertin long used Vitus extensively with 531 on some top models, but in the 80's moved to a more diverse mix including various Vitus, Reynolds and Columbus tubes. Doesn't specifically mention mixing 531 maintubes with Vitus forks, but that would not be at all surprising. Most French manufactures had models with 531 main tube, and I suspect most of them used Vitus forks and stays, even though they typically did not carry any Vitus decals.
BTW, the above blog incorporates photos from a variety of sources including eBay, Craigslist and the CR website. Interesting to see a photo of my other Bertin, which he obviously took from the CR site.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
> From: peter stock <pjstock@gmail.com>
\r?\n> Subject: [CR] bertin versus andre bertin (and mixed tubes)?
\r?\n> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
\r?\n> Date: Saturday, February 27, 2010, 10:25 AM
\r?\n> I am quite familiar with Bertin
\r?\n> bikes, and their graphics. But I came across
\r?\n> a bike branded "Andre Bertin" with very different
\r?\n> graphics.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> http://picasaweb.google.ca/
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I presume these were from the some maker but at different
\r?\n> eras when their
\r?\n> look was different.
\r?\n> Can anyone confirm?
\r?\n>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I was then directed the the CR site where another query
\r?\n> popped into my head.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> This Bertin has a 531 frame and Vitus 788 forks.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> http://www.classicrendezvous.com/
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I've never seen a bike with mixed tube manufacturers
\r?\n> before.
\r?\n> How unusual is this? a maker combining Vitus and Reynolds,
\r?\n> or other makers?