Edward,
That's very cool - and not really that surprising. I think
that sort of thing hung on even longer in England than in
Italy. I just took a look in my basement at a circa 1960s
Rudge with a bottom bracker oil fitting. (Then again, that
bike uses a Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hub, so it definitely was
looking in to the past.)
For all I know, there are bikes currently being produced -
i.e. the ones that copy old European designs - that still have
those fittings on the bottom bracket shell.
Regards,
Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA)
> Fred,
> My Hetchins Europa track bike came with a BB oiler and the
> serial number and original owner reliably date it to 1965.
> Edward Albert
> Chappaqua, NY, USA
>
> >>> Fred Rafael Rednor <fred_rednor@yahoo.com> 03/15/07 10:50
> AM >>>
> The seller - Steven Maasland - is on the list, so perhaps he
> can fill in the details. But even if he had found this frame
> bare and unpainted - and without a headbadge - there really
> would be no doubt of it being a Cinelli. The seat stay
> treatment and seatpost diameter are really accurate
> indicators.
>
> Considering when this frame must have been built, I'm not
> surprised that it has a bottom bracket shell with an unused
> oiler boss. In some cases, the oilers persisted into the
> late
> 1950s and this frame was built only a few years later. No
> doubt there were all sorts of frame building supplies sitting
> on workshop shelves - for several years - that needed to be
> used up.
>
> I think it gives the bike a real mark of distinction, linking
> it to an earlier era in a very charming way.
> Regards,
> Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA)
>
> --- Art Link <columnssanantonio@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Is it really a Cinelli or something else with the oriental
> > head badge applied and other odd bits and measurements?
> > Curious minds want to know. Art Link,San Antonio,TX
> >
> > gabriel l romeu <romeug@comcast.net> wrote: Date: Thu, 15
> Mar
> > 2007 10:11:14 -0400
> > From: gabriel l romeu <romeug@comcast.net>
> > To: "classicrendezvous@bikelist.org"
> > <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> > Subject: [CR]sitting on the shelves of the Cinelli
> factory...
> >
> > as someone who makes things, keeps stock around for future
> > projects, i
> > am always intrigued by a detail on the object which speaks
> to
> > process-
> > in this case an obsolete fixture on a part of a frame.
> >
> > what i am speaking of is on this far too small for me but
> > rather
> > beautiful Cinelli on ebay,
> > http://tinyurl.com/
> >
> > I quote, "It does however have the casting for the
> placement
> > of the
> > oiler on the top side of the BB shell (it has not been
> > drilled out
> > though). "
> >
> > the logistic possibilities of a BB shell having a oil hole
> > not drilled
> > is so interesting on this bike- was it sitting on the
> bottom
> > of the box
> > from last year, was someone saving it for a 'special'
> build,
> > or was it
> > sequenced to be one of the last of these bracket shells
> > laying around?
> >
> > Maybe this is of no interest to anyone else, but to me,
> such
> > 'clues' and
> >
> > idiosyncratic objects represent a bit of the 'behind the
> > scenes'
> > workings of the small shop.
> > --
> > gabriel l romeu
> > 70 deg f here today, calling for sleet tomorrow,
> > confusing the robins and penguins in chesterfield nj usa...
> > ± http://studiofurniture.com Ø http://journalphoto.org ±
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > The Columns on Alamo
> > Welcome to our bed and breakfast in San Antonio, Texas.
> Come
> > fiesta with us!
> > We offer off-street parking, and the downtown trolley stops
> > just a 1/2 block away!
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>
>
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