1953? Cinelli SC Restoration

Bob from England writes in with, "I thought you might like some ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of my 1953 SC. The frame was retrieved from someone’s loft here in the UK where it had been since the early 70s when the owner stopped riding.

He bought the bike secondhand in the late 1950s and even though it has braze-ons for Simplex JUY 53 and JUY 51 mechs always rode it on a fixed wheel, the Simplex rear gear hanger had been sawn off. He hand painted the frame in the late 60s. I assume from the semi sloping fork crown and chrome bands on the seat tube (I found when removing the paint) that it may be a SC Lusso although it doesn’t have a seat pin clamp.

The frame is considerably lighter than my 1958 SC and mid 60s Mod B. I am collecting the Simplex equipment to build it and will send photos when it’s finished."

Reminder: I invite you to contribute by sending in photographs of your Cinelli bike, illustrations, personal stories, and articles about Cinelli bikes and components. I can be contacted at veronaman@gmail.com

Cinelli SC Restoration

James writes in with, "I wanted to share some photos of a recent restoration project – my first vintage bike project. The frame was a tired pre-loved 1972 SC with several coats of new paint but very sound. I embarked upon a period-correct restoration and the frame was completely stripped back and refinished with new chrome and period-correct paint and decals – the latter specially made by Cyclomondo based on research for a 1972 bike. At some point I perhaps unwisely got the idea to use only NOS parts and the next 18 months were spent sourcing the parts needed – quite a learning curve for someone unfamiliar with the variations that occurred in Campagnolo and other componentry in this era. I tried to ensure everything was accurate right down to the date on the hub lock nuts. The smell that comes out of original packaging when opening is addictive and the handmade parts of this era are like stunning pieces of jewellery. After the bike was assembled and these photos taken by Andy White at FYXO I thought my journey was finally over with a beautiful result. However since then several helpful vintage bike collectors have highlighted minor inaccuracies which have been progressively attended to in my quest for accuracy. Recent changes have included the seatpost clamp bolt (now version 2 instead of version 3), saddle (yellow text instead of silver), rear hub (no stamping on freewheel landing) and front derailleur (no-circlip) – there is one part I know to be still needing replacement which I am searching for and probably a few more than I have yet to learn about but there is plenty of time for that. I have learnt to accept that this Cinelli will remain very much an enjoyable work in progress which provides a focus for enjoyable dialogue with fellow passionate collectors and opportunity to exchange knowledge and stories. Of course being a Cinelli the opportunities for good stories are many. I hope you enjoy."

Reminder: I invite you to contribute by sending in photographs of your Cinelli bike, illustrations, personal stories, and articles about Cinelli bikes and components. I can be contacted at veronaman@gmail.com

A Cinelli with a Racing History

CINELLI ONLY reader Norm writes in with his story 1969/1970 Cinelli and its restoration, serial number 6809:

"I acquired this 1969/1970 Cinelli SC from the second owner in 2006. He bought it used in 1973 from Doug Dale, the original owner who bought it in 1969 or 1970 from Kopp’s Cycles in Princeton, N. J. It had seen 36 years of hard use and neglect and was seriously rusty but it had most of its original parts and the price was right so I bought it hoping it could be saved.

It came with a Campagnolo Nuovo Record drive train, 36 hole low flange Record hubs, Nitor seat post, Unicanitor plastic saddle ( no leather ), Cinelli stem with 7 mm expander bolt and 12mm hex head binder, Giro D'Italia bars, and a Universal Model 61 brakeset. Supposedly the only non original part was the Pat 73 NR rear derailleur which replaced a Record steel derailleur as original.

I finally got to meet Doug Dale at this year's Longsjo race. There was a reunion of past champions and a public ride with the 70's Raleigh team. I signed up for the public ride and brought the Cinelli. Doug was a racer in the Philadelphia/New Jersey area as a college student in the mid 1960's when he became involved with Fritz Kuhn of Kopp's Cycles in Princeton, N. J. He described Fritz as a mentor. He got this bike through Fritz in 1969 or 70. He confirmed that it came from the factory as a complete bike and that I did indeed have the original components except for the steel Record derailleur which had been replaced by NR in 1973. He also talked about a few of the races he did with this bike and how he placed. Given this partial history I guess he was pretty good.

1970 1st Fitchburg Longsjo
1971 3rd Quebec to Montreal
1972 3rd US Nationals
1972 Olympic trials

Here is a clip from a note Doug sent me after the ride:

Dear Norm,
Thank you so much for making the effort to make that wonderfully restored bike part of the celebration. It was a moving experience for me to see it reincarnated to full majesty and in race readiness.... Howie ( John Howard ) was telling me about his collection too. But, I doubt his bikes could rival your Cinelli for total restoration which was darn near perfect. Again, thank you for resurrecting my speedy beast.
Doug Dale

The bike was refinished in February, 2007, by Bicycle Specialties (Mike Barry ) of Toronto, Canada; Mike Barry's painter at the time was Noah Rosen who is continuing the business as Velocolour. The parts which were replaced: rear derailleur, stem, front caliper, brake levers, pedals, clips, straps, wheels and freewheel."

Photos: 1969/1970 Cinelli

I invite you to contribute by sending in photographs of your Cinelli bike, illustrations, personal stories, and articles about Cinelli bikes and components.

Thanks for stopping by.

I can be contacted at veronaman@gmail.com

1972 Cinelli, a Restoration

CINELLI ONLY reader Jeff writes in with his story of the restoration of his 1972 Cinelli, serial number 1954:

"My Cinelli frame was gift from an old friend who was no longer able to ride. He'd bought it new & raced it hard until about 1980 (+/- a couple years). When he hung the frame up, all the original Campy components had been stripped off and given away. The bare frame sat in a garage until about 10 years ago. My friend was about to throw away the frame but knowing I still occasionally rode asked if I wanted it. Of course, I said yes and thereafter the frame was bequeathed to my care.

When I received the the frame, it was un-rideable. The fixed BB cup was frozen solid and someone, in an attempt to remove it, damaged the BB shell. The frame had 2 dents, one on the down tube & one on the top tube. All decals were gone. The paint was badly chipped. That being said, the frame was straight.

Having not the immediate financial resources to send the frame out for repair, I sat on it until this past Spring, when I could no longer stand having this classic piece of Italian art stare at me forlornly in my basement. However, with a wedding to pay for, this project was going to have to proceed on a budget.

Without doing any real research into the topic, and being unaware that there was a thriving community of classic lightweight lugged steel enthusiasts who might have helped me in my approach to the restoration, I decided to proceed as follows:

First, the bike had to be rideable. Hence, the BB had to be repaired.

Second, I didn't want to see the frame deteriorate further. Since I was going to have to take the frame to a frame builder for the BB repair, it seemed to me appropriate to have the dents repaired & the frame re-painted. I had the frame painted blue (it's original color), but I did not specify an attempt for an exact color match.

The chrome was polished, but otherwise, left alone.

Third, my vanity wanted new decals.

The frame came back to me in Mid-August. The repairs were excellent & the paint job was decent (given my budget). In building the bike back up, I had 2 criteria:
a)Components would have to come from my existing stock of parts.
b)Parts would have to be from the relative period of the 70's, but not necessarily bound to what would have been available in '72. Using existing parts was again, more of a financial decision, especially when I started pricing NOS (New Old Stock) Campy components on Ebay.

The second part however goes back to me early days in the sport. Specifically, I recall that without hesitation, we wouldn't think twice about "up-grading" a 2 or 3 year old bike with some new & improved (fill in your choice of component here).
Thus, I believe an early '70's bike is "period" correct with a mix of NR & SR components, 5 or 6 (or even 7) speed freewheels, etc.

Last, since goal #1 was for rideable bike, I made a concession to my age & elected to go with a more comfortable modern saddle & modern padded handlebar tape. I acknowledge that I should have probably installed an old Brooks saddle & wrapped my bars with cloth tape, but, I must admit that these modern additions make the ride much more enjoyable.

Some may argue that my approach to this GIBOTR (Got It Back On The Road) project was improper or incorrect, but I would argue that putting a bike that has languished for over 20 years back on the road is more important than any liberties taken to complete the project."

Photo: 1972 Cinelli (click to enlarge)

I invite you to contribute by sending in photographs of your Cinelli bike, illustrations, personal stories, and articles about Cinelli bikes and components.

Thanks for stopping by.

I can be contacted at veronaman@gmail.com