Benotto 1600---value of?
 

Hi, there is a LBS selling an old Benotto 1600 and I am not sure if it is worth picking up. It is fully groupo'd with Shimano 600 and the colour of the frame is a champagne/gold mix, but there is some rust on it. Does anyone know the history of this model? Was it a tourer? I don't recall any 1010s, but it seems somewhat heavy. Thanks for any input :)

I hate to bump but I would like the weekend crew to maybe see this and give me some input. Thanks guys :)

It's most likely a Mexican made Benotto, since it's got the Shimy 600. If it feels heavy, it's probably not a higher-end model. The top Benotto models were always equipped with Campagnolo, at least in the old days. Look closely at the build quality; the better Benotto frames were cleanly brazed, and had better finished lugs; even the early Mexican ones. Without pics or more info, I don't know what else to tell you...

Thanks, that is good info for me to use. I googled around a bit and came up with some pics of the bike I am talking about. The bike in the pics is exactly the same frame, but obviously, the parts are much newer. This guy did an incredible job and I had the same thing in mind when I saw the bike. The frame is in not nearly as good a condition as picutured here, but it is still nice. Does this help identify the bike any better? Thanks.
http://img318.exs.cx/img318/7929/dscn00010hz.jpg
http://img318.exs.cx/img318/8683/dscn00020uw.jpg

I own that exact bike. It was given to me by my dad. It's the modelo 1600, but it has all Sun Tour parts. I wounder how much it would cost to up grade all of the old components, like in that photo.

anybody got any recommendations on web sites and parts for vintage bikes as such? Like, for example, could I just slap on a full Shimano 105 set. Would it fit that frame?

You could slap on a full Shimano 105 group pretty easily, the only thing that you should be careful of is that the rear spacing on your Benotto's frame is 126mm while the new 8/9/10 speed stuff is 130mm. I have done it on a couple of different bikes and have never had any problems but if you want to do it 100% correctly, you should have the frame cold-set to 130mm by a professional.

Check out this thread for ideas and inspiration: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...STI-s-or-Ergos

I did end up buying a Benotto and it has a Campy Ergo group on it

http://velospace.org/files/Ben9.jpg