>Having no idea who imported them into the States in the 60s to late 70s,
>I had heard, with nothing to substantiate it, that very few Cinellis came
>into the US during those years.
Spence Wolf of Cupertino Bike Shop in Cupertino, California was probably the best known importer of Cinelli bicycles, starting in 1955. We think that about 50 Cinellis were imported each year through Cupertino BS from 1955 into the 1980s. The other big importer was Kopp's in New Jersey. It's possible that there were one or two importers in Los Angeles as well. The COOL thing to do back in the 60's was to contact Cino Cinelli in Milano, make an appointment for a fitting, then fly over there on holiday, and get the full tour of his workshop and let him measure you for a custom frame. Then 8 or 10 weeks later, the frame arrives at Spence's shop. He builds it up for you with Campagnolo components, and PRESTO! you are the hippest Daddy-O on your block.
Vance Sprock, the current owner of Cupertino Bike Shop, has a copy of the registry of all Cinellis imported through Cupertino BS. My husband Peter and I have a copy as well. Keep in mind these are only the bicycles brought into the U.S. through Spence, but one can guess the approximate age of any Cinelli by looking at the serial number on the BB and also looking for certain characteristics like three hole cutouts in the lugs and brass versus aluminum headbadges.
A few years ago, through the Cycles de Oro web classifieds, I located a 1965 Cinelli in my size for sale by a man in Idaho. I had the bike shipped out to San Francisco so I could inspect it and trace its lineage, since the owner knew nothing about its history. Through the serial number, I was able to track down the original owner who lived in Monterey, CA, at the time of purchase. I called 411 and got the number for the man. I spoke to his wife, who told me the entire story of how, at the age of 45, her husband decided to order a Cinelli from Spence Wolf. The man rode the bike everywhere in the Monterey area, until he was diagnosed with cancer and at the age of 80, was hospitalized with a poor prognosis. The woman told me that the bike was his "mistress" for 35 years and that she understood his 'passion' for this beautiful Italian creation. She told me how sad her husband was the day he sold his beloved Cinelli. I lost touch with them and unfortunately decided against buying the bike, but learned a heartwarming story in the process. There are several similar stories out there, waiting to be told.
I hope this helps shed some light on the Cinelli dating issue. Ciao.
Jan Johnson
Portola Valley, Northern California