Dawes-man

I've been offered this rather nice Bottecchia. It comes with full Campag but not sure if it's NR or SR. The guy bought it at a thrift store for $29 about 8 years ago. Can anyone date it or otherwise identify it? Does anyone have one like it?

The number on the BB is 558 82 1 138.

All the decals have gone but the head badge remains


The grey seems to be the original colour


Chipped paint reveals chromed frame - Columbus tubing?


Unknown headset


More photos at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/2298367...7606002907096/

unworthy1

I don't have one like it, but looks like a nice frame: Campy droputs, crome will probably shine up. That decal looks like a facsimile of the old Columbus foil, but the wording seems different: is there a better shot of it? Given the lack of any braze-ons and style of forkcrown, I'd guess early '70s or even late '60s. "Full Campy" for this era would not be SR, but either NR or Gran Sport...or a mix.

PBR Streetgang

Looks like a late 60s or early 70s Bottecchia Professional or Giro D'Italia. They had the same frame, so it's up to you as to which you build.

This catalog should help out:

https://www.campybike.com/pdf/1972Bottecchia.pdf

That frame looks a little rough. If it is just the frameset for sale, don't pay too much. I got mine for about $80.

Kommisar89

It's a nice frame, same as mine, probably from a Giro d'Italia as the Professional would likely have had a Campagnolo NR headset but otherwise they are identical as PBR Streetgang points out. Tubing is Columbus double-butted cro-moly, probably SP in that frame size (looks like a 25"?) with Campagnolo 1010 long dropouts and I believe a Prugnat Type S lugset - I don't know of any way to date it precisely but that same frame was used from around 1968 to 1974 or so. If it was a Professional model it would have been equipped with full NR except for Universal Type 61 brakes. If it was Giro model then it would have had Nuovo Tipo hubs and a late 60's model would have Record (not Nuovo Record) derailleurs while a 70's model would have Valentino derailleurs. The rest would be Universal centerpull brakes and a mish-mash of Stronglight and Nervar or other similar components. Rims on either model would be Fiamme red label tubulars.

Here's a picture of one built up:

Dawes-man

The frame is presently at my school - I'll get a photo of the decal. I'll also phone the owner and ask him what the groupset is.

Kommisar89

It's this one - standard Columbus decal in the late 60's - early 70's - they didn't specify the tubing type back then as it was all the same double-butted cro-moly, varying only by thickness - what was later designated SL or SP:

karmat

FYI, I believe that is a Way-Assauto headset.

Karl

unworthy1

yes indeed, that's the foil decal. I was confused by the last 2 letters of "rinforzata" going missing on the OP's pic. Thanks for that clear shot, Kommisar.

Kommisar89

Two of these frames are for sale on ebay at the moment, one a 21" and the other a 23". It will be interesting to see what they go for.

Dawes-man

'Tis indeed. Good photo, too I took about 5 this morning but none came out as well. Something about chrome wrapped around a tube...

Dawes-man

Just found out from the owner that it has a Record groupset. He says he saw a white 1972 Professional with the same groupset on it and so he reckons his is probably a Professional too.

Kommisar89

That should make a nice bike. JRrestore is working on a set of Bottecchia decals or Cyclomondo has decals available on eBay though there were some issues with the artwork on the Cyclomondo decals.

spacemanz

Hey, I don't think I saw this thread before. I picked up this same Professional frame & fork early this month, and info is surprisingly hard to find. I understand that Bottecchia was one of the big players during the bike boom, but the majority were entry- or mid-level bikes, not the higher-end ones. I have that same Columbus foil decal, which was peeling badly, but I glued it back down with clear silicone today. I also have the Campagnolo Prodotti Speciali decal on the downtube, just like the one in my avatar, which was also on the cover of an old catalog. I'm putting a mix of all Italian components on it, mostly NR & SR, but I'm not sure yet on the BB & cranks. (?) I'm in no big rush, so it "should" come out pretty decent, anyways.