Regarding typical components, my understanding is that for many years it was only the frame sets that were imported, and the bikes were built up by either the shop or the buyer. In the late 70s and early 80s, that meant Campagnolo drivetrain and brakes, and Cinelli stem/bars, but not always. I've seen comments from people wanting to build up a Tommasini "the way it left the factory", or saying things like "a Tommasini would never have left the factory with Shimano/Suntour/Dura Ace," but that's not really how it worked in the early years.

Regarding models, Tommasini seems to have taken more of a craftsman approach than a factory approach up until the mid 1980s. By that I mean that it seems that many did not have specific model designations with decals and a catalogue to differentiate them. It's often difficult to be really sure what you have in terms of model, and being sure of the year of the build is sometimes impossible. The use of various lug styles, forks, graphics, and other build details was also fluid, and so certain attributes point to 'eras' more than model years. In the early years, some bottom brackets had some cryptic numbers stamped on them, many did not, and I haven't seen any pattern there. Basically, there's no database to look up a given frame to find model and year.

Oh, and there's the common practice of repainting and using inappropriate decals. Since Tommasini's have good resale, if they're in great shape, it leads to some sellers doing some renaming. For example, I've seen a 'Racing' model repainted in a better color and relabeled a 'Prestige'. That's basically a distinction without real difference, but still something I find annoying.

The Tommasini factory used to give rough dating and model info upon request, but it's apparent that they didn't keep great records, and some of the 'factory verified' info that you see in old threads is clearly wrong. It's been a fun side project for me, as I refurbish my Tommasini, to try to figure out the frame build date. I've narrowed it down, with copious help from T-Mar, to 1982-1983, and I continue to check out other Tommasini's that show up for sale to add to my own data base and confirm my assumptions.

And yes, a lot of Tommasini's are garish and over the top. But many are beautifully subtle, with superb finish. Especially the early ones. I love the 'fishnet' paint jobs, as well as the more subtle graphics used up till the mid-80s. Oh, and the decals on Tommasini's are amazing. Mine was painted with a hot new paint from the early 80s, which faded badly (every metallic red early 80s Tommisini I've seen has significant UV fading), and it has a fair number of paint chips from being ridden long hours in the Texas sun. The paint looks like hell, but the decals (except for the Columbus decal) are intact. And fortunately the entire bike is chromed, so the paint chips haven't lead to rust except from superficial stuff where the old Silca pump rattled against the top tube paint and likely trapped some sweat.

As for ride, I only have a couple of hours in the saddle (with a worn out BB) and I loved the ride. I realize the tubular tires are part of that, but I'm very much looking forward to getting it back on the road (I put in the new BB yesterday).

I wouldn't worry about the 130 mm rear -- it's easy to cold set an early 80s bike to 130, and a lot of people don't even bother with that. The biggest difference I see between early '80s and late '80s (besides increasingly jazzy paint/graphics) is the move to the rear brake cable to internal routing. And the introduction of SLX and other tubing choices.