unworthy1

I just got a reply from Lorenzo of the Dedacciai Company in Italy and he says that Deda never made a tube set with that embossing, the decal shown is theirs, but the tubing....not.
Here's his quote:
I am Lorenzo from Dedacciai.
Dedacciai never produced tube sets like that........
Frame shows our decal ..... but it is not our tube set!
So the mystery remains: maybe it's a treatment that Ciocc (or their builder) applied himself to the tubing (any tubing) that they used.
If so, it could be Columbus or anything else: Deda, Oria...

doubleoh2

Thank you very much unworthy1, very interesting. The plot thickens. I have started saving for a trip to Florence to get to the bottom of this..!

classic1

Avoid the area near the velodrome unless you crave the attention of hookers.....

unworthy1

One more follow up, courtesy of Alfredo Marcantonio by way of the CR list:
Subject: Re: [CR]CIOCC with 'barley twist' main tubes

As the product manager for Zar International I had Stefano Bonati of Ciocc make many of these for the U.S. market. The tubes are both squeezed and etched and can be done in various patterns. Mostly we sold them here in Dedacciai Zer Three tubing in redor blue with lots of chrome. Very classy but inexpensive frame.

Greg Honn
Milano Sport
Greenwich, Ct. USA
Sounds like Ciocc did the work on the tubing, and therefore could be done to different tube sets, Dedacciai being one of them. Doesn't answer how those Titans got the treatment...

classic1

Here is a link to some Conti brochures. Check out some of the fugly Selle Royal saddles.

https://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/conti/

unworthy1

sure looks like "Conti" and "Ciocc" were practically the same: see the San Cristobal record model and the address on the back cover. Here in the States we see so few Contis compared to so many more Cioccs, I wonder if this was a marketing ploy.

doubleoh2

Cheers Classic1, that's great. As you said, same model names as the Ciocc. Or vice versa. No panto Italian flags or internal routing, no mention of Ciocc, these are obviously earlier than my Conti. Have you come across any Contis lately? Thanks very much for the research!

doubleoh2

My apologies, I was getting all excited over hot blooded Italians...

doubleoh2

Heard along the grapevine (Bob at Stanmore Cycles) that Europa Cycles at Kensington were the distributor in AUS for Contis, but he couldn't remember bringing them in.

dannyg1 

Another maker that seems suspiciously related to the Titan frames is Casati. Painted by Domini Carla (or some name like that. Pardon my giving short shrift to an obviously proud persons very fine work), these frames have braze ons that look related and, currently owning both a Titan and a Casati, a kind of way about them that says 'brothers'.

Danny

d40dj4

I think, that Conti's are from a Florentine bike shop called https://www.cicliconti.it/default.htm

Hope you can get the gist of the history

That also have a club associated with them. There's quite a few Conti's around here, and even an my neighbour has an old conti racer in our cellar... Nice specs.

rich0407

I have a Conti .... it has no model name or number on it . it does have the same " flag " and chrome . I purchased it off a friend in Cal. in around 1990 . I didn't get much history then and have been wondering for years. I've done searches before and this is the first time I've ever found anything . I've looked at all the pics. in this thread and have found none with the " pump tab " on the underside of the top tube. The bike is a six speed with Shimano 600 and campy mix. Down tube shifters . Bio-pace chain rings ( right before they went completely round again ). I love the bike and have put thousands of miles on it . I still like it better than my 2 year old Trek . Willing to post some pics. if anyone is interested .

unworthy1

rich0407, we all like seeing pix: post away!
I am chagrined to see some of the misinformation I was repeating back in '07, like Sr. Pelizzoli never having his own shop! Good thing we know a little more about Ciocc, Conti and Concorde now.

jet sanchEz

We need a "Post your Ciocc here" thread, should I start it? Or do you want to, unworthy?

unworthy1

^after you, Mr. Sanchez...I kind of thought there already was one, but...
(My pics sure need to be updated, might be awhile before I have good ones)

jet sanchEz

I searched and there are quite a few Ciocc threads but there isn't a specific thread for photos only. However, like you, I don't have any recent shots of mine so I will do it in a couple of days....

thinktubes 

Just received a Designer 84 frame in the mail today. I already had a spare Italian threaded bottom bracket, so I pulled the trigger. Now to get the rest of the stuff....

ciocc_cat

According to the owner of the shop where I purchased my frame in Shreveport in 1986, my Ciocc San Cristobal was imported into the US several years earlier by Ten Speed Drive Imports. I don't think that they handled Concorde or Conti, but I could be mistaken.

rich0407

Unworthy 1 ... I'll have too clean her up a little first .... been on ice for a while now

Matt_g_sydney

Hi all. Hoping someone on here can provide some info on this Conti steel road bike I was just given by a mate. I has Columbus tubuing sickers on it. 6 speed campy cassette. Non indexed downtube shifters. Anyone know where I can find more info on this? It’s pretty rusty and sad so I want to know how much effort to put into restoring it.

Bianchigirll 

Good Morning and welcome to the forums You may be better off starting a new thread. Post some good pics of the bike including pics of the tubing joints and parts.

unworthy1

Old thread but the painter you're mentioning was probably Carlo Dossena, who's shop did a LOT of very fancy one-off custom painting for many brands, including the "Titan of Switzerland" (actually made in Italy) frames and many of the well-known contract-built brands from the area "near to Bergamo" but probably ranging as far as Milano. His sticker, when present, said "Varnish(ed) by Dossena Carlo". It has appeared on Colnago, Guerciotti, Marin's Italian- built models, many more. That paint shop was highly experimental, attempting to make each frame a unique artistic expression...at least most of the time.

B.C.Bikes

I've recently got my hands on an 80's Conti frameset. It's got a Cinelli BB shell, Campag dropouts, Conti pantographs on the fork crown and seat-stay tops. Looking at a friend's Ciocc from a similar year, they're pretty close, as both have similar pantographs and an Italian BB. Apart from what everyone else has mentioned, there's little information available online.

ssturbo

This reply comes in only 14 years after the original post, but I purchased my Coni in the mid-90s. I still ride it, and it's still super smooth!
Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to post the photo of it until I've posted 10 times in this forum. So, photo pending (for now).

Chombi1 

Has anyone else wondered too, if "pleating" of the frame tubes might make them more prone to cracking...
because of possible work hardening and all those little sharpish dents introduced on to the tubes??