cyclotoine

I've never seen a branded Molteni Bicycle Before so I took some photos. It was also interesting just to see the mis-mash of highly desirable components on this old beauty. Looks to be from the early 70s. I saw this in como Italy. What do you guys think of it?

And yes it was sitting unlocked on the street, the owner probably in a nearby cafe.

jet sanchEz

Huh, so neat! I guess they take it for granted that a bike will last a lifetime over there and only upgrade when something really nice comes along. Did you buy anything cycling stuff for yourself from Italy?

SingeDebile

bikes are built to be ridden, and this one you can tell has been well loved

cyclotoine

We did happen upon an antique market one fine sunday in Italy on our way to vicenza. There was a vendor selling so many campagnolo and FB and gnutti hubs (lots of open C stuff) a couple cambio corsa set ups. Some magistroni cranks, a frame with toothed cambio corsa Drop-outs, many sets of NOS universal brakes, the list goes on. I bought a NOS regina extra oro chain for 20€. That's all I bought thought, he knew what his stuff was worth.

Otis

Very interesting frame (and looks like my size). I think it was pretty common for racers in Europe to turn their old steeds into "city bikes" when they stopped pinning numbers on their jerseys. Looks like the case here for sure.

I think I would have waited for the owner of that one to show up and start waving around some Lira or Euro's or whatever it took to bring that one back in a suitcase.

Marrock

Now there's a ride with character.

vjp

It looks like a very early Colnago built bike. He was the builder for the Molteni team while Merckx was a member.

cyclotoine

If it were my size I would have thought about it, I know the calipers are worth around $200 alone, but we were traveling with our bicycles and I would have to ship anything like that from where I bought it. Not to mention I was leaving Como within an hour or two of taking that picture on a train for which I already had the tickets....

Surprisingly I saw more vintage light weight steeds on the streets in Switzerland than anywhere else. There was a bike with full 1st generation C-record locked up at the train station in Zurich and it looked like it had been there for some time and had had at least one theft attempt on it (front wheel removed and sitting beside the bike). At home I would have left a note on the bike and hoped the owner would contact me, but there were bikes like this everywhere.... like a titan I saw at another train station that looked like someone bought it to ride to the train and than left it... there was a $15CHF price take on it, probably from a second hand shop.

Otis

That's what I was thinking looking at the fork crown.

caterham

Take a close look at the lower rainbow seat tube band in the final pic and you'll partially see the old style Colnago inscription written diagonally across the stripes(seen as "COL..."in the pic)

skinny

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliment...teni_(ciclismo)

Scroll down to Arturo Pecchielan. He may have been in the cafe.

moki

that would make the best fixed gear conversion EVAR!

The bike nerd in me wants to "rescue" it, but another part of me is glad this bike is getting ridden, regardless of how crunky and mismatched the parts are. Better out on the road than in some Cali lawyer's basement.

Nice to see a commuter that's the polar opposite of a 40lb dutch bike or $188 dual suspension fat tire monstrosity.

cudak888 

Speaking of these machines, get this - popped up on Miami C-list this evening: 49cm De Rosa, full panto - looks like a Colnago-made '70s machine:

https://miami.craigslist.org/bik/469067748.html

-Kurt

caterham

the completed eBay auction the scam craiglist ad was stolen from-

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=004

caterham

update- reported to craigslist and ad pulled