Well I stumbled across an Olmo SanRemo on Craigslist. I talked to the guy but he new nothing about it, not even the wheel size. He just needed to get rid of it and other stuff in his garage. So we made a deal and now it's mine. I can not find a serial number on it anywhere, only the frame size stamped on the BB. Can someone help determine the year of this bike. As you can see by the pictures it has a 3t stem and seat post. The handlebars are also 3t with the Olympic circles. The crank is Shimano 105. The brakes derailleurs and shifters are all Suntour. The front wheel is Araya and the rear is Rigida, which is right? Both are 27". The tubes are Columbus Cromor and the rear dropouts are also Columbus. I have not checked the front ones yet. The bottom of the BB says "Olmo made in Italy". I have looked online but don't seem to find one outfitted like this one. I rode it around the block a couple times and it seems real nice, Not as smooth as some other Italian bikes but a lot better than a Japanese bike.

Thanks in advance for any wisdom sent my way.

Columbus Cromor surfaced in the early 90's I think - it was previously called Matrix.

There should be a serial number underneath and on the side of the bottom bracket shell - sometimes they can fill up with paint and be hard to see.



Otherwise it may be on the fork steerer tube.

Keep in mind often serial numbers don't really help with much, but there is this Olmo serial number resource: Olmo Serial Number Dating Registry

Nice pick up. I wouldn't mind on Olmo in the shed.

Is this a joke that's going over my head?

Pull the fork look on steere tube, mine has it stamped there and the bb

Did any Olmo's come with Suntour/Diacompe stuff? Or is this one of those where someone found a frame and fitted it with parts they had so they could ride it?

I'll look on the tube but I won't be able to do anything to it until Monday or Tuesday.

Why would you consider this a joke? I am asking about what should be on this bike, photos are provided to verify what is there. I am simply asking for advice.

I was talking about your opinion of japanese and italian bikes. Their ride is just frame geometry, and the japanese builders made many bikes highly influenced by european designs, so it's a bit silly to say japanese bikes ride less smoothly than italian ones. But my comment was also silly, pay me no mind.

Lots of Japanese components on this bike that may have influenced your perception of its ride quality. Think about it.

Brad

Columbus introduced Matrix circa 1985-1986 then got into a trademark infringement lawsuit with Trek over their Matrix rims and changed the named of the tubeset to Cromor. This one has the 1987 version of the Cromor decal, so it should be circa 1987-1988. Cromor was a mid-range tubeset It used seamed CrMo and split the weight difference between SL and SP. Olmo's early Matrix/Cromor model was the Ligure, named after Giuseppe Olmo's home town of Celle Ligure and the location of the Olmo factory. The 1987 Olmo Ligure was spec'd with a Galli group and had an MSRP of $965 US and was offered with 700C wired-on or tubular wheelset. However, the model name on the top tube is San Remo, so it must be a no earlier than a 1988 model.

Neither of the wheels are original and are significantly older than the bike itself. I don't know about the rest of the components; but the black stem and brake calipers are pretty cool; cooler than the rest of the dog's breakfast there. I'd like to think the bike came with mostly-black gruppo.

Any idea what the original wheels were? I did notice that the seat bolt is Campagnolo so possibly it was equipped with Campy parts originally but which ones, Chorus, record, nuovo...?

Regarding the wheels, I'm just making an assumption based on the fact that by the mid/late 80s, an Italian racing bike would have come out with 700c (not 27") rims on it, even if the frame could handle both sizes. By that time, I'm told, 27" rims were mostly relegated to low end bikes or touring bikes.

I agree it should have 700's not 27's but in the pictures below you can see that in the 1st pic the 27" fits like it should. In the 2nd the 700 has a large gap. I know you can get long or extended brakes but it looks all wrong. Not saying I'm right but I have never seen a space that big between the tire and forks as in the 2nd pic.

A nice Olmo like that could have been sold frame only. A Campy group would have been the choice. Your's has an odd mixture of decent Japanese parts, the shifters are Accushift Sprint/Superbe with what appears to be Cyclone 7000 derailleurs. The crank is a total anomaly. I'd start from scratch. Record, Croce D'Aune, Chorus or Victory? Syncro?
50th Anniversary?

It is a surprising amount of space, but I would be happy to find that. Gives you more options with the frame if you decide to use 700. Does it look like the chainstays have clearance for 28mm tires? If so I'd shoot for wider rather than skinnier unless you're planning to race on it. No reason not to have a comfier ride.