Re: [CR]Benotto ID help

(Example: Production Builders:Cinelli)

From: "KCTOMMY" <KCTOMMY@email.msn.com>
To: <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: Re: [CR]Benotto ID help
Date: Sun, 8 Apr 2001 20:52:33 -0500

Nice buy! Hope it rides great for you.

I can maybe answer one or two of your questions.

There certainly were top drawer Italian made Benottos in the 70s, so it's hard to say where yours was made. Bennotto sponsered one of the big gun euro teams in the mid 70's, and I always understood those bikes to be euro make. (Asuming Mario didn't make them!) The gold/green paint was the team color, as I recall. The "Fabrica Torino" makes me think Italy, but I can't say for sure because I don't know the Italian labeling laws. The italian componentry and Campy drop outs also makes me think this way, but none of it is conclusive.

To check for tubing type, look down the seat tube or inside the bottom bracket for any tubing seams. If none, then pull the handlebar stem and look for rifling in the fork steerer. If you have seamless tubing and the rifling reinforcements are there, you probably have a top drawer SL frame.

The 77 world championship sticker obviously means the frame is a 78 or newer. If the rear spacing is 120, it would have to be 78 to 80, as 126 mm six speed was sweeping the racing world about this time. Do the drop outs have eyelets? Lack of eyelets indicate a serious racing rig, and perhaps a higher quality bike.

BTW, who was the world champ in 77? I know Moser was riding Benottos early in his career. Did he win the worlds about this time? When did he start having someone make "Moser" bikes?

Tom Adams, in Kansas City

-----Original Message----- From: Richard Jones-Bamman <banjers@mac.com> To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Date: Sunday, April 08, 2001 7:52 PM Subject: [CR]Benotto ID help


>My weekend foray to flea markets yielded a Benotto frame with a few parts
>and I'm hoping that someone out there might be able to help with a bit of
>info on the company and possible date/provenance. The first issue is
>whether the Benottos produced in Mexico are clearly stamped/marked as such.
>I searched the CR archives and couldn't find any leads on this. This frame
>has a seattube decal stating "Fabrica Biciclette Torino" leading me to think
>it's conceivably Italian, but I defer to the experts here on the list.
>There is also a small decal above declaring "Del Mundo 1977/San Cristobal".
>The Benotto name (white letters on a dark blue field) is found on the
>seattube, downtube, headtube and back of the seattube.
>
>The fork is chrome with "Benotto" enscribed on the crown with traces of dark
>blue paint remaining; the paint is in reasonably good shape and is a dull
>gold with a slight greenish tint (underline "slight"). Bottom bracket has a
>clear "B" cutout and another which is more stylized (kind of like deco
>version of a "B"). There are two separate numbers stamped on the bottom
>bracket: "61" on the drive side and "1358" placed opposite. The lugs are
>fairly short pointed; those on the headtube have been additionally
>modified, forming a pronounced waist before reaching a point. Finally, the
>chainstays transition from oval to a shape approximating a diamond (or
>square on its edge) before tapering to the dropouts; the dropouts are Campy,
>fork and rear. The frame came with a newish Campy headset (I don't know the
>post SR models so can't identify), a very cool black Gipiemme aero-looking
>seatpost, and Ofmega cranks; no idea if any of the latter are original.
>
>Curiously enough, there is no sign of a decal/sticker referring to the
>tubing used, leading me to wonder just what this thing is. If there was
>one, given the uniform shade of the paint, it must have been removed early
>in the frame's career, unless this particular metallic paint doesn't fade
>much.
>
>Anyway, being a complete neophyte with this company's products I was hoping
>you all might be able to help me at least get a better sense of the relative
>quality of the frame--maybe even a rough guess as to age? It's going to fit
>me fine, so I'd like to build it up with components that are approximately
>period-correct. On the other hand, I paid virtually nothing for it, so I'm
>prepared to hear the worst.
>
>Sorry for the length of this post, but figured that these were reasonably
>relevant details. Thanks.
>
>Richard Jones-Bamman
>Storrs, CT