spudly

Hi all:

I'd appreciate any information on this Colnago frame/parts that I just picked up off CL. The seller didn't really know much about it (she got it at a garage sale - probably very cheaply), but said it was an early 90's Master. As shown in the pics, its made of crimped SLX. Also curious about the Campy parts. The rear derailleur is an Athena, but I'm not sure about the headset, shifters, seatpost and crank. The wheels are Campy Omega V with an 8 speed cassette (though I don't know if these worked with the other components) and Campy hubs (Athena/Chorus/Record?). The bike also came with earlier generation (not 5 pivot) Delta brakes and (Record?) levers (see pics).

So are the downtube shifters 7 speed? Did Campy 8 speed always use brifters?

Though the bike is really bright, it's really growing on me and I'd like to assemble the parts to build it up with Campy 8 or 9 Speed. So I'm not looking to sell it, but am of course curious as to what the frame might be worth. It's in generally in pretty good condition (though still dirty) with nice chrome, but does have paint chips, most of them on one side of the top tube (shown in one of the pics). Also are these good wheels?

Thanks for any info!


davidk99's Library | Photobucket

joe englert

NOT a master. There are many other models that it may be however. Easy way to tell if it's a Master? Master will be printed on the top tube. Nuff said

Spaghetti Legs 

The crimped tubes I believe are Columbus Gilco and I wonder if the SLX sticker was added at a later date. It is a Master frame; there are various versions which others may be able to provide more detail. That is a very nice frame and I think it would be worth about $700 with the fork. The shifters are Synchro II's and they did make versions for 8 speed. You can always shift through and count the clicks. Hard to tell which levers without more pics but I'm thinking Athena/Chorus for most of the group with the exception of the brakes. Others are much better at the subtleties of this era. Look for the date code on the crank. It will be a number inside (for this period) a square.

spudly

Thanks for the info! Regardless of whether it is a Master or not, I really like the frame and am looking forward to seeing how it rides.

DMC707

Love the paint ---- i love what Colnago was doing in this era ---- but if this was a MAster, wouldnt it have had a straight blade fork? Just spitballing that the paint looks early-mid 90's to me

DK5

The star-shaped steel tubes (at least your top-tube is star-shaped) were used in the ESA Mexico (exclusively?). If your bottom-tube is also star-shaped then you're on step closer to your answer. It looks as though the bottom tubes have the crimped tubes that are particular for Gilco tubes, though... more HD pictures would be helpful. The group set is a mix of mostly Croce D'Aune and Athena parts.

jet sanchEz

I thought about chasing this one for the group, you got a great deal on it.

I knew it wasn't a Master, I think it's a Tecnos.

spudly

Thanks for the info. All of the tubes are star-shaped (6 indentations), so a late Mexico then? Still haven't been able to find a pic of any Colnago frame that looks exactly like it (Colnago seems to have made many variants during this time period!). The crankset and seatpost, per your info, do seem to be Croce d'Aune. Not sure about the hubs though.

spudly

From my limited research and knowledge I thought the Tecnos were EL-OS. They are supposed to be great bikes though - very light. I'm happy with what I paid, though I did have to drive quite awhile to get it. The seller was happy too as she bought it from "someone who didn't know what they had."

DK5

If all the tubes are star-shaped with the 6 indentations, instead of the 4, this can not be gilco tubing. The only model known to me that ever used this kind of tubing was the Colnago ESA Mexico, quite a rare model at that. All the details, including the fork, tell me that I am right. It can't be a Tecnos ( I own one from the mid 90s ) as the tubes, the crimping and fork are different.

The bike has, in my eyes, definitely been repainted at one point. Colnago never used this type of steel tubing after the mid- to late 80s and the decals and paint are guaranteed mid 90s (as one of the members above pointed out). The paint job is practically identical to one used on the Colnago Decor, as you can see here: P1090535.jpg Photo by Telsun | Photobucket

This was a mid 90s bike originally released (among others) with a complete Record group.

I finally took a closer look at your pictures .... the headset is a mid 90's Record, so are the hubs on the wheel set.

The Columbus SLX Sticker looks too new and as though it's just been slapped on there. Likewise, SLX frames were not available anymore when the record group set came out in the mid 90s.

I'd like to believe that this bike was repainted in the mid 90s, with certain parts upgraded at the time ... or, it was put together in the mid 90s by a dealership that had old tubes and parts lying around and put this piece together. You can always write / call up Colnago and have them cross-reference their database for your serial number to tell you what it is that you own there. I'd say it's a repainted ESAMexico with a Decor Paintjob, but that is just by going off of the crimped tubes and parts that I believe to be original from the late 80s (such as the later Delta brakes, etc.)

Oldguyonoldbike

Not a Tecnos. The early Tecnos frames used a crimped Nivachrome tubeset labelled "Tecnos" beginning in 1996 IIRC. The shape of the crimping is also different, clover-shaped as opposed to the star shape of the Master. As far as I know, the early Tecnos always came with a straight Precisa fork, as did the Master beginning in early 90's - don't remember the exact year. Colnago did experiment with a few different crimped tubesets before settling on the Master and Tecnos. It looks like you've got one of those earlier ones. Nice bike!

spudly

Thanks for your input! I think you, and others who mentioned it, are right that it's an ESA Mexico (what does ESA stand for?). From my research, with the club logo on the seatstays and internal tt brake routing, I think it was perhaps the latest Mexico model, built around 90/91. This timeframe also fits with the Croce d'Aune parts on the bike and early Deltas. Looking closely at the frame, I'm almost positive that it has not been repainted.

Good idea to check with Colnago. Does anyone have a contact email/number?

jet sanchEz

Info@colnago.com