Coppi?

[BigMacAnt]

Hi, this is my first post ever...

I have been mountain biking for 2 years now and wanted to buy a road bicycle for recreational cycling on the beachfront etc. I enjoy the look of older bicycles so i found an old 70's Raleigh made here in SA and upon buying it i got given another bicycle frame and for branded Coppi. I tried to research the brand (Coppi) but nothing really came up. I would like to know if anyone has any idea on the history of this bicycle and if it's worth my while completing it. I've added pics that I hope will help.

 

[oldbobcat]

The Coppi name has appeared on countless bicycles, not all from Italy, since the 1950s. Fausto Coppi died in 1960, and so did a lot of control over commercial use of his name. Some bikes bearing his name are pretty ordinary, and some have value and generate interest.

You have an interesting one. The graceful bend of the fork blades, scalloped tube ends, and spear point lugs indicate Italian manufacture. The workmanship looks very good. The sprial drawn top tube indicates a limited production tubeset, probably made by Columbus. The lugged construction, conventional sized steel tubes, horizontal rear dropouts, and pump peg on the head tube indicate the vintage as late 1980s to very early 1990s.. The Campagnolo forged dropouts indicate quality.

The saddle, Stronglight headset, and front brake (looks like a Weinmann centerpull) indicate the bike was repurposed as a git-around bike sometime in its history.

My advice is to remove the components, clean up the frame the best you can without using chemicals or harsh abrasives, and find some local experts to show it too. But don't sell it, refinish it, or otherwise modify it without getting some second opinions. Were it mine, I'd build it with period-correct components (Campagnolo Record or Shimano Dura-Ace) and ride it. My guess would be to classify this frame as historically unique and special but not especially significant. It didn't set any trends. It looks like a well-made oddity, representative of a period when innovation didn't yet know which direction to take. I really like it.