Cycling in Melbourne Australia

French bicycles in Melbourne

Hello all,

Am interested in knowing what people's thoughts are on French bikes.. from the 70s/80s era and whether you see many around the streets in Melbourne? The likes of Peugeot, Gitane, Motobecane...

I have a Gitane myself, and love it... It has some peculiarities when parts require a change...

Above all; from my experience I believe they ride incredibly nicely and they look heads above the rest - speaking specifically of the vintage 70s/80s era bicycles

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Tags: French, gitane, motobecane, peugeot, secondhand, vintage

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Permalink Reply by melbcyclist on November 3, 2010 at 2:39pm

Want.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Ward on November 8, 2010 at 11:58am

Now thats what I call a bike !! Fantastic, only thing I would change is gears, but I have the same saddle (and colour) & bag on my bike I love it

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Permalink Reply by Cory on October 13, 2010 at 9:42pm

Two I saw on Elizabeth St a few days ago.

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Permalink Reply by Little Bike Blog on October 23, 2010 at 9:27pm

Well indeed! I too ride a 1970s Gitane, (on the weekends anyway), it's a folding bike no less, and I love it. I don't know the engineering ins and outs but apparently they are very well made according to one-who-knows-these-sorts-of-things. I have seen a couple of Gitanes and more Peugeots around... you can check them out here if you like ...http://littlebikeblog.wordpress.com/category/gitane-and-peugeot-fol...

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Permalink Reply by John E. on October 28, 2010 at 2:24pm

I'm on a 89 Pug Ventoux, yellow/black with splashes of colour; great bike, the geometry felt great when I first got on it, I've changed some of the running gear but it still has the original derailluers & cranks. I run a mobile bicycle servicing business & have serviced some of these oldies & have found some of the womens bikes to be less than stable - weak frames allowing too much flex, plus small diameter bearing surfaces leads to movement, plus poor/outdated brakes - so be careful riding some of them around!

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Permalink Reply by Little Bike Blog on October 28, 2010 at 3:26pm

Thanks for the warning. Will be gentle.

Here's a bit of trivia, I spoke to a guy who was on a Peugeot folder today and he said that in France in teh 60s-70s they were given away with luxury cars (presumably peugoet) - how about that?

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Permalink Reply by John Gould on November 3, 2010 at 6:59pm

French Bottom Brackets?
I work on mainly 70's bikes and have done a number of French ones including Peugeot, Gitane, Motobecane and Vitus. The problem sometimes is the French threads on the forks - for the headset- and the bottom bracket. Both theses parts eventually wear out and need replacing. French threaded parts have not been made for years. A few months ago Wolf and I made a French threaded Bottom Bracket and fitted it to a mid seventies Peugeot. It worked. So we have had one success. Many of the French bikes of the era were made from good quality Reynolds steel and still ride very well so - its worth the effort! If anyone needs some help let me know...Ciao John - Pista Bikes

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Permalink Reply by Keir Whitcher on November 4, 2010 at 2:59pm

I restored a Peugeot last year and solved the bottom bracket problem by buying a Phil Wood bb and specifying French cups which they supply. Admittedly the bb and cups cost more than the frame from ebay but makes for a very smooth ride. Also you are able to get the original decals online as well if you are doing a restoration. They really finish the project nicely!