Howdy,
I picked a near pristine Marinoni this last week and the only thing that keeps it from being perfect is there is bike license type sticker on the underside of the top-tube. (That and the frame is a 60 cm c-t rather than a 62 cm.) Any tips on removing this sort of sticker?
As to the frame itself, it is a lovely. Nice all chrome fork, with fleur de lys crown, and chrome right chainstay. There is also a fleur de lys on the lower head lug. Interestingly, the head lugs have scallops similar to Prugnats. The bottom bracket shell has an M in it. The lugs and BB appear to be investment cast. The paint is thick and nicely done, although the decals do not appear to have been clear-coated. (Altough they are almost perfect.) And of course the tubing is Columbus.
Over all, the bike appears to be almost a clone of my Basso Gap. The construction details are almost the same. For example, the seat stays on both are similarly tapered in the Colnago style. The way the seat stys are capped appears to me to only differ in the name engraved in the caps.
I guess Marinoni should be viewed as a North American equivalent of Colnago, Rossin, or Basso. That is, a producer of high quality frames using production techniques, as opposed to handbuilder such as Messrs Goodrich or Sachs.
BTW, if anyone has a comparable 62cm frame that would like to trade for this 60cm, I would give serious consideration to such a deal.
Regards,
===== John Taglia Chicago, Illinois
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