For some reason, one marque of Italian bikes has been completely missing from the CR site as well as metioned only rarely on this list, Pinarello. Yet, that company produced some simply incredible bikes through much of the period we focus on, bikes that rival and (IMHO) may be better than the products of many other contemporary Italian builders.
For example, I just acquired a lovely Columbus-steel framed 1981 Pinarello, full panto SR from Stefan at Speedbicycles. The bike, done in a tasteful metallic purple with carefully-applied white accents on the cutouts of the lugs and BB (no, I am not saying that tongue in cheek, and you can see some of the photos at his site, http://www.speedbicycles.ch, under "1980s") has a paint finish, and an overall fit and finish (including an obvious and substantial amount of hand-work on the lugs) that is missing in other Italian marques of the same period, where hand fitting was giving way to mass-production and QC was not a top priority. Little touches like carefully polished and chromed tops to the seat stays, and detailed carving of lugs and logos are in contrast to the sometimes slapdash examples that I have seen on such otherwise highly-regarded marques such as Colnago or De Rosa from the same period.
I also like the understated look of the bike, decals kept to a minimum and overly-ornate carving avoided. (Not that I don't like that from time to time myself, as my early-80s Tommasini with its panto-everything, including a fork-crown that would put a 50s Caddy grille to shame, and its wealth of decals and logos has a fond place in my heart as well.) No, its seems like these late 70s early 80s Pins are special, but not that well known or appreciated.
The ride and feel of this bike is also top notch. Indeed, given the small number of early Pinarellos one sees coming up for sale, I wonder if their production was just too small for them to come up on the secondary market or if their owners are just too happy to part with them?
But, scanning this list and searching the Net, I still see little references to the early steel Pinarellos and no real appreciation of their value, while other Italian frames from the same period command high prices.
Am I missing something here? And Dale, how about a Pinarello section for CR? Let me know if you want some photos.
Dave Novoselsky
Chicago, Illinois