CR's
Here's another Benotto exhibiting many De Rosa similarities:
http://www.cycles-yokoo.co.jp/
grant mclean toronto, canada
Tom Dalton wrote:
Nice Benotto... err DeRosa. I don't know exactly what you have there,
other than a nice bike that is probably Benotto and *may* have been buit
by DeRosa. I will add though, that the nicer Benottos from the 70's and
80's were DeRosa-like in many ways. I'm sure someone on the list can
explain why, and I imagine that it hod to do whith who apprenticed where,
and with whom. Note that many of the nicer Benottos were made in Italy,
not Mexico. The round-diamond-round stays were featured on models such as
the top-end Mod. 3000. The heart motif appears on old Benottos, inclding
my rather crude, Italian made Benotto from the late 70's (Mod 2000?). The
common denominators are there, and your Benotto was not necessarily made
by DeRosa. The panto parts are not really a clue, because the bike is such
a mix of parts from different vintages. The SLX sticker is probably an
add-on, and the presence of the 531 fork decals only further enforces the
possibility of a sticker-happy former owner.
Based on the pressed seat lug, this is an older frame that predates SLX.
That's about all I can say, but I'm sure someone knows more about the
Ugo-Giocinto connection.