My '77 Colnago has Cinelli bars and stem. I'm wondering the story behind this stem, it's the kind with no visible clamp, just a bolt underneath. The owner/builder said he went with that being '77 was the first year and he thought it looked cool. Given I have not been around the Italian scene, this is new to me.

is it the one with the round black Cinelli emblem on the front?
because those were cool! always wanted one,

Don't kill it like I killed my old Cinelli stem overtightening 26mm bars. It should be a proprietary 26.4 mm size, so if you want to run other bars (26mm), make sure you shim them.

Here is a before pic as when the bike came home:

Yes it's with the Cinelli bars.

Was there a model name for this type?

Welcome to the lost world of one-piece forged stems. Quality stems of the ea were forged from a single piece of aluminum, bored for the handle bar, then the clamp ears were drilled and tapped. Most Italian makers were happy to have the ears underneath with the bolt horizontal including Cinelli for many years. But Cinelli was probably the most fashion forward bike maker in Italy, so after a while they went that design one better with this one, which made for a cleaner look.

The thing about these or any forged stem is that removing bars is a matter of finesse, and not using strength or pry bars to spread the stem open. If you look you'll see that the sides are narrowed on the bottom. This allows just enough room to clear the inside of every curve on the bars. You have to rotate the bar as you thread it through to keep the inside where the clearance.

BITD I'd see so many nice alloy bars all scratched and gouged where some oaf who didn't get it tried to force them through rather than use the finesse called for.

There are decent photos of this stem and other nice stems of the era, easily found if you search "forged quill stem images". Obviously, they're random photos, but if you think about it a bit, you can trace the evolution of this design through the decades.

VeloBase.com - Component: Cinelli 1R (1/Record, early version)

Is it that?

VeloBase.com - Component Listing

Thayt my friends is a Cinelli XA Stem, and I have to 90mm. One is in use, one is waithing on my New Frame.

YEA MAN! thats the one!
the standard stem was the 1A, I think that one was the 1R ?

Velobase says the XA began in the mid-80's whereas this one was installed during the frameset build in '77. Who knows?

Access the velobase link that Soody posted. It says the early 1A started late 70's. Could be that one?

I'll post an underneath and side pic in the morning. Thanx!

It's definitely a 1R.

I concur.

It is a Cinelli 1R stem, first version. Noted by the CINELLI typography on the front plastic cover disc.
It came out earlier than 1977 though. Presented in late 1975, some availability in 1976. 26.4 bars exclusively in my book.

The wedge bolt should be well lubricated on the threads and at the wedge face.
These stems really liked the then current production bars (last of the shield logo) as the knurling at the center was deeper than the earlier bars. We lubricated the bars too, but there was some argument about that.
This stem came supplied with an aluminum quill bolt too, be sure to lube the brass washer(s) at the base of the bolt head.

That all written, I did not like them. Too fussy. I have two now, one on a bike as that was original equipment, the other for reasons I cannot recall.

+1 to them being fussy. If you over tighten the wedge digs into the bar which in turn prevents you from micro fine tuning the bar position. You'll only get big adjustments out of it. The wedges are prone to cracking as well as the from of the stem at the edges of the black Cinelli badge.

to remove bars you loosen the bolt them rock the bars back n forth and in n out to break the wedge free.

1R parts are expensive.

I appreciate the excellent info, guys. What an interesting steerer set for an interesting bike. I doubt there will be much difficulty for me since the bike will be my "Friday Night" bike and special occasions, nevertheless it's good to know the shortcomings.

I've got later one that black but just on the move cross from Oregon to Michigan it faded pretty bad just from being outside in my trailer. I think their cool looking stems compared to the standard 1A.

The 1A is Classic and Vintage, with the right logo. But I really am getting attached to the looks of the XA.
[IMG]P1020201 by Patrick Boulden, on Flickr[/IMG]

You've got that bar clamped down pretty good with the rubber insert oozing out the sides.

Well that is the way it was when I purchased it. I dont' typically clamp that hard and didn't upon re-installation, it took a permanent set with prior clamping force.

I've been using a 1R & Nitto dirt drops [Taken off a V1 of the BS MB1 by BS Dealer..] they flare at the drops for bar end shifter to knee clearance.

The black patch on the front fills in the hole bored into the stem to fit the wedge mechanism that pushes the shoe forward to grip the Bar.

Off topic but nice shot of Fignon, who I've come to respect even more after reading his autobiography.

I've got a few 1Rs finicky to be sure but oozes Italian style.