There was a track (pursuit) version and a road version of the Gitane "Delta" bike, both of which first appeared in 1984 (according to all of my sources). Prototypes may have been around before then. They differed from the Eastern Bloc pursuit bikes in that the bar was attached to the steerer tube through a cutout in the head tube. The Eastern Bloc bikes had the bar attached to an "arm" which attached to the fork at the crown, if I recall correctly.
I do have some nice pictures of Gitane "Delta" bikes my website. The Road version used a standard Campagnolo headset to hold the fork, while the track "pursuit" version used an integrated-type of headset.
Here is a good picture of the Road version (1984 TdF Prologue):
http://www.gitaneusa.com/
Here are some pictures of the pursuit version (the only one known to be in existence, by the way...although I am sure there must be others around): http://www.gitaneusa.com/
A picture of the pursuit Delta at the 1984 olympics:
http://gitaneusa.com/
That's three posts for me today! First time...I think...ever!!!!
Stephan Andranian Costa Mesa, CA http://www.GitaneUSA.com
Fred Rednor <fred_rednor@yahoo.com> wrote:
> What this reminds me of is the model (a year or
> so after the one pictured on the web site you sent)
> which had the handlebars & stem attached to the
> steering tube through a slot in the head tube...
Was that a road bike or a track/pursuit bike? I recall a few variations on that theme, with bikes meant to be used on velodromes. This included one in which the stem (so to speak) was an arm - welded to the fork - that projected upwards in front of the steering tube.
Again - if I recall correctly - the first of these were built for the East German and Soviet Union national teams. After all, with your space exploration program in decline (and without a viable race car industry such as in England) what else would your top aerodynamicists work on? Well, bobsleds I suppose, but that's a different mailing list... Do svidanya, Fred "Internationalist" Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA) (Just kidding, but I am currently am sipping French wine from a drinking glass made in the DDR)
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