Strange Battaglin
 

My friend purchased this and is looking for some insight on origins, year, repaint, other.

-serial # "55" located up near the seat
-Campagnolo dropouts
-Forks have Battaglin stamped on them along with a "G" with Campagnolo dropouts
-Looks like it may have been repainted

https://i.imgur.com/g866jMM.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/rLca8tx.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/FY0Z6O8.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/prr1C4J.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/LoC3EUK.jpeg

Nice. I’m guessing it’s an early one. https://officinabattaglin.com/about-us/

Founded by Giovanni Battaglin, the legendary cyclist capable of winning the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana in just 48 days, Officina Battaglin is dedicated to ensuring that every creation is truly bespoke.

+1 on early. Cinelli BB shell?

The pantographing is very different from my late 80s/early 90s Battaglin, which features the bicyclist logo:

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...230a33b2a3.jpg
He apparently started the frame building business in 1982, before he retired from the sport in 1984.

Regarding the "55" stamp - might that be the size? It kinda looks like a 55 to me.

With the Italians generally measuring their frames C-T-C, that seems like a well-educated guess to me.

Early, very cool, period. ;)

It is a 55cm so one mystery solved.

The Columbus decal looks like end of ‘70s, while Battaglin started to build bikes in 1981-82… I can’t tell exactly, there are more knowledgeable Columbus experts that may confirm, but to me it seems that either the bike was built with older tubes, either the decal was still in use a few more years into the eighties, either the bike has been repainted… the third option seems the most probable…

Early and nice!
Best, Ben

If you email Alex at Officina Battaglin at the above link he may reply. I have spoken with him several times. His father Giovanni is still active in the business.

What does the sticker say on the other side of the dove?

Looks 1982 era. Engraved head tubes seemed to be a thing with a few builders in that time period (Grandis, Faggin, etc...)

I agree it could be a repaint.

I had thought that Battaglin had used their cyclist logo from the very beginning. All the Inoxpran team photos from 1982 show the cyclist logo on the head tube. Furthermore, all the sport and competition models in the 1982 catalogue show front derailleur bosses, including the lowest Columbus Zeta model, yet this bicycle doesn't have one. Battaglin started his business in late 1981 after winning the 1981 Vuelta and Giro on a Pinarello, so the first Battaglin bicycles would have been 1982 models available in late 1981. The last year for that Columbus decal was 1977, so it's a definite replacement. It would interesting to know the seat post diameter and have better photos of the rear dropouts.

Could it have been a prototype? I've never seen a Battaglin with the engraving on the head-tube; but that said, I had never seen a Faggin with the engraved head-tube either before I got one.