Rich,
Indeed, it sounds as though you scored a rather unusual version of Gitane's Tour de France - one which I personally refer to as their "Super TDF", although no such official designation ever existed as far as Cycles Gitane or their U.S. distributors were concerned.
I could write volumes of information on these oddball bikes inasmuch as I have a rather personal interest in same after having purchased one new in 1973 (...I still have it to this day, although the frameset is a tad small for me now since I did manage to grow a bit since my high school "daze"). Perhaps also worth mentioning, my own TDF is in desperate need of a thorough rebuild at this point in time - and I can finally begin to seriously contemplate that undertaking now that Greg Softley has done such a wonderful job of creating accurate reproduction decals - and I can personally attest their appropriateness after having taken the time to carefully compare his newly minted reproductions to both unused originals I have on hand as well as those decals which are still affixed to my trusty TDF.
In any event, I might suggest that you start by checking out the following links:
.. and ...
http://www.gitaneusa.com/
When you return Stateside and things settle down a bit, you are invited to give me a call on the old "land line" (...I will provide you with the appropriate contact numbers "OFF LIST") so that we can discuss all manner of things in further detail.
Best regards,
Robert "Gotta Love Those Gitane TDFs" Broderick
..the "Frozen Flatlands" of South Dakota
Sioux Falls, USA
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Richard Robinson Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 7:05 PM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Photos from Stockholm, Sweden
I wanted to share some photos of my recent trip to Scandinavia. I saw
several bike shops, most specializing in city bikes, but some had
collections of old road bikes. The shop I enjoyed the most was located in
the old part of Stockholm, Cykel Sport. This may be one of the oldest bike
shops still operating in Stockholm, located in the old city, Gamla Stans
Stockholm, Sweden. The shop is owned and operated by a father son team and
well worth the visit. Martin (son) took several minuets out of his busy
schedule to show me some of his collection. He also provided the contact
info for the cool shop in Oslo I visited several days later. Time
permitting I will include my photos of Norway and Denmark.
Here is the link.
http://www.wooljersey.com/
Enjoy the photos.
By the way, I was able to purchase a very interesting mid to late 60's
Gitane TdF the other day from eBay. What makes this bike so interesting is
it originally came equipped with Record rear and front (w/cable stop)
derailleurs. Additionally, it has the full chrome decal on the head tube
that seems to be extremely rare: also Campy dropouts, no brazed rear
center-pull brake stop, and fork crown with long points. All decals on the
bike are identical to a Service Course, including right fork decal. The
only exception is the small chrome silver decal on each side of the down
tube identifying it as 'Professional Tour De France'. As soon as I return
home mid week I'll post some photos. In the meantime, was this normal with
the Gitane bikes? Could this be something unusual? I was also able to
purchase the original wheels that came with the bike and from the photos
they have what appear to be a set of early 60's Normandy hubs with oil
clip. Was this original equipment? Perhaps someone on the list can shed
some light on this bike.perhaps Robert Broderick.
Regards, Rich Robinson
On the road in Copenhagen, Denmark, but normally from Jacksonville NC
_______________________________________________
Classicrendezvous mailing list
Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
http://www.bikelist.org/
_______________________________________________
Classicrendezvous mailing list
Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
http://www.bikelist.org/