Selsk

Hello there. I am about to buy this bike today.
Can anyone please tell me the year?

Supposedly it has all super record components but I'm pretty sure those bars are not looking too original.
I would like to make it more classic looking, so what would be THE bars for this bike? I'm also thinking of fitting a brooks swallow.

Thanks for any help!

bibliobob

It's approximately 1976-1977, and looks like all or mostly Super Record. I can't see the post well enough to say if it is Super Record (anodized black aftermarket?), and can't tell what type of stem it is.

It's a pretty nice bike, and looks to be in good shape. Make sure that the seat post and stem aren't seized....

It's a pretty big bike, so make sure that it fits you well. I'm guessing that you'd have to be at least 6'5" to ride that...

Good luck!

lostarchitect 

You're right that the "anatomic bend" bars and non-aero brake levers are not original. It's hard to see what the levers are. Otherwise it looks intact. I would ask if the seller has the original Campagnolo levers. The bars were probably Cinelli and you might ask about them too. Otherwise looks good. I agree about the size, are you super tall?

Selsk

Thanks for the replys. He says it is a 61. I am about 6'2". I test rode it and feel like I could raise the seat a bit and drop the bars.

Nice to know it is from the 70s. I figured it to be early 80's. I was hoping 1981 to be birthday year bike

Apparently the seatpost is record as well. The stem has MEDICI written in yellow on the side. What is that?

Thanks again.

bibliobob

It looks a good bit bigger than a 61 to me (64?). But, if you have pretty long legs, it's possible that it could fit you.

Medici was a small shop in California in the 70s and 80s. Lots of drama and history, and some pretty cool bikes came out of their shop. You could sell the Medici stem, and help pay for a replacement pair of either Cinelli or 3TTT bars/stem.

Good luck!

Selsk

Hmm yeah 64 is pretty big. I do have long legs and tend to like a bigger bike. I will test ride it again.
Do you think $700 is a good deal?

bibliobob

Yeah, I'd say that's a pretty good price. Big sizes are a lot harder to sell, but it looks pretty clean and the parts are pretty nice. A good deal, but not the deal of the century either. If it fits you, I'd buy it. But, if it doesn't, I'd pass. A bike that is either too small or too big doesn't get ridden often, or for long distances. Eventually, it gets sold.

Most of us here have learned that the hard way

Best,
Bob

Selsk

Thanks for that wisdom.. I might have gone Colnago Crazy / impulse buy. I'm going to check it out again but now at least feel better if I need to walk away.

reading this:
https://www.raydobbins.com/ebay/medici/medici_story.htm

kclark987

Say, not that it matters, but I think this bike is a wee bit newer than '76-77.

I bought my first Colnago the summer of '78--brand new and a 60 cm (and yes, BTW, this is a 64 cm'ish in the pic, definitely not 61 cm). It was the medium blue and the forks were fully-painted to match the bike. A year later in '79, I finally came to terms with a hard truth--the frame was too big for me! (Like the previous poster mentioned--we've all done this!) So, I sold the 60 cm frame and bought a brand new 56 cm. To my surprise, it arrived from Bikology (a mail-order company from that time) with a fully-chromed fork! I didn't like the chrome fork at first glance and called them since the catalog picture didn't show a chrome fork, but they told me it was all the rage now to have fully-chromed forks. Sure enough, I started seeing a lot of the chrome forks on new bikes on the starting line and I learned to love that chrome fork. My beautiful Super is still one of my favorite bikes, BTW!

Kevin near Rochester, MN

kclark987

One more thing that leads me to believe this is a '79, or newer. I'm pretty sure that beautiful, single-bolt fluted Super Record seat post didn't come out until '79 or '80. I originally had a Nuovo Record seatpost, but when they came out with the single-bolt design--I had to have it. It was substantially lighter and I loved the flutes, so I upgraded.

Two comments not related to the age of the bike...

I don't think the chainrings are Super Record--my Super Record chainrings don't have the extra inner ring like those in the pic. This was another of my upgrades, but it's possible there was an earlier generation of SR rings made that way.

And if you want to keep it period correct, I wouldn't put on a Brooks saddle. Back in the day, everyone had Cinelli seats (and bars as another mentioned) in my neck of the racing world... A Brooks would have been considered too heavy, plus, just my opinion but you've got to keep an Italian classic like this pure!

Kevin near Rochester, MN

kclark987

One last thing and then I'll shut up...

As for the frame size--I would suggest you measure the top tube. See how it compares to a bike that fits you properly. If similar, and you have enough stand-over clearance, this may fit you OK. The bikes of this era had shorter top tubes than the bikes of today. My 56 cm Colnago Super has a slightly shorter top tube than my 55 cm Klein (2004); and is identical in length to my 54 cm Specialized (2010)!

bibliobob

Good info., Kevin. All useful.

Colnago dating is definitely an art, and not a science. Campy dating as well, to a lesser degree.

As point of reference, I put the early date at '76, as that's when the "Colnago" was added to the club on the fork crown.

I put the late date at '77, as '78 is when Colnago is supposed to have switched to recessed brakes.

These dating tools, it goes without saying, are only guesstimates. There weren't model years, and changes certainly didn't happen at the start of calendar years. So, the OP's bike could be late '75, or early '78, I'd imagine.

My Colnago dates, according to the timeline, as a '74. But, it differs from later decals that were also sold later in '74. So, i figure that mine is either early '74, or early '73.

All these estimates should be taken with a pound of salt. Some features, such as pantographing (which was outsourced to the Gozzi brothers) vary quite a bit. But, they are the reigning conventional wisdom, and the best default guesses, absent evidence that clearly contradicts.

Best,
Bob

Kactus 

Definitely not Super Record or Nuovo Record chainrings. I think Gran Sport maybe?

And the brakes are from '78+... they have the dished quick release levers. I'm thinking around '80 as well.

kclark987

Bob,

When you say "recessed brakes", are you talking about the recessed mounting bolts? My '79 frame had oversized holes on the backside that allowed you to use a recessed bolt (from a seat-post bolt). If this is what you're talking about, I'm betting this bike has these even though you can clearly see the a nut holding these brakes on.

It was common for us cash-strapped teenagers to swap our old Campy road groups onto new frames. When I got my new 56 cm frame, I remember wondering "why is the hole so big now?" when I mounted the brakes. Eventually, someone showed me you could use a seatpost bolt to secure your brakes now. Of course, I had to cut down the center bolt from my '78 Campy brakes--shortening it by a couple cm's. Maybe you always had to do this in later years, too?

Here are some pics from my Colnago... Sorry about all the dirt and (gasp) a bit of rust on the front fork!

Kevin near Rochester, MN

PS> For the discerning Campy history buff looking at the pics below--yes, that's not a circa '78 headset... Replaced the headset sometime in the mid-80's after the original steel headset wore out. Yes, wore out...got pretty pitted before I sprung for a new one.

kclark987

How about serial numbers for dating Colnago's? My bike has a very obvious "H76" stamped onto the rear dropout that I always considered to be the (rather simple) serial number. I've assumed it was the 76th frame produced of year "H", but it's only a guess.

Kevin near Rochester, MN

kclark987

Actually, I think the chain rings are Nuovo Record....my original '78 Nuovo Record road group came with these (pictured below) and look like those in the OP's post.

Selsk

Thanks for all you help & advise. I measured the frame myself center-to-center and it turned out being a 62. Another test ride and it did feel big. I decided to pass. I feel like a 60 would be a better size for me.
Upon closer inspection it did smell a bit like spray paint and there was some small overspray areas over the logos that the owner didn't know anything about...

bibliobob

Best of luck to you. More will come....