Classic & Vintage - Colnago Mexico

As a new member of this forum and as a new owner of an Italian vintage road bike I would like to get answers for these two following questions.
I have a Colnago Mexico from mid 1980´s(?). The white Mexico of attached pic isn´t mine - my bike is similar to it but in red.
1. I would like to know the exact year of the frame.
2. Could the red color be original? It is "ordinary red" as you can see in another pic - not "Saronni Red".
For some reason the previous owner has sticked the "Master" decals on it...
Thanks a lot for your answers in advance.

How about supplying the serial number of the frame. Those who know Colnagos can likely use that to date it.

This page (http://www.bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/) has some Colnago catalogs you can reference.

This page (http://www.velo-retro.com/tline.html) at the bottom has some info about dating some Campagnolo components.



If you believe the components to be original then you can maybe date those

How about supplying the serial number of the frame. Those who know Colnagos can likely use that to date it.

This page (http://www.bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/) has some Colnago catalogs you can reference.

This page (http://www.velo-retro.com/tline.html) at the bottom has some info about dating some Campagnolo components.



If you believe the components to be original then you can maybe date those
Thanks for your answer.
I haven´t seen any serial number. Where could it be found?
I quess some of the Campagnolo components may be original so perhaps I should check them...

Thanks for your answer.
I haven´t seen any serial number. Where could it be found?


Check the right side drop out and the fork steerer.

Check the right side drop out and the fork steerer.

Thanks for a hint. I just checked them and didn´t find the serial number. Is it possible that there isn´t any serial number at all in the frame? It is possible that I´m just half-blind...

Possibly a bit off-topic, but, in my opinion, almost any classic Italian road bicycle is merely a frame plus its bolted-on components, right? Don't flame me, but I certainly invite others who were also around in those days to correct me (I was active in cycling and triathlons in the late 1980s and early 1990s)...I believe that many frames were sold by stores without components attached and riders selected the Campy, Cinelli, Modolo, Regina, Sachs and (gasp) Shimano components they desired, or had laying around, some possibly from other bicycles.

Alternatively, I also beleive a shop would have a bunch of new groupos in inventory and purchase a range of similar frames and build them up for display and sale. Or, a shop might have purchased a group of last year’s frames on the cheap and installed slightly newer components (I still own and regularly ride an old Bottecchia which I believe is a product of one of those efforts…on the day I bought it in 1990, there were ten virtually identical Bottecchias lined up at the store, all the same color (red, of course), of varying frame sizes, and basically the same mix of Campy components (Croce D’Aune, Chorus, and Athena)…I still have the receipt and I remember they eagerly offered to swap out any component if I didn’t like the way they had assembled them). Indeed, if you look at some of the old catalogs, they advertise that many frames could be purchased separately or built up with a range of components groups.

FWIW, I don’t strive to locate a bike that’s precisely as it was assembled by a local shop in the 1980s…I do keep the component vintages within spitting distance of each other and the frame. A lot can happen to a bicycle in twenty years (i.e., component swapping, painting, etc)…so, depending upon what your intentions are and how much you know about these old rides, you might post a few photos of your bicycle, and members will opine on how accurately the components match each other and the vintage of the frame.

Thanks for a hint. I just checked them and didn´t find the serial number. Is it possible that there isn´t any serial number at all in the frame? It is possible that I´m just half-blind...

It's possible it doesn't have a serial number (if there was a number stamped onto the drop out, it wouldn't be a serial number anyway, or helpful in dating the bike). I also don't see any grooves in the tubing - does it have shaped tubing (i.e. non-round)? That would make it likely an Esa Mexico rather than a Mexico, strictly speaking. It will probably be difficult if not impossible to identify the precise year, but knowing the tubing shape will get us closer.

I also don't see any grooves in the tubing - does it have shaped tubing (i.e. non-round)? That would make it likely an Esa Mexico rather than a Mexico, strictly speaking. It will probably be difficult if not impossible to identify the precise year, but knowing the tubing shape will get us closer.

Thanks for your answer.
The profile of top and bottom tubes is non-round with "indents". The seat tube is round.