As the purchaser of this frame, I find that very interesting. If it is not a genuine Cinelli, someone has certainly gone to a whole lot of trouble for very little return!
I have not been able to find any photos or information regarding the CX, other than it really did exist as a model at some point in time, so I have been unable to confirm any of the features or anything that would date it. The Super Record headset, if original, would probably place it sometime in the early to mid 1980s.
The bottom bracket is Cinelli and the fork crown, head lugs and brake bridge are all engraved with the Cinelli "C" logo, which would take some faking, and the seat stays are stamped CX near the top ends. I suppose it is always possible that someone repaired a more conventional Cinelli frame by fitting shaped top and down tubes (probably requiring a new fork too if those tubes were bent), but it is hard to imagine why anybody would do that and then stamp the seatstays too. Because it has been refinished and had the wrong tubing decal fitted, I do not know what the tubes are - if it is genuine, it is hard to imagine that they would be anything other than Columbus - why would they use a rival's tubes?
I am kind of hoping that it is a fake because that makes it more interesting, but my current thinking is that anybody who faked it would be more peculiar than is probable.
By the way, didn't the Colnago Master use Gilco design shaped Columbus tubes? How come a shaped tube has to be made by Oria?
I really hope that someone can shed some light on this.
Hugh Thornton
Cheshire, England
From: Angel Garcia <veronaman@gmail.com> Subject: [CR] Cinelli "CX" To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Saturday, 15 January, 2011, 0:15
A list member recently purchased an unusual Cinelli...thought to be "CX"
model.
>From Cinelli I received this (they looked at the photos):
"Hi Angel,
I spoke to a few of my colleagues this morning and came to the conclusion with them that this frame is almost certainly a fake or unofficial Cinelli. We never used that lugset, but even more telling is the top tube with its \u201cmaster\u201d style shaping which is a give away that the tube is in fact not even Columbus but an Oria tube shaped by Silva. It is the tubing which makes us almost certain that this frame while certainly not a production model, is not even a prototype."
Hilary Stone has referenced the "CX" as well and I wonder if he has any info about what he had heard about a "CX"?
Angel Garcia
Long Valley NJ