i bought this on craigslist from a somewhat sketchy character and i have very little info on the bike. i believe it is from the late 70's or early 80's. its equipped with what i think is mostly campy nuovo record parts. i know the brake levers are at the very least, and the hubs say "campagnolo record" on them, and it also has a 135mm campy crank (i dont believe it's original, but what do i know) and a 44t chainring that i put on it. it previously had a 53t & 39t chainring (see photo). its got a really random salsa handlebar stem as well.

i got thrown off because the frame appears to be cheap. i dont know a whole lot about this stuff but it has a atala sticker/decal badge on the front (not metal? though it's a metal-y sticker) and the atala logos on the tubes are all decals on top of the paint. the paint job appears to be original, and is a nice pearly white color. its pretty light, but i suspect it's due to it's small size (about 51cm).

it seems to be a great bike now that ive fixed her up a little. it was in less than stellar condition when i bought it for $200.

anyone with any info on this bike, i appreciate your replies! i've scoured the internet and there is not a lot of info on these bikes. i like to know what i'm riding and whether or not i got ripped off when i purchased it.

thanks!

PS ill post more close-up photos later

$200 is about what the hubs and the brake levers are worth, at least on eBay today...that may be a little exaggeration, but thassa good deal. The cranks are either record or very late model chorus. Alatas are not cheap, although this one could be, of course. I would like to see the sticker under the seat up close. That'll give us an idea about the build level of the bike. You are probably close about the vintage, although the pink stickers (if that is what they are) puts it closer to mid-80's. Any later and fashion would have dictated that the rear brake cable be run through the top tube.

+1 to everything luker said, I'd also add that Atala made every sort of bike from kiddy stuff and utility bikes to full-Campy racers. This looks like a mid-grade bike at the worst, and likely better than that. Close up pics will help to determine its quality.

The picture isn't very clear, but did the previous opwner cut off the rear derailleur hanger? I don't see one in the pic! I hope not.

I didn't think Chorus came in a four spider crank? Don't you mean Croce d'Aune? Either C-Record or croce'd'Aune, if original, puts it no older than 1985. Regardless, the decal style and color do look late 1980s.

A previously requested, a pic of the tubing decal would help. Also it looks like there is one one set of bottle bosses and no front derailleur tab. Is this correct?

Um, yeah, the campy parts alone were a steal... I've seen this bike; the salsa stem is worth a couple bucks, the campy record hubs are in decent sellable condition and the campy cranks & BB appear to be in good shape too. The calipers themselves could fetch a penny too. You could easily recover more than you paid for it, just by breaking it down. Easily. Sheldon Brown has a few notes on Atalas and he appears to like them for track bikes over road. I get the feeling it's like an Italian Schwinn with nicer components. I don't recall if there's a steel sitcker on the seat tube, but if that sticker on the seat tube talks about the steel, a photo of that might give good clues as to the overall quality of the frame.

The previous owner was an idiot, but I don't remember the dropouts being mangled... I think they're in tact. He did, however, setup as a fixed gear with a suicide hub with no loctite or even a BB lockring... thankfully he left the brakes on. The cog was held on by 2 threads because he was too lazy to respace the rear hub and instead used spacers on the hub threads to try to move the cog over. It was a deathtrap!

I think the reference to Schwinn was the broad (or deep) range of bikes they offered, and how big they were in the Italian market (very big, maybe more so than Bianchi) and that they've been around for many decades (at least back to the '20s, I believe). The bikes themselves are not much like Schwinns.

The last few years before the carbon cranks, the chorus cranks had four arms too. It looks like a very late model to me (or, probably more likely, a late model record). Either way, a really big steal.

please excuse the poor quality, i need a new camera.

I think that's a Dedacciai tubing decal....no?

Clues to frame quality:

BB shell; is it welded or cast? Look for a seam along the bottom; none is a good sign.

Seat binder/lug; is it solid or hollowed out (stamped sheet steel)?

Fork crown; also, solid or hollow?

Dropouts; stamped sheet or solid forged?

I don't recognize the tubing decal; but...no one uses record brakes on a less-than-top-line bike...that is a strong indicator of quality. Ya done good.

Though it doesn't say so, that reminds me of an Oria designation. SM-08 would be a plain gauge. 0.8mm tubeset. There's no "rinforzatti" on the decal, so plain gauge would make sense.

T-Mar does it again! I knew it was one of those "other" Italian brands, but you Sir, have got the knowledge...thanks again!