Good day all,
A question, to keep you busy and me informed ... Recently I have acquired a nice Saronni bike, light blue metallic with the white decals and chromed front fork, Columbus Tretubi (3 tubes of what? SL? Aelle? gaspipe??) and a full Campagnolo Gran Sport group attached to it. Paint seems to be applied loosely to a fully chromed frame.
I've read a bit on Saronni frames in the archives, but this one may need some more exploring. The archives say Colnago started with Saronni frames after the world championship of Beppe in 1982, I think they started earlier, going on what I see on this frame. The frame has much Colnago-like details: the headlugs (with the little curl), the scalloped seatstay caps, the 'S' of Saronni in the lower headlug. Besides that, 'Saronni' stamped into the dropouts! The headbadge though, is not the portrait of Beppe, as I've seen often, but is a pink-coloured map of Italy, with a big 'S' around it and a kind of laurel wreath. Since Beppe won the Giro in 1979, this might be in memory of that win.
I believe this is a 1981 frame, the Gran Sport cranks have a 1980 date code. And that its Colnago build.
Any opinions? I'd like to show pictures, but wooljersey is still down .... you dont miss your water till your well runs dry ...
Freek Faro
Rotterdam Netherlands