iab

You got $2500 in your pocket and you always wanted a Cinelli. 2 SCs are for sale local to you. Both are $2500. Both are in a color you want and both are an excellent fit for you.

The first is from 1957. Magistroni steel cranks, Fiamme tubulars with FB large flange hubs, new FMB tires. Gran Sport derailleurs. Universal Extra brakes. Cinelli steel stem and bars. Cinelli headset. Brooks B17 on a candlestick post. Everything is in very good condition.

The second is from 1977. Super Record groupset. Mavic tubulars with new FMB tires. Universal Aluminum Cinelli bar and stem. Cinelli Unicanitor on a Campagnolo post. Condition is slightly better, it is 20 years newer.

Which do you choose? I have a reason to ask, but I'll keep that blind for a while. Feel free to post why you are on one team or another.

SurferRosa

Sweet! I'll take both.

sloar

I think I’d be drawn to the 57, I like older bikes.

Kekec1965

Needs to be 50's one. 80s is all bling and dope, 50s is all sweat and tears. You know what makes for better art....

merziac

Well if you already have one or the other, the choice could be a bit easy.

That said, the 57 would be my choice, a 77 could be easier to find later for ok $$$$$$.

I will soon have close to both in frames only so I am good as I will probably ever be on this, both will eventually be very sympathetic builds with the correct parts as best as I can.

merziac

Oh, and both!

Bianchigirll 

I'll take the '77 While the derailleurs are basically the same, although the SR might be a bit smoother, the Super Record side pulls are more appealing that what I believe would be centerpull with the Universal Extra brakes. While I guess they are both built with top of the line Columbus tubing I can only imagine the quality '77 tubing would be better than in '57

nlerner

Since they’d likely both be wall hangers anyway, I’d go for the ‘57; it’ll look nicer on my wall.

tiger1964 

I had to vote 77, only because $2500 and cottered cranks...

Spaghetti Legs 

‘57 for me. Both are the kind of bike that you don’t want to make easier to ride, like converting to compact crank, upgrade brakes, etc. and the ‘57 to me has more wow and collectibility.

Lattz

With that momo I'd shoot for your Model B. if strictly from the above, if I would buy it for deco/investment/anything but regular riding then the older one, as I like the look of the older lugs, but to be honest for daily torturing the newer (still age old) would make sense (and still a sacrilege to torture it as it would be even with a NOS off the box SC). I would love both but for my daily errands the "bit more modern" makes life easier. So either the 77 or pass both so I don't have to struggle in the rest of my live between "why I didn't choose the prettier" vs. "why I didn't choose the easier"

Wildwood

as always,
Depends... on the other bikes in the collection. Will it be ridden period-ically (pun intended) or regularly? One color has to be more desirable than the other.

For me = not a too fast rider, with fast bikes abounding - give me the history of 1957.

Pics? or Puffery?

Lattz

**Added as new since the site has brain damage so no editing is possible**
But since I haven't ridden any bikes from the 50's I might be surprised how surprisingly easily it handles my grocery runs, who knows.

obrentharris 

I hope you are asking this question because you are in the enviable position of having to make this choice.
'57 for me. I bought my first Nuovo Record bike 50 years ago and spent the next 20+ years riding exclusively Nuovo Record. I'm a bit bored with it. I find that a large part of the appeal of vintage bikes is riding something quite different from the modern bikes on which I put most of my miles. I'd be pretty happy with a '57 Cinelli B as well.

Besides, my Coloral water bottle wouldn't look right on a '77!

Brent

seagrade 

I’d choose the 1977. Bicycles are made for riding and I’d find the ‘77 more rideable and serviceable and hence ride it more.

squirtdad

77 seems like it would be more fun to ride, i like vintage but appreciate things like aluminum.

also it seems to me that 77 is kind of an iconic time for bikes before a big change in era

Andy_K 

I chose the '77 because I think people would be slightly less offended when I removed the vintage components and installed a 3x10 Campy drivetrain.

Which one has more tire clearance?

jon c. 

I definitely go for the 57. The 77 would objectively be "better" but the 57 would be so much more fun.

Kilroy1988 

I chose '57 but that'd be with the caveat that it depends on how often and how hard you want to ride it compared to how much effort you're willing to put into maintaining it...

jdawginsc 

Is there a choice for a ‘67?

jiangshi

Ride or hang?

C9H13N 

'57 just right for the era of Jacques "leave me in peace, everybody takes dope" Antequil.

Skip the gels and fuel your rides with amphetamines like uncle Jacques, you'll get plenty sweaty.

79pmooney

'77. Easy choice. I'm looking for a classic European race bike to hang some brakes on. Brakes that could be from that very year. (Yes, Italian bike lovers would cringe that they are far lesser French brakes but I think those French cheapos won the Tour on a Peugeot that year.)

Besides, 1977 was the heyday of my racing. And I trained with a woman who rode an Italian Masi. (Just wikipedia'd '77. Van Impe, Merckx and Zoetemelk all had a bad luck late and Bernard Thevenet won riding I presume those brakes.)

machinist42

1957 - Birth Year Bike..

Sedgemop 

So uncommon to find a bike from the '50's in my size, I'd probably take the '57.