Thanks for all answers over my 3-pin Campagnolo question: I´m a much wiser man now!
Fairly new to the list I´ll follow the vogue and leave a short presentation:
July 7th 1948, which happened to be my fifth birthday, I got my first bicycle, a very nice miniature of a real grown-up-bicycle, a red Hermes with 17" wheels. Learned to ride in about ten minutes and have biked ever since as my main means of transport and joy. The bicycle also became a subject for interest and a token for the kind of world I wanted.
Read math and physics in school, became an officer at the engineering troops and military scuba diver, but left the military to study humanistics and became a specialist in medieval archaeology, now since14 months back head of the museum for the history of medicin (!) in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. I´m not the first in my family to eschew the main stream, my grandfather emigrated in 1902 to Sweden from Kitchener ( then Berlin ) in Ontario over Bryn Athyn,PA and Cambridge,MA.
Being a museum worker I don´t collect, both from lack of money and to avoid going insane. Having sold my first multigeared bike, a 1972 Crescent - brown, but with the pepita-muster - I still own the second, a golden dutch Union (1979) that is a pleasure to ride, a dark blue 1985 Nishiki Continental and ditto white with dark blue details1985 Meral and the latest, a dark metallic cinnamon1999 Rivendell LongLow that might well also be the last or my silly grin might be so wide as to cut my head off.
Now to the question!
Earlier this autumn me and my wife found - in a corner of a bikeshop we visited - an unused 1976 Colnago Super sold on behalf of a customer. Seller was an italian who when he left Italy for the far north (what an idea!) to marry a swedish girl ordered it custom for himself. Custom because of signs of arthritis, he wanted one with slightly more emphasis on comfort. Due to same arthritis he didn´t use it at all when he got it, just sit-up-and-beg bikes.
Geometry as far as I have been able to measure it: both seat and top tubes 53,5cm, both seat and head angels around 72-72,5 degrees, chainstays a good 43,5cm, bb drop 75mm. Good clearancies. Full Campagnolo Nuovo Record group. Colour is a modest, but after some time quite nice grey with a yellowish tinge. Scratched a bit down the downtube and under the bb because someone with more joy of life than wits had been riding it on the stand in the shop.
Wife loves it deeply and it fits her like a perfect glove. I´ve been told that it "flies by itself". Wifes hands doesn´t appreciate NR so new levers will be instituted and I will try to get a 28h Schmidt dynohub; presently it sports 24h and 28h GP4s and I happen to have an unused 28h GP4 in the cellar, otherwise we´ll try to keep it original.
So:
Is the paint a known variety? Or how are we to solve that?
The bike have been stored dry and hot and decals are starting to detoriate. Are there any to find ( I´ve tried Lloyd, no ).
There are no decals signifying tubes, what would be normal? Columbus SL? The bike is very light.
What would be normal geometry for a 1976 Colnago Super? Were custom geometries common?
Except the usual colnago decals is there a decal by the seat lug saying "Concessionario Cicli Pagani Enea - Rimini". Sub-producer or?
I´ve read the doubts on Colnago quality. This bike however seems to be well made and rides extremely nice.
Olof Stroh
Uppsala Sweden