Gitane Grand Sport Deluxe

Hello all, was doing some dumpster diving recently and came up with a Gitane Grand Sport Deluxe from the mid 70s I would guess. Everything is in fairly decent shape except that I suspect the BB / Crank is shot. Any opinions on whether spend some $ on it? I'm looking for a back up bike to stash at my folks house and have access to when I'm visiting. The fact that its a French make gives me pause. I understand they can be quirky. If I could get it in good shape for $200-$250 I think I'd go for it. Any advice / opinions appreciated.

 

With 'vintage' French made bikes, there is often a HUGE difference between a French bike made in the early 70s & one which was made in the mid-70s (I guess THAT could be said of many brands of bikes).

Depending on the actual crankset & BB which are on the frame, you can either service it (repack AND/OR replace the bearings) OR (if it is a cottered crankset) simply replace the spindle with a square taper spindle + a square taper crankset.

If your bike shop has a limited supply of vintage components in their "drawers" then almost everything you need is availble on eBay.

Most of the vintage components can be replaced with updated components of almost any subsequent vintage if you are 'handy' and inclined -- for example, I was/(am) in the process of fitting "external" BB cups on one older French frame that I have which has a French threaded BB shell ... other projects have precluded finishing the rebuild.

What type of crank is currently on the bike?

What is the reach on the brake calipers?

What is the wheel size?

How 'handy' are you with normal bike maintenance?

Post a pic.

 

So many memories of over 1000 miles on my Grand Sport. (Yes, mid-70's bike craze). Go for it, by all means. Sure, if it needs some servicing, give it a little love. (I can probably still attribute most of my wrenching skills to doing full services on my Gitane over the years I had her). As for BB, swap it out for sealed, cotterless unit now. As for front and rear derailleurs, shoot, just about anything now will handle it's gear inch range for a road bike. (I ditched the delrin Simplex stuff for Sun Tour gear before I even started riding it...later on put on some Sun Tour bar-cons and she became my ride anywhere and everywhere touring machine). Only thing to think about the "French" part, is if you do get into the BB, check out what threading specs were used..."English" or "Italian" were different enough in those days so you want to see which way Gitane went.

 

Don't judge that BB until you have it apart. It might just need some cleaning and new grease. But then you'd have to find the right size crank cotters.

If local shops can't help you with a French bottom bracket, ebay is your next best source.

 

If I''m remembering the term correctly, the cotters are the short sections of partially tapered metal which have threaded area which allows them to be both removed, and then reused to hold the crank arms to the spindle (held on by the equivalent of a nut). In all the times I cleaned and serviced the bottom bracket on my Grand Sport, never had to replace them. So, if what you have is good, it might be reused. If the cotters were left loose and wallowed out the spindle, then its fully time to consider replacing either with new version of same or moving forward to fitting a cotterless crankset. Either way, you'll need to know the threading on the BB shell.

 

Yup.

In most of the servicing of these that I've done, the cotters were destroyed on removal. Perhaps a day of soaking in Liquid Wrench would make removal and reusal more feasible.

 

Have been digging around a little to see if cottered cranksets still show up on the 'Net, hence, sources for replacement cotterpins. Read through S. Brown's missives and found he had a tougher time than I did with them...but truth be told, always lusted after a cotterless conversion for my fine French steed. I lived and died by Liquid Wrench and WD-40, backing the nut off and hitting with a block of very dense wood between cottterpin/nut and hammer.