Mathieu Jacobs wrote:
> [snipped] upon a spurt of insanity purchased a 1984 pinarello montello
> that is nickle plated!
> Can anybody help me with information on this bike? Was it considered a
> higher quality italian frame? Nickle finish, what is that about?
I don't know where the name Montello comes from, but it apparently has been Pinarello's top of the line frame for some time. It's a carbon-fiber time-trial frame now, famous (or infamous) for being one of the most expensive bike frames in the world.
Google tells us that Montello appears in several place names in Italy, such as Selva del Montello, Crocetta del Montello, Giavera del Montello, Volpago del Montello; which are all in the Veneto region I believe -- as is Treviso, home of Pinarello. So it may be just a place name, or it might mean something in the local dialect -- "little mountain" maybe? It also appears to be a kind of Pinot Grigio (white wine), popular in the Veneto.
Alexei Grewal won the 1984 Olympics Men's Road Race on a Montello. His was painted though - can't tell you anything about the nickel plated version. Sounds nice - any chance you could snap some photos of it?
Here are some photos of a Pinarello that Battaglin rode in the '81 Giro,
which he won:
http://bulgier.net/
Small world department: Mathieu is a principal at Mahlum Architects, and I help with the computer network there, though we have never met (that I can recall). He's based at the Portland office and I only visit the Seattle office. I'm a consultant, not an employee of Mahlum, so I don't go to the company parties. ;)
Mark Bulgier
Seattle WA USA