Thanks, Rich. You'll definitely see it soon. I have a few projects ahead of it in the queue, but this is tempting to work on soon. Minimal preservation is on the menu...

Definitely appears to paint. I've seen the same on some other Spence Cinellis.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6a3e90f3e4.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...eb0b36388d.jpg

Amazing bit of cycling history you have there, Bob! Thanks much for sharing!

:thumb: First, do no harm, great plan.

Thanks. If it is paint, that is some serious craftsmanship there.

bibliobob - the world bands on the seat tube to me are like Cinelli serial numbers, you never know what will turn up or upside down.
‘I referenced them keenly when I decided to replace the missing bands on my bike.
‘green is the most often closest to the herald. The percentage that are both blue top really varies.
I have also seen both green top.

I have a Colnago from the same period and it has the green stripe to top. I have seen others, my guess is that the transfer maker goofed and inverted the array for a batch.
Different than Cinelli where there is no typography on those.

Why? That seems to be a weird request.

the DT decals frequently came buggered / damaged from Italy as they were varnish slide and not clearcoated

so they were included on backing paper but not applied

Old school like on your Revell model kit from the 1960s

/markp

Now do one for a 1973 4bd 2ba Cupertino ranch. :-)

I did some checking in the CR list archives. Looks like Spence sold the shop in 1981.

Spence moved his shop to Pacific Grove CA in 1978 and formed a partnership with Hector Chavez called "Winning Wheels".

Sold the Cupertino name and inventory to John Finley Scott in 81. Spence retired to Covelo CA, hepassed in 1993

Bill Bryant and Carter Milhouse were taken on as partners by Scott in '82 (pic below) the shop re-opened in a convenience store mini mall in Mountain view

in 84 it returned to Cupertino, a location near De Anza College. Al Budris bought the shop in 1988 and sold it to Vance Sprock in 1992, located to another location on De Anza Boulevard at McLellan

and it remained there till 2022 when it closed.

/markp

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...beea2bb51e.jpg

here's a pic of Spence's old cog board, was still there in the garage at 10800 Randy Lane in 2004 !

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a391626563.jpg

Nice one Bob.

Took a few minutes for me to decipher...Clement CdM silks
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5977710dcf.png

Thanks for the good info and photos, Mark! Appreciate the feedback from people like yourself that were part of that history...
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Wow! Mark, you have so many images, just fantastic, thanks for sharing these!

Guy

Let me expand a bit on the last era of Cupertino. I was a frequent customer during their last decade.

During the era of Vance's ownership the shop moved twice. It started in a strip mall at De Anza and McClellan then it moved around 2014 up to the intersection of McClellan and Foothill (heading into Steven's Canyon). They expanded there with the addition of the old small shopping center as a vintage storage and work area (There was a lot of very cool stuff in the back area). They lost the lease at this location in ~2021, and moved to their final location on De Anza near Prospect, where they stayed for about year and then lost that lease. They did some final selling of parts last year from a location off Lawrence and Central in Sunnyvale.


Mike

hey SwimmerMike thanks for adding that last bit ! the changing market and high price of retail floor space is what ultimately did CBS in

there is an aggressive push by the big brands now to capture the D2C market.

I note with interest that Specialized opened a retail outlet in Los Gatos, right across the street from Mike's bike shop which is one of the last high end shops still operating in the Bay Area.

a clear attempt to put them out of business. Specialized went into that location, paid the current tenant to break their lease, and opened up a storefront.

Cut throat dog eat dog environment now. Sadly hurts hard working small business owners.the most

market dominance and price control is the objective

/markp

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...99c2cb128d.jpg

I was walking LG before a work dinner a few weeks ago and saw the Specialized shop. I had the same takeaway as you, it's getting cut throat. I'm not sure if this was in retaliation of Mike's Bikes no longer carrying Specialized (don't know the story of who split with who on this).

Mike

I didn't know they were going out of business yet but stopped there on the way back from Eroica 2022, looked around, got the t-shirt and some other things.

Vance was pretty busy but stopped what he was doing to find a shirt in my size.

As I was leaving I realized he was having lunch, poked my head in the lunch room and asked if he wanted to see a Merz, "Jim Merz?" he asked, yep I said.

He stopped eating and got up to come outside and have a look and thank me for showing it to him.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...76f559d81d.jpg

The hand pinstriping of the paint / chrome boundary was a standard thing on Cinellis in period.

here is the "crotch" on my 1970 Special Corsa, also ex Spence Wolf. 20 miles from new on this bike

Note "con dente" pedals too.

/markp

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4cf443b7a7.jpg

Bellissimo.

As a point of comparison to show just how uniform Cinelli details weren't BITD. My blue mid-1960s SC has the remnants of world champion stripes (stickers or decals, not paint) on the fork and stays where the paint meets the chrome. This view is as good as it gets for that detail; the stickers/decals have mostly gone the "patina" route.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c37f421384.jpg

it also has the remnants of white lug lining, best seen now on the BB hanger.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...37e51a71a7.jpg

My since-repainted silver mid-1960s SC, by comparison, had no "socks" on the stays and no lug lining. I never had the original fork, so I can't say whether it had chrome or, if it did, what if any demarcations it had betwixt chrome and paint

Holy blast from the past!
My family relocated to the South SF Bay Area in 1982 from Texas.
I had worked at a bike shop in Dallas for a few years as a "grunt" and ended up looking for a weekend job in the winter of 1982.
I got pretty tired of the same old same old bike shops and wanted to work in a more "elevated" door and developed a sort of selection or litmus test for a shop "worthy" of this 17year-old bike rat's talents! The test was simple. I'd walk into a shop and ask for a Campy record brake adjustment ferrule o-ring...if recollection serves, it's part #2002. If a shop could order them, OK, one point, if it had them in inventory, 2 points and I'd consider working for them.
I had no joy searching in the the Los Gatos, Saratoga, Cupertino area had that part. Then, on a rainy winter Saturday, my dad and I stumbled into Cupertino Bike Shop....in Santa Clara next to a Ben Franks hot dog shop.
I walked in, looked around for a bit in amazement, and was approached by a super pleasant, skinny, redheaded man who asked if he could be of assistance...I said, "Yes, do you have Campy part number 2002?". He replied with "Sure do! How man do you need?!" He then turned around, pointed to a petroium blue parts cabinet and said "we have about every Nuovo and Super Record small part available!". I coughed, my dad let out a laugh and the sales guy looked at us oddly. That guy was Carter Milhaus and we had just been introduced to the parts cabinet know as CampyLand!
My father ended up letting him in on my secret and the rest, as they say, is history.
I ended up working at Cupertino Bike Shop until 1989 under JF Scott (RIP) and Al Budris and move with Al when he started CycleCraft.

I stumbled across this thread while doing a search for Cino Cinelli and Spence Wolf....CBS was a magical place.

Hi MPetry912!

Thanks for sharing. Not a great pic, but a 1968 Cupertino Cinelli (thanks to Guy for the historical documentation from the Cupertino shop). No evidence of a downtube decal, but note the paint ring at the edge of the chrome. It's cleaning up nicely, getting the spa treatment and careful equipment choices.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f5c2d2c05.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a263040265.jpg

VRJAKE SWEET!!! That is a beauty . I can't remember seeing a yellow one before. A classic Cinelli is a grail bike even in today's market . Is this a new acquisition ?