Purpose of (big) hole in chainstay
 

Saw bike while browsing for sale ads. Not mine. Just curious about what looks like big brazed in bung hole.

Odd.

Do you know how old the frame is?

On the DS side, perhaps a speedometer or cadence meter.

Guessing early 80s. Racing geometry.

Assuming there is one on the other chainstay, and they're both threaded, could it be for a kick stand mounting plate?

Hey I know that bike! Haha
Secrets(of location etc.) safe with me. I too have been eyeballing the ad wondering if it's worth it. Dont worry I'm passing, I have too many bikes and not enough space for another project. Honestly I have been looking at it out of curiosity more than anything, trying to tell what quality it is I mean. I hope you get it and share with us what it ends up being.
I too noticed the hole and assumed it was a drain hole? I know it's not quite in the right spot but that's all I could figure. I'm by no means an expert though.
Good luck!

Threaded? Racing bike? Maybe it was for a CO 2 cartridge?

I've got to agree with CliffordK, in my opinion. That if the hole is on the drive side only it is for a cadence meter.

Buellster, it looks slightly big for me. Plus I bought the Legge so it's your turn. :)

I don't t think this one pencils out value-wise however.

that's right! How did the Legge end up treating you? Or your pocket book if it was a resale? Haha
I'll likely end up passing, unless it sits long enough for the price to drop a good number. I also dont think the value is worth it right now. Most Cinelli frames I've seen have more signs of high quality like artsy BB drain holes and chrome stays, I fear this one is a lower grade. Could be a fun project but not for the price it is now.
I think it is exactly my size. Which is why I've been eyeing it. Anything that may be (somewhere near) high end in 60cm+ catches my attention around here.

Guys notice the brazed on cable guides on the top of the BB shell? Not a guaranteed sign of an older bike, but such was mostly gone by the 80's, Was the "bung hole" added on later? Maybe.....

I'm thinking it's a wire hole for a BB dynamo. They were popular at this time. Not sure, but it seems likely.

On the top cable guides were the rule till about 1984 or so. IIRC. This bike most likely was made at the end of that period.

I think top of BB cable guides were disappearing fast on bikes by the start of the 80's. Most "main line" production bikes, like Peugeots had plastic under BB cable guides at the start of the 80's. My 82 Peugeot PH10 (I sold in 84), 83 Davidson and 84 Peugeot PSV, 84 PY10FC and 84 Gitane TdF has under the BB cable guides.
I think, by 1984, if you were a builder of a big bike company using top mount cable guides, I think you would be considered to be behind the times.....

Since we're playing blind man and the elephant, I'm going to guess the holes are threaded, on both sides, the bike is a tourer or city bike, and it's either a stand or generator brazeon.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c12d27a3ed.jpg

:foo:

I had assumed one hole was shown, so there was one hole. But, two holes might make a lot of sense.

The mount is likely forward from the tire, so a good place for a kickstand.

In the 70's, I think they had mechanical speedometers. By the 80's, I think we were seeing the first digital speedometers, but I'm not sure about cadence.

Issues with the canister generators and road bikes were well known, and there were center mounted generators, but I thought those were off of the seatstays or brake bridge. Or, perhaps the fork.

Anyway, if the OP is not buying the bike, then why not simply post a link to the actual bicycle. That way we can see actual details of the bike. It may be possible to see if there is a NDS braze-on.

Things like fender eyelets would also give information on whether this was intended to be a commuter, or a racing bike.

I had several computers with cadence in the '80s and '90s. None of them were made to mount to anything brazed to the frame, and they all worked off the NDS.

https://offerup.co/vaTFgfNEMS

No need to post the 50 clues that this is no Cinelli frame. Sorry Buellster for spilling the beans.

Threaded hole for one of those chain suck guards? I had a Trek 750 multitrack that had one. Seems odd for a "Vintage CINELLI Italy racing bike" lol.

Probable.
Those bb mounted dyno's were abysmal. Perhaps this particular frame hole was used as a pin guide for a modified gen bracket (possibly is threaded) to prevent forced rotation while in use. The Sanyo undermounts had a tendency to move. Owners would continue to torque them to 'tube crushing' gorilla specification.

We're not far out of agreement. Perhaps my phrasing could have been better. To my recollection, 1984 was the year most companies switched over (or rather under... ;)), on average. Trek switched in 1983. Univega didn't switch till at least 1985. I can't remember when Bianchi switched but IIRC the under BB guides were introduced on their top/pro models pretty early on, but they kept the 'traditional' over BB guides on the mid level models for some time. Those were the main lines in the shop where I worked at the time. Never worked at a Peugeot dealer, but I'm not surprised they were early adopters. I think it was one of those Euro things that took an extra couple years to catch on in the states - like black rims.

I really only brought this up because the later design BB shell and above BB guides point to this transitional period of like 83-84ish, which is precisely when under BB dynamos were all the rage.

This is the kind of useless trivia that makes this forum great... ;)

My 1984 Specialized Expedition Touring has one of those BB generators with inside the frame wiring, but I couldn't remember how the wiring was routed, so went down to my shop & checked. Output to the headlight (black wire) enters through BB shell and goes up the down tube to exit just behind the head tube. Output to tail light (silver wire) is routed externally up the seat tube and under the rear rack.


Also note: Bike has top of BB mounted cable guides, so I guess Specialized was behind the times in 1984? Or maybe there's an exception when building a Classic Tourer. :) Don

My 79 PKN10 has under BB cable routing. So Peugeot was early, Specialized late. Edit, I meant to say 1 under BB and 1 above.

Interesting bike. Frame built up from scratch for single speed/fixie?

Dating is probably close to what people have been saying, mid 80's.

Over BB cable routing is most common in 70's, and into early 80's.

DT bottle cage came perhaps mid 70's, but ST bottle cage braze-ons came later (80's)?

Ahh, it does also have the shifter braze-ons, but in at least one photo, they look SHORT. :eek::twitchy::eek::twitchy:

https://images.offerup.com/0orC7pz48...65298e4459.jpg

The $145 asking price is probably close, but only if one can replace the shifter bosses cheaply (or doesn't want them).

I think I'd ask for some better rear-end photos before going to see the bike.

You know what they say; "be careful what you ask for." ;)

The stays do look rough but could just be tape.

haha no worries, like I said it's a pass for me right now