[CR] Re my new Cinelli Supercorsa Pista bicycle

(Example: Events:Cirque du Cyclisme:2004)

Date: Mon, 7 Sep 2009 21:42:40 +1200
From: "Wayne Davidson" <wayne.collect@xtra.co.nz>
To: CR <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR] Re my new Cinelli Supercorsa Pista bicycle


Hi all, well I've finally had a ride on my new bicycle, I was hoping after the build that the ride would be as good as she looks, well guess what! IT WAS & more.

Its been quite a journey since I first started looking at a new frame for a track bike. I guess I was just unhappy about trying to get a second hand frame to do what I wanted, spending money on frames/bicycles that were not up to my requirements & expectations. Just at the time I was starting my new job at Wensleys cycles LTD in Invercargill, I started looking around for a new frame, I'd always loved the Cinelli SC road frame & was delighted to see that they were making a track version. After much work in the head, thinking & pricing, I placed my order with Davide, with a 25% deposit. It was a 45 day process with Cinelli then it had to come from Australia to Auckland then down to me in Invercargill.

So after a gestation period which seemed to be as long as that of an elephant, my Cinelli SC Pista frame was in my hands, well it was after I unwrapped it, there was no easy way to do that, they come well wrapped. I only had 2 things that were a little dissapointing, 1, the colour was not as Violet as I had expected it to be from the website photos & 2, did'nt come with a headset. I guess I was spoiled when I bought 2 ALAN's back in the 80's, both of them came with headsets & seatposts fitted. On a plus thou, I did receive a additional seatpost clamp bolt, this was needed for a '61-'62 Cinelli pista frame/fork that I had since bought from Trademe.

I am lucky at work, one of my workmates, Ronnie, has been a track cyclist over the years, but now unable to health reasons, as I've been able to bounce some ideas of him with the build, & he likes it just as much as I do. He had built these Campagnolo Hi/lo track wheels for me a while ago & they are still going strong, well they should be, they have probally only done 200kms around the Velodrome.

The first things I did was to fit a Campagnolo Pista BB cranks & chainring. Second hand always looks a little rough on a brand new frame, but this time it did'nt look to bad as the cranks are in quite nice shape. I fitted my rear wheel & new SS Connex chain, checked chainline, lubed the chain well with my favourite silcon spray & then cleaned the tyre down with Metholated spirits.

Well I ordered & received a Campagnolo Record headset from Worrals after a couple of days. That had given me time to transpose the sizes from my Pertini & get the seatpost/seat setup just right, thou I may move the seat 5mm forward yet. The headset was fitted & forks installed. The Cinelli had about 20-25mm more steerer tube than what was required, which suited me just fine. This enabled me to fit a traditional Cinelli handlebar stem & still have the handlebar height I was looking for. The only other option would have been to use a A-head adaptor with a a-head stem that would have been polished & annodised. But I was lucky, I did'nt have to go done that avenue. I used a second hand seatpost & machined up a spacer to go between the top cup/locknut.

I then was able to install the handlebar/stem combo, adjusted the angle of the bars, get the height right, I figured at least it would be good enough for a test ride. I fitted the front wheel & checked the hub, the bearing was a little off, so I removed & adjusted the bearing as required. Refitted & checked all good. It was now ready for a ride, but I had to wait 2 days for my session at the velodrome, I did'nt want to take it to the Thursday night session, as they wizz around there at 44-46kph on their 92-100 inch gears, heres me on a new bike with an 84 inch gear, plus it had never been ridden before, I wanted to wallow in the warmth of a new ride, all to myself, in the relative peace of a Saturday session.

I picked up my bicycle from work Saturday morning after pumping the tyres up to 150psi, I'm on clinchers afterall, & headed of to the velodrome. There were only 4 of us there for the ride, which suited me well, even the netball was not on, so the netting was up. The air was still & a bit fresh thou, I thought it may have heated up with the sun a little, but no it had'nt, but nevermind, at least being a indoor velodrome, one never needs to worry about such things as rain & wind. I sat on the Cinelli & pedalled off for my warmup laps, now remember I'd never put my bum on this beast untill now. Well all I can say is WOW, it fitted damm near as good as a glove, even the horrible Cinelli Pista bars felt like an extension on my arms, so after a few warmup laps, not enough, but I just could'nt wait to put her on the boards & see what she was made of. Well all I can is WOW, cover me in honey & feed me to the lesbians, this Cinelli is the best fitting track bicycle I've ever ridden.

I've not fitted a computer to her, as she looks good without one, I know when I've had a good ride, so she ain't getting one. I had a ride, pulled over for some photos & handed it over to Pete for a ride, we've been riding down there quite often for the last year & we are similar in size, so we changed shoes and bikes for a ride. It was good to ride another bicycle to get a better comparison & to get a look at her on the track, I found Pete's Avanti Pista Pro a little skitery in the front end, I supose the fit was a little different to what I was used to, the seat was a little high for me, the bars a little wide for me, the gear a little bigger for me, plus he has those beaut Tufflo tubular clinchers pumped up to 200psi. We pulled over after a ride & compared notes, its been great for both Pete & myself, me being more of a road rider over the years, & he a mountain bike rider, but we seem to both enjoy the track, not everybodies cup of tea, "riding around in circles" is the main negative comment from others.

But as Pete commented, she is stable, accellerates real nice, just sits on the track real nice & looks good. Pete had commented on how well I was doing on her, about 3kmph up on normal speed, just as much due to me fuelling up well for the ride as much as anything, but I must say I did enjoy my 1st ride & am very much looking forward to my next this Monday night. All I need to do is move the seat forward 5mm to see what that is like, replace the cracked locknut on my front hub, got carried away when I installed the wheel. I guess shorterm I'll make a new headset spacer a couple of mills shorter, to give the locknut some more threads to grip onto as well as a Miche rear cog, midterm, some new bars/stem & even maybe some lighter pedals, & longterm, a 32H wheelset that will be lighter than the 36h wheelset in her now.

All I can say is, now I have a bicycle that I am proud of & enjoy riding even more than I thought, so follow your dreams, Nivarna can be obtained without the use of drugs, but at the cost of a new bicycle. Anyone wanting pics & or a build sheet just email me direct & I will forward...........wayne davidson In Sunny Invers NZ..........