[CR]Bryan Walton's Gitane track frame..

(Example: Production Builders:Peugeot:PX-10LE)

From: "Norris Lockley" <Norris.Lockley@btopenworld.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2004 16:47:14 -0000
Subject: [CR]Bryan Walton's Gitane track frame..

Hi, Bryan.. welcome to the List.

Your frame looks very French and could well be a Gitane as that company, like Lejeune, did make a standard track bikeThe lugs are Bocama, type BBA/250 Design 14 on the head-tube, and Gitane did use a lot of Bocama stuff and also seemed to favour the short-point lug, but not normally this model. The way the track ends are brazed in without any attempt to remove any surplus metal around the ends of the stays is standard French too. The top-eyes of the seat stays would normally be fairly short ones developed out of the stay itself instead of being brazed onto the stay. This would tend to produce a top-eye less "sharp" in its appearance that a hand-produced one.. Probably only a good catalogue picture or Gitane themselves could prove the brand one way or another. If it is a60/70s model I might have some d/t transfers.

The chainset on the bike would probably have been of the steel cottered variety, possibly Solida or Nervar, preferably of the TA style spider, and would have used a TA 1/8" ring, although Bertin through Milremo did do a steel ring as well, in 3/32". As for hubs, the tried and tested Normandy or Maillard large-flange on Maviic sprint rims, with CTA , Belleri or AVA stem and bars.

Hope that helps a bit

Norris Lockley.. it's turned extremely cold again and Im getting the 'flu.