Yard Sale Cinelli ??

Quoted message said:

Anyway, halfway on my ride I decided the new front wheel needed a field
truing job. I flipped the whole bike upside down only so find the fateful
words on the casting of the bottom bracket shell: Cinelli.

I really had not looked the frame closely, but now I realized that this is
very nice indeed. The lugwork is immaculate, and the cast parts are
gorgeous. On the inside of the forks are lugs that reinforce the fork
crown. These have 3 holes each. Seatpost is a 26.8.

CInelli bottom brackets were used by many manufacturers; there were a common
frame building component available through distributors. The seatpost size
being 26.8 is an indication that it might *not* be a Cinelli frame, since
older ones were 26.4mm (an internal sleeve was used to reinforce the seat
collar area) while later ones were 27.2mm, perhaps some 27.0 if they used a
heavier tube. 26.8mm implies a seat tube butted at both ends, which wasn't
common with Italian bikes. Could be a Windsor, a sort of faux Mexican-made
Cinelli look-alike.

If my memory serves me well, anyway. This stuff goes back quite some time.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"Dave Mayer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:rcccg.179967$7a.25991@pd7tw1no...

Quoted message said:

Bought the remnants of a road bike at a yard sale last weekend. Nice
frame, but the wheels were a mess, and the seatpost/seat was missing. The
stock brakes were Campagnolo Super Record, and the hubs are 7-speed
Records. Bar/stem is Cinelli.

The frame has been repainted. I put some new wheels and dual-pivot brakes
on it and had some fun today by riding it on a 2-hour tour. Climbs well,
descents well; smooth ride. It has fairly steep angles, especially in the
head tube. It is too big for me, but my plan was to fix it and then sell
it to a pal at work as a rain commuter.

Anyway, halfway on my ride I decided the new front wheel needed a field
truing job. I flipped the whole bike upside down only so find the fateful
words on the casting of the bottom bracket shell: Cinelli.

I really had not looked the frame closely, but now I realized that this is
very nice indeed. The lugwork is immaculate, and the cast parts are
gorgeous. On the inside of the forks are lugs that reinforce the fork
crown. These have 3 holes each. Seatpost is a 26.8.

Questions: when was this made? Were Cinelli bottom bracket shells used by
any other framebuilders? Now what should I do with this?

Dave Mayer said:

Bought the remnants of a road bike at a yard sale last weekend. Nice frame,
but the wheels were a mess, and the seatpost/seat was missing. The stock
brakes were Campagnolo Super Record, and the hubs are 7-speed Records.
Bar/stem is Cinelli.

The frame has been repainted. I put some new wheels and dual-pivot brakes
on it and had some fun today by riding it on a 2-hour tour. Climbs well,
descents well; smooth ride. It has fairly steep angles, especially in the
head tube. It is too big for me, but my plan was to fix it and then sell it
to a pal at work as a rain commuter.

Anyway, halfway on my ride I decided the new front wheel needed a field
truing job. I flipped the whole bike upside down only so find the fateful
words on the casting of the bottom bracket shell: Cinelli.

I really had not looked the frame closely, but now I realized that this is
very nice indeed. The lugwork is immaculate, and the cast parts are
gorgeous. On the inside of the forks are lugs that reinforce the fork
crown. These have 3 holes each. Seatpost is a 26.8.

Questions: when was this made? Were Cinelli bottom bracket shells used by
any other framebuilders? Now what should I do with this?

Cinelli BB shells are very common and were used by many Euro builders
BUT good find, nice bike and a reminder that 'they don't build them
like they used to".

Dave Mayer said:

I really had not looked the frame closely, but now I realized that this is
very nice indeed. The lugwork is immaculate, and the cast parts are
gorgeous.

In which case it can't be a Cinelli... Their finishing was only average
at best. Design was excellent, but file marks were common as well as poor
paint/chrome.

Quoted message said:

 On the inside of the forks are lugs that reinforce the fork
crown. These have 3 holes each.

This sounds like Cinelli as well. But as someone else pointed out, many
manufacturers used Cinelli lugs, and that would include the fork crown.
That doesn't mean it isn't a Cinelli, though.

Pictures would help. Did you find the serial number? Often that can be
used to determine the manufacturer and age. The classic rendezvous web
site has lots of information about that.

Seatpost is a 26.8.

As again someone pointed out, that is unusual. Are you sure the 26.8 post
fits properly? How did you determine the size, since the original post
was gone?

Quoted message said:

Questions: when was this made? Were Cinelli bottom bracket shells used
by any other framebuilders? Now what should I do with this?

To find out whether it is a Cinelli, and when it was made, check out the
serial number guides on classic rendezvous. As to what to do with it,
either send it to me, or build it up and use it, but not as a rain bike.

--

David L. Johnson

"Dave Mayer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:rcccg.179967$7a.25991@pd7tw1no...

Quoted message said:

Bought the remnants of a road bike at a yard sale last weekend. Nice

frame,

Quoted message said:

but the wheels were a mess, and the seatpost/seat was missing. The stock
brakes were Campagnolo Super Record, and the hubs are 7-speed Records.
Bar/stem is Cinelli.

The frame has been repainted. I put some new wheels and dual-pivot brakes
on it and had some fun today by riding it on a 2-hour tour. Climbs well,
descents well; smooth ride. It has fairly steep angles, especially in the
head tube. It is too big for me, but my plan was to fix it and then sell

it

Quoted message said:

to a pal at work as a rain commuter.

Anyway, halfway on my ride I decided the new front wheel needed a field
truing job. I flipped the whole bike upside down only so find the fateful
words on the casting of the bottom bracket shell: Cinelli.

I really had not looked the frame closely, but now I realized that this is
very nice indeed. The lugwork is immaculate, and the cast parts are
gorgeous. On the inside of the forks are lugs that reinforce the fork
crown. These have 3 holes each. Seatpost is a 26.8.

Questions: when was this made? Were Cinelli bottom bracket shells used by
any other framebuilders? Now what should I do with this?

Best thing is to link to some photos and people will let you know soon
enough.

The seatpins on a couple of those old frames in my basement are 26.2's.

Look for the special seat-stay attachment - not so many people used that
Cinelii part; though I did see once a Crescent track bike that was really a
Cinelli - full factory paint and decals from the Crescent factory - they
apparently did it because their own track frame - if they had one - wasn't
good enough. Most of the bums-in-seats would just look at the label.

Just about everyone on earth used Cinelli lugs and bottom brackets.
Seriously, almost every North-American japan marketing bike used
Cinelli parts. If it has cinelli parts, it might be a ...

TREK 960 (full cinelli in the 1970's)
Lotus
Centurion
Windsor

... and god knows what else ...

However, the seat cluster on a true cinelli is fairly unique; check
out pictures here :

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/images/Events/Velo%20Rendezvous/2003/6/Cinelli_DN_4.JPG

If you have this seat cluster, then that narrows it down to Windsor or
Cinelli (or maybe a Raysport, rumored to be made in the Windsor
factory in Mexico.) If there is a serial number on the seat lug, then
it's a Windsor. But, a serial number can be covered up with a bad
repaint. If the seatpost diameter is 27.2 or 26.8, then it's a
Windsor Pro, if it's smaller (26.4, 26.2), then it's a cinelli. Of
course, it could still be a cinelli that someone reamed out in a fit
of idiocy.

Now. Wasn't that simple ??

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA