m_sasso

I am interested in possible purchasing this frame and looking for some assistance in identifying its origins. Anyone have any clues, not a Benotto not a Medici, it is very odd, the BB cut out, lugs and fork all appear to be Benotto however I have never viewed this seat stay cluster, seat stay caps on any Benotto before, but have seen it on Medici's.

Lots of other contradictions on the frame, the Portacatena holes in the drop out might indicate it is likely a late 70’s frame however the front derailleur hanger and under bottom bracket cable guides are indicative of an early 80’s frame. Also the large recessed brake nut hole in the rear of the front fork, again would indicate early 80’s.

Could it have been a Medici repair as many Benotto's from production in Mexico had cracking problems due to overheating while being built.

More pictures here Benotto by RObin Adams | Photobucket

unworthy1

that's certainly an Italian forkcrown, and one used by a number of Italian builders...it sure SEEMS to have a logo that resembles "Benotto" engraved in the crown and are those ROUND fork blades?
I wonder who used a heart like that for the BB shell piercing, it looks familiar, too...No, not a Medici but this has some quality details (rifling in the steerer says at least the FORK is Columbus, I'm sure the frame is at least SL grade)

m_sasso

Thanks, if you read the second sentence in my original post, the fork and the bottom bracket cut out are almost assuredly Benotto but what about the rest of the frame beyond Medici decals? Where is the seat stay caps and cluster from? Any one seen these on a Benotto?

Drillium Dude 

Since it's obviously been repainted, all manner of fixes/additions may have been made. Agreed it's a Benotto model - perhaps a 3000 - from the cutout and fork crown, and the seatstay caps could've been replaced if there was some sort of damage to the seat cluster. An FD tab could also have been added before the paint went down.

Unfortunately, I don't think you're ever going to get a definitive answer now that it's wearing "new clothes". But it's fun to speculate

DD

unworthy1

what I thought you were saying is that this is NOT a Benotto (nor a Medici, and I can agree with that). The FORK might not be original to the frame. The BB shell cutout COULD be something done later but that would be very surprising...other braze-ons certainly could have been later adds. I'd be VERY surprised if Medici would have added their brand (decals) to a frame that was in for repair, and not sure how much repair work they ever did. I'd bet the paint and decals have nothing to do with Medici...added by the PO who liked the name and the look. If you concentrate on what CAN'T be (without much difficulty) altered in the FRAME: BB shell, bridges, stay caps, dropouts, tubing, lugs, serial number then you might catch a clue. But discounting all else this still is a mystery...yet a nice looking frame, best of luck!

Chombi

One signature feature Medicis had was the drooping seat clamp ears that sloped down from the top of the clamp while most other bikes had that going straight back.....
I think Medicis did not have the fancy pieced tangs extending down from the crown on the inner side of the fork legs like this one does....
Medicis also did not have the busy slotted type cutouts on the sides of the fork crown. They usually had just a triangular cutout in those areas....

repechage

Benotto, modified at some point most likely just prior to the repaint.
There was a short period of time where Medici sponsored a local club, I have seen a handful of bikes repainted as Medicis due to that. Seat stays are curious as are even the dropouts and other braze ons.
Mike Howard is still around and if you could contact him, a small chance he might recall. Might try Facebook.

repechage

If you cannot find Mike on FB, try Wizard cycles or close to that there too.

Centaurious

It appears that there may be something pantographed in the fork crown. if so this would help ID the fork.