... hand up here, a cinelli track bike with just two serial numbers ... "11" .... of course there's an "M" in front of the stamping !!
robert clair
alexandria, va 22308
usa
> Hello all,
>
> I missed the original post and photos from Alex, but I agree with Mike.
> There is no logic to the numbering system. I have two Cinelli frames
> waiting to be built up with three digit serial numbers. That's right; 3
> digits, not 4. I have yet to get any definitive information as to when
> they were made. In addition to the dimensions of the head badge, the
> background color is significant. The background color was a dark blue
> until the late 50's, perhaps even 1960. After that the background color
> was black. Then, of course, the badge design changed in the 70's or
> 80's.
>
> The earlier (50's and early 60's) SC frames had threaded holes in the
> chainstay and seatstay bridges for attaching fenders, as well as a
> threaded hole for an oil fitting on the underside of the b.b. But this no
> doubt is well documented info in the archives.
>
> Jay Sexton
> Sebastopol, CA
>
>
> That's all I know.It is really a fools game to try to date a Cinelli by
> the serial number. There is no logic to the numbers. Perhaps there is a
> scheme to it, but until someone "unlocks" the mystery, there is no reason
> to use numbers as a guide. The only exception is if you know the number
> and its a bike that came into the US through Cupertino, sometimes they
> have it in the log.
>
> One clue that I've asked Alex about is the size of the headbade. Cinelli
> around 1956 or so went to the typical size headbadge where previous to
> that a larger one was often used.
> Mike Kone in Boulder CO USA
>
> I learnt a lot from the Colnago appeal, so am trying my luck with a
> Cinelli
>> >. Are the experts the same for both marques? Alexander March Bordeaux
>> >France=0A=0A=0A
>>
>> It's a beautiful bike. The Cinelli registry indicates a few early 1960s
>> bikes with numbers between 5300 and 5600 - yours is 5514, so it would fit
>> in there. However, yours has "ears" in the lugs, and those seem to have
>> been deleted around 1960. So your late 1950s estimation seems likely. If
>> the saddle is original, it would date from after 1957. Is it possible
>> that Cinelli built frames for stock, but only stamped them with numbers
>> once they were sold? So a late 1950s frame might have been sold only in
>> 1960, received it number and then was chrome-plated? (When I bought my
>> Marinoni in 1990, it was a stock frame that was then painted to my
>> specs.) Chrome may be original, I have seen a few chrome-plated 1950s
>> Italian bikes. Jan Heine Editor Bicycle Quarterly 140 Lakeside Ave #C
>> Seattle WA 98122 http://www.bikequarterly.com