I am pleased you determined 1981. The decals didn't look right for 83.
I didn't see any evidence of a Ernesto sig on mine. When did that start?

What brand of polish to bring out the depth in the paint? I have an earlier one and the paint while clean is not pizazz shiny like this one.

Inaugural Ride...!
 

SJX426 Not sure when that started. I re-decaled this - using decals Gus Salmon provided. I added it, thought it was pretty cool - he seems to think Colnago was pretty loose about when they started that. So I added it in.
repechage my process for old paint is to do a wet sand with 2000 and then 3000, making sure I stay in the clear coat, not the base. In this case, Gus recommends clear over the water slide decals, so I did a light clear, then did the sanding about 48 hours later. Then, a couple of grades of meguiar polish and buff. Came out pretty good, I think.

Went for the first ride today. It's been about 35 years since I rode my old Superissimo - I forgot how smooth a ride this bike can give. It was really great, and a great day to ride here in Colorado. A bit of wind, but that's good as I am preparing for my annual "Where the hell is Maybell" ride in my old hometown, and it's always windy up there!


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1013e40f7.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7fe042b1d.jpeg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7788c7c67.jpeg

The Gus Salmon set is very, very good and gets the font and size just right. Very nice. To be honest, I thought you'd somehow touched up the originals and had found a way to get them to lay flat as and where they curled up on the seat tube.

Bike looks great in its final form - and I see you trimmed the derailleur housing, too :)

Not surprised at all that the ride was smooth, as Colnagos of this era have a ride all their own. They look pretty special, too. Enjoy.

DD

Yeah - I love it too. A great looking Colnago. Very nicely put together.

Love it. Love seeing these posted. Such a nice blue. I wish you many happy miles on that beauty.

I plan on upping the mileage on mine significantly this year.