PRESERVATION BICYCLE # 23: 1974-ish Gitane Interclub
Preservation Bikes Are Here To Stay!!!
Dang it Ned! Outta the way!
I’m French!
1974-ish?
With hand painted flowers!
*Quick preface before we jump into Preservation Bike #23…
Our hope, goal, and intention with our Preservation Bike Society (PBS) is to create new life for bikes that deserve it. Our fear, sometimes, is that people will take advantage of the program by parting these bikes out and/or reselling them on ebay for bigger bucks. Or, a dust collector picks it up to store some of their dust on. We want PBS bikes to be ridden with love!
The good news about this Gitane Interclub, is that it’s pretty much worthless from a resale standpoint, but also priceless from a “potential to be loved” standpoint! Enjoy the work ahead on this one, then enjoy the ride!
1974-ish Gintane Interclub With Flower Power!
There is nothing incredibly special about this vintage road bike, except for maybe that mini front rack and the hand-painted flowers throughout, but there’s also something incredibly perfect in that it is still a bike with all the potential to do exactly what it was designed to do… move you through town, the countryside, your neighborhood at 10-20mph with timeless class and style.
That said, it’s French and it’s rusty. “French” means French-threaded replacement parts and those can be a little tricky to find. Rusty means that you’re going to need to become really close friends with steel wool and penetrating oil. On the plus side, now’s a good time for fall/winter garage projects, and diving in now would give you something big to look forward to in the Spring!
If this bike tickles your fancy and you’re willing to put in the work, the juice will be worth the squeeze as it has limitless potential to bring you 100s of miles of joy for decades to come!
PRESERVATION BICYCLE NUMBER #23
MAKE: Gitane Interclub
MODEL: Interclub
YEAR/AGE: 1974-ish (The year Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle.” Also Nixon resigned ).
SIZE: 54cm’’ I bet most people 5’4 - 5’8 could fit this bike just fine. 5’6 is probably perfect
ADOPTION FEE: $50 (and we’ll throw in a $50 BBP gift cert to help with used parts)
RECOMMENDED REPAIRS:
BASIC: Your $50 BBP gift cert should cover most of the parts needed. Every bearing will need deep cleaning and new grease. Every bit cable and housing an housing will need to be replaced. I’m guessing 2-3 total hours of steel wool time. Tires and tubes will need replaced. You might need our help with the cotter-pinned cranks. Listen, it’s going to take a labor of love!
BETTER: Same as above but maybe invest in a new french threaded square spindled bottom bracket from Velo Orange, and BBP will have some cranks to match. This will probably run you an extra $50.
BEST (because why not): Same as above, but add cool Swift Handlebar Bag to sit on top of that front mini rack. Get some new 700c wheels and I think you could fit some new 700x38 tires (tan sidewall of course). Find a swoopy upright handlebar and top it off with brown Brooks Saddle. All that stuff will add another $300 to your repair cost. In total, your $50 adoption fee, minus your $50 gift cert, + $400 in new parts = the coolest smoothest riding 1974 French road bike east of the Mississippi!
BICYCLE HISTORY:
Hand built in France with French lugs, imported to the States, and likely originally sold and registered in Boise, Idaho! You might be able to research the registration number on the seat tube sticker to discover some extra details!