Hi CR,
I have been "monitoring" the CR discussions for a couple of weeks. I have been absorbing great quantities of useful information. Thanks.
Stats: 50-ish and gray. Started riding a long time ago. Still remember the joys and adventures of my first solo bike ride into the country. Bike size: 56 to 58 cm; 57 C-T is optimal
Bikes I use to own: late 50-ish Schwinn Stingray 60-ish Raleigh 3 speed 1975 Motobecane Grand Record (wish I still had it!) 1978 Fuji (don't remember model-but cheap Fuji's were forgettable)
Currently: 1973-4 Pinarello Treviso (not built) 1975-6 Masi GC # 672; 58 cm; Repainted by Jim C. at Cyclart in the mid 80's; At the time, the original owner had cable guides and FD hanger installed; Chrome fork; British racing green with chrome rear triangle. early 80's Colnago Super 56 cm (not built) early 80's Ciocc 49 cm (better half's) 80's Colnago Arabesque (more on this later) 56 cm
Off topic: 90's Colnago Master SLX Conic 57 cm 1997 Bianchi San Remo 57 cm 1999 Rocky Mtn Thin Air MTB 17.5"
On the Arabesque, This was purely luck. I had been pursuing a 56-57 cm Master with Gilco tubing for quite some time. On eBay, a couple of months ago there was a guy listing a Colnago Master bike with chrome lugs and "hex tubing". The bike didn't sell for his reserve. I contacted him after the auction for more details and pix. He didn't have a digi camera or scanner. He provide little extra information about the lugwork,etc. To make a long story short, we finally worked out a deal. Imagine my shock when I opened the box and here was the ornate Arabesque lugwork adorning the bike.
The bike had been repainted powder blue (very nicely) by Rainbow Cycles in Colo. I don't think most of the decals are period-correct, at least from looking at the available pix on the net. The bike has the "Regal" painted on the top tube. I contacted the seller about this Regal lettering and he mentioned that the Colnago was an original Enrico Regal that was built especially for Enrico, AND that he use to ride with Merckx (uh, huh!). Well, I sent an email to EM not expecting a response. By golly, EM responded (or at least someone from his shop did)-never heard of Enrico. This wasn't a surprise.
Now for the bad new----- prior to the respray, the bike had been stored in moist conditions and the lugwork was covered with surface rust. The lower chrome fork had some pitting. The seller failed to mention this. So, I taped off the lugwork and took steel wool and chrome polish to remove most of the surface rust but there's still some light pitting and tight spots that were hard to get to.
Questions on this bike:
1) Are there any companies that would undertake restoring the lugwork or suggestions on my restoring the lugwork back to it's full glory? 2) What years were Arabesque's manufactured (besides 1983)? I checked the net and not much is available or least when I search on Arabesque. 3) How many were made? 4) How many are still around?
Any additional information would be appreciated.
Rick Robbins
Ada, Ohio