Originally Posted by
old_dreams
...What I am wondering about is what forks it came with if it was available as frame & forks only. As all pics I have seen show the fork crown with the Basso stamp which mine doesn't have. On mine the dropouts on the front are Columbus while the rear are Basso. That's what got me wondering.
Then again if it was available fully built I'd love to see what it came with, out of curiosity. But you're probably correct about frame only as the '92 catalog shows the Loto as frame only....
From what I've seen, the fork is almost certainly a replacement.
The only info I have for built Basso Loto, is from 1991 when Security Bicycles was distibuting them. At that time they were offered with Ultegra, Dura-Ace or Chorus. However, yours is earler, probably from when Lake was the distribuor. Their ads from the period show only bare frames.
Originally Posted by
53-12
Going to throw a little detour into the op, because I have long wondered about the lineage of my own Basso which I purchased as frame and fork in 91 or 92. I don't think I knew even back then which model it was, but it is/was just like the one shown in the reply by old dreams except for the chromed lugs.
My best guess would be 1985/1986. The mid-1980s models do not appear to have had as much chrome and it still has the B/world's stripes incorporated into the seat and down tube logos.