My first "good bike" was an early 70s Tour de France. I paid $273 for it new in 1973. Photo of my Gitane at this link:http://ciocc-cat.angelfire.com/ciocc_cat_bc.html As shown in the photo, I replaced the stock Simplex derailleurs with Campy (including a Gran Turismo rear to handle the wide range 14-34t freewheel I installed for the steep hills of Fayetteville, Arkansas). In the mid-70s I rode my Gitane to classes at the University of Arkansas and on club rides with the Washington County Wheelmen. Interestingly enough, my Tour de France came with a Sugino "Mighty Competition" crankset which I replaced early on with a Stronglight 93 to get a lower low gear. Steve Whitting
"The Ciocc Cat"
Prairieville, Louisiana USA
Website at http://ciocc-cat.angelfire.com/
From: Dan Evans Design <danevansdesign@yahoo.fr> Subject: [CR] gitane tour de france To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010, 4:08 PM
dan evans aquitaine france
hello to everyone.
i would like to ask everyone about there thoughts on an early 70s gitane" tour de fance" frame. 531 frame and forks with some intresting square looking dropouts which are chromed. i'm just wandering how these frames are viewed around the world. are they respected, collected or rejected? they seem quite fond of them in the US.
any thoughts appreciated.
dan evans
aquitaine
france