Hello Aldo,
Regarding the ebay Cinelli-
I do think that its post 1958, as earlier bikes had decals that used metalics (the crest and Mod.SC decals), whereas the later decals did not have metalics in the decals. I have early Cinellis that have these decals. Regarding the cranks- The good news is that the bike may have come with FB or Magistroni cranks, the bad news is that they may have been CINELLI badged cranks. Not all Cinellis with FB or Magistroni cranks were Cinelli badged however. Could have been that the original owner swapped out the steel cranks for light alloy. Also, I think that Cinelli may have distributed TA in Italia (see Maaslands wooljersey site). I think the UNICANITOR set is too cool, but it may have had a 26.2 alloy bottleneck post with a Brooks B-17. I've heard and seen evidence that Cinelli would paint to order. A wild color combo it is.
If you get it, and I hope that you do, dont sweat the minor details (correct crank, post, ect..) take it off the garage hooks and ride it! When you do, those details will be become insignificant.
Regards, Dave Martinez Fremont Ca
Aldo Ross <aldoross4@siscom.net> wrote: Well, I've been all over the bidding on the green '58 Cinelli on eBay (I'm eBay bidder "bianchi"), although I still haven't found the reserve price. This bike is EXACTLY my "vintage" size, instead of my usual "acceptable range of sizes", and in it's original paint it is patina'd to perfection!
As the price continues to climb, I've started to wonder what the correct original parts might have been, and if I'll be able to obtain them without spending another Grand...
What does this text mean? "Badge: Traditional Cinelli 51 cm height apparently indicates post-1956."? Should it say 51mm?
If the Unicanitor post and saddle are later addidtions, what would have been appropriate in 1958? And please don't say "steel Campy post $$$". Please don't.
The TA Criterium crankset came out when? I love the look of that set, but what would have been the other options. I'm afriad you're gonna say "first gen Campy Record $$$".
I suppose nothing would be more apropriate than a Cinelli steel badged stem and steel bars. Too bad this one has 1A w/aluminum.
I have the rest of the parts - open-C shift levers, GS rear der, Way Assauto pedals, open-C qr levers. Am I missing anything?
I'm sure at some point I'll have to admit that my pockets aren't deep enough to compete with our friends across the Pacific, but for once it's really exciting just to dream about a shiny bike instead of my usual rat-infested barn finds.
Aldo Ross
ranting pretty early for a Monday morning in
Blue Ball, Ohio
USA