David,
It sounds like a '74 to me. '73 was the last year when all 3 lugs have c utouts. Yours has cutout in bottom lug only. That's '74. My'74 does not have braze on shifters. I feel that a few of the details in the time lin e you cite are incorrect.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
I've just completed a rebuild on a 70s vintage Colnago Super, bought a
few months back from a fellow who says he bought it as a bare frame,
new, in 1979 or 1980 from a shop in Palo Alto, CA. He says the paint and
decals are original. The details of the frame suggest 1973 to me, but
many of you know far more than I do and I'd love to get your insights as
to the year. Here's my analysis based on the info I've seen on the list
in recent years:
According to recent Colnago frame dating info that circulated on the CR
list October 2007 the following are the years in which certain features
first appeared:
1972 -- Cable guide braze-ons top of bottom bracket shell -- this one
has this 1972 -- Water bottle braze-ons on downtube -- this one has this ---- 1973 -- Wreath seat tube decal with Worlds band at top and bottom --
this one has this 1973 -- Fork crown with clubs on top but no holes in each side -- this
one has this 1973 -- Fork tangs with club cutouts (or rarely two hole tangs or no
tangs) -- this one has two hole tangs 1973 -- Club cutout in lower head lug only -- this one has this ---- 1974 -- Shifter braze-ons on down tube (option before this) -- this one
does NOT have this ---- 1975 -- Vertical COLNAGO seat tube decal with diagonal Worlds band at
top -- this one does NOT have this
Assuming the above info is correct, then it can't be a 1972 since it has
the wreath decal, the club cutout in the lower head lug only, and the
fork crown with clubs on top but no holes in each side -- features that
did not appear until 1973, yet can't be a 1974 because it does not have
shifter braze-ons and can't be a 1975 because it does not have the
vertical Colnago seat tube decal.
Per a recent email I received from from John Murray, he believes that
1974 and later bottom brackets have an oval cut-out on the bottom side
of the downtube lug. Mine does not have such a cut-out, thus
re-enforcing the notion that this is a 1973 frame.
On the other hand Greg Softly says that on reproduction decals "...the
wreath on the seat tube [is] outlined in black where the original was
not outlined and not quite so 'busy' in design". Mine is outlined in
black. So if Greg is correct, that suggests mine has been repainted and
has replacement decals. Yet, there is no indication I can see that the
paint is anything other than original.
That's all I know folks! What year do you think this Colnago was made?
I'd appreciate any insights you may have.
See it here:
<http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/David-G-Whites-Bikes/1973+Colnago+S uper/>
Cheers!
David
David G. White
Burlington, VT