I inherited this bike from my late mother and had the bottom bracket replaced and new pads put on. I’m trying to figure out if I should sell it or maybe convert to a single speed or make some other sensible and inexpensive upgrades that would make it more comfortable for me to ride?
by cfarivar
5 Comments
what is uncomfortable about it? You already bought the double crankset, might as well stick with gears.
Curious, was the bottom bracket French-threaded, and how much did it set you back?
It’s a pretty low end bike, I would just try to work on the general fitment without sinking anymore money into it
If you were buying a bike, would you have chosen a roadbike?
Is this bike too small for you (judging from the amount of seatpost showing, I’d guess it is)?
Does in have sentimental value to you? The fact that you mention selling it, makes me think it does not.
In what way is it not comfortable? If it was just a saddle or bars issue, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but if it is too small (likely) that can’t really be solved.
Why do you think a single-speed conversion would be better for you?
As u/thisquietplace says, it is a lower end bike. but it is lower end among bike shop brands; it is not Walmart garbage. It isn’t worth sinking money into.
**If** it had a lot of sentimental value (eg. your mom loved the bike/you have lots of fun memories of riding with her) **and** the bike wasn’t too small, it wouldn’t be too unsensible to get a comfortable saddle and maybe switch out the bars/stem.
If it is just a bike that mom owned, I’d clean it up real well, take good photos and ask $150.
ride it
This is a hodgepodge of original and replacement. I was about 15 years old when these Gitanes started showing up in the Midwest USA in about 1972. This was when I first started to get serious about bikes and tore these down & reassembled to teach myself how bikes worked. I bought the Interclub which was the model above this but otherwise only differed in the rims/tires (sew-ups) and chromed fork ends. I don’t think the rear wheel is original, definitely not the crank. Deraillers were the old plastic Simplex so these are not original.
I don’t think this bike is worth putting much money into, unless it has loads of sentimental value. In the used bike market it’s worth… less than $50. Maybe $20. Or $10. French threaded headset (available) and bottom bracket. Rear hub doesn’t look original so it could be English threaded. There are better vintage bikes out there. Even though I have a soft spot in my heart for Gitane, it’s where I really started after my Schwinn Varsity (which objectively was a better bike, although I didn’t know it at the time).