Guys, next Friday i will be arriving in erie county PA and visiting my TDF, which lives in my mom's chicken barn most of the year. i will take it out and ride it once or twice. then i will pack it up and ship it to whoever wants to pay $125 plus actual shipping. local pick up is great but i think we only have one member in the area (hi! we should ride... i'll be in E springfield right off rt 5).
i will only be there one week, so i am offering this advance notice for those of you who may want to consider it now and need some rumination time.
i am guessing about the year when i say 1970; i really don't know. i predict i can find out by visiting Gitane usa, tho and comparing the serial numbers, once i see them again.
details from memory:
i believe it is 50 cm, it's white, with a lot of paint chips, many of which have some rust, none of it cancerous so far as i know. decals are mostly intact. it has most of its original parts, including a matching red-blue-aluminum frame pump, which is not working. it needs the gasket for the internal plunger part, which was plastic and is broken off. (it is really awesome if you don't mind me saying so.) i took off the mafac brake levers and am not sure if i still have them, but i did for sure keep the st. etienne bars and pivo stem, which you, the buyer are welcome to. original pedals but no toe cages. i will keep my women's brooks saddle, which i put on it, but have a leather men's saddle which the buyer may have, brand unknown at this time, but i believe it to be era-appropriate. more info later on that, please inquire. the rest is still there: mafac brakes, simplex derailers, 27" wheels, french hs, bb, shifters. i can't remember if i changed out the seatpost.
i overhauled it about 12 years ago and have put about 500 miles on it since. i love the bike, but it is getting decrepit in my mom's barn, although it is wrapped in a tarp about 358 days of the year. i will replace it with something a bit more modern and more able to withstand the environment, but i do hope one of you many Gitane collectors will give it a good home and restore it to its former glory, as a rider or not. it deserves better than what i am doing for it. it would clean up pretty well or be a good candidate for full restoration since so many of the parts are present and the decals / foil are so easy to get.
i will be taking photos to send to whoever requests them, and put them up somewhere on the web, and will have more info to any questions after July 9th, when i actually have the dear thing in front of me. once i get there i may only be online once or twice a day, but will be glad to take phone calls. i want it to have a good home. pay pal is a-ok and i am open to trades for small on-topic road bikes/frames if anyone cares to offer me off list. or haggle with me (off list) i won't be offended. very truly yours,
devon warner
in sunny san francisco, CA USA