Cinelli???? I don't know. You tell me.
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Cinelli???? I don't know. You tell me.
Hi there. I just picked this up at the flea and I am pretty sure it's a Cinelli. BUT! I'm not sure so I was thinking someone out there might know for sure. I can't find any serial numbers but it is a repaint so they might be there some where. Not sure where though. Certainly not the bottom bracket but it does say Cinelli made in Italy. It has a dura ace group with an Omas HS. I'll let the pictures do the talking. If anyone needs a particular picture to help identify this beauty, just ask. Thanks!
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I don't think it's a Cinelli - at least I have never seen a Cinelli with that kind of seat stay attachment or those kind of lugs. This is certainly not definitive, however.
Lots of builders use Cinelli BB shells, so that doesn't help.
Whatever it is, it looks nice. Someone spent some time filing those lugs down, and it is rare to find that kind of detail on a crappy frame.
Lots of builders use Cinelli BB shells, so that doesn't help.
Whatever it is, it looks nice. Someone spent some time filing those lugs down, and it is rare to find that kind of detail on a crappy frame.
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#3
car dodger
ciocc?
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#5
Dropped
I've got a Greg Diamond with that seatstay arrangement.
Apparently, that seatstay style was popularized by Eisentraut, so the frame might be his or that of one of his 'students.'
Greg Diamond:
Apparently, that seatstay style was popularized by Eisentraut, so the frame might be his or that of one of his 'students.'
Greg Diamond:
#6
Senior Member
That's a neat detail on the fork blades. Could it be a Colnago? Did other makers commonly use the playing card graphics?
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The seat stay looks similar but the points on the lugs are different. The ones on my mystery bike are longer and the bottom point even longer. Also the seat clamp braze-ons are different. I'm sure each bike builder uses slightly different techniques for that detail.
IMHO I don't think this was done by an apprentice. This yells master builder based on my 15+ yrs. of high end metal working experience.
It also has vertical drop outs if that help with anything........
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I just measured the BB and it's 68.6mm wide and it has a 27.2mm seat tube. Was 70mm the standard for Italian BB's?
#10
Dropped
Oh, I didn't mean an apprentice per se, I meant the master framebuilders who were taught by or otherwise influenced by Eisentraut, like Bruce Gordon and Mark Nobilette.
#11
Dropped
Here's the Greg Diamond frame, still unbuilt, but I'm close to starting!
In another thread, a few people speculated it was built with a Takahashi BB. The lugs are unknown (to me at least), but the tubes and dropouts are Columbus. If you pull the fork, you can look for the Columbus dove stamp, and you can also look in the steerer tube for rifling - if there are five helical ridges, it's likely Columbus. Also, what are the dropouts? A pic of front and rear may help some identify the builder.
In another thread, a few people speculated it was built with a Takahashi BB. The lugs are unknown (to me at least), but the tubes and dropouts are Columbus. If you pull the fork, you can look for the Columbus dove stamp, and you can also look in the steerer tube for rifling - if there are five helical ridges, it's likely Columbus. Also, what are the dropouts? A pic of front and rear may help some identify the builder.
Last edited by JunkYardBike; 09-28-09 at 07:09 PM.
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more people trying to ID frames have been tripped up by the fact that Cinelli sold framebuilding parts with their name on them.
I'm pretty sure that the playing card fork crown tang was a standard part.
I'm pretty sure that the playing card fork crown tang was a standard part.
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Disraeli Gears
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very likely an American builder, and one who did very high quality work: the details like the modified fastback seat cluster shows that he was very skilled. The rest of the frame bits don't tell us anything, except that it is an earlier Cinelli IC BB shell with the tangs on top/bottom (known as the "can opener") which was replaced by the later version where they are rotated 90º. Pretty sure that Richard Sachs has made fork reinforcing tangs with that suit-of-cards motif, and they are for sale to any other builder so no reason to think it's a Sachs (but would be great if it were) and perhaps those are Henry James lugs. Somebody else can ID them for sure. What brand are the vertical DOs?
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I don't know nuthin' tubing wise, but doesn't Miyata tubing also have the "rifled" inner profile? A product of drawing and butting the tubing?
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You guys have to quit calling that bottom bracket the "can opener" model. I built at least 3 bikes with it, one of which I sold to a big hefty strong guy who got the frame chromed against my recommendation. Have no idea how that ended up.
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BTW, I had a frame with one of those very fine Cinelli BBs and never had any problem with it...but since I no longer own it I also don't know how it ended up.
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very likely an American builder, and one who did very high quality work: the details like the modified fastback seat cluster shows that he was very skilled. The rest of the frame bits don't tell us anything, except that it is an earlier Cinelli IC BB shell with the tangs on top/bottom (known as the "can opener") which was replaced by the later version where they are rotated 90º. Pretty sure that Richard Sachs has made fork reinforcing tangs with that suit-of-cards motif, and they are for sale to any other builder so no reason to think it's a Sachs (but would be great if it were) and perhaps those are Henry James lugs. Somebody else can ID them for sure. What brand are the vertical DOs?
How long has Henry James been around making lugs?
#21
car dodger
My '76 fuji track bike has SHIMANO SE dropouts. Not much else in common though.
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1989 Schwinn Paramount OS
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"I've consulted my sources and I'm pretty sure your derailleur does not exist"
1989 Schwinn Paramount OS
1980 Mclean/Silk Hope Sport Touring
1983 Bianchi pista
1976 Fuji Feather track
1979 raleigh track
"I've consulted my sources and I'm pretty sure your derailleur does not exist"
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on second look I don't think they are Henry James, but the mix of Shimano ends with the rest Cinelli, and the thinned lug edges and fastback seat cluster could only be an American custom builder (IMHO)...which one I sure can't say. A serial number might be your next best clue, if you have one.
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So I checked with some LBS's and one said that the forks crown with the suit of cards stiffeners was cinelli but none had any idea as to the maker. I brought it by Paul Sadoff's shop and he couldn't tell me who made it either. I can't find a serial number any where. Are there unusual places for serial numbers? Would that give clues to a custom frame builder? I spent hours scouring the internet for lug details to see if I could narrow down a builders "style" but I'm pulling at straws. The search goes on........
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While it has a Cinelli BB shell, does it use Italian threading? or 1.370 x 24?
The playing card suits stamped into the fork leg reinforcements are from Italy...Richard Sachs uses them, but this is not a Sachs, they were available to all, Nova Cycle Supply or others have them even now.
My guess is also American builder, a smaller guy, so if it breaks and breaks you, you don't know who to sue. That was for Richard Sachs.
The playing card suits stamped into the fork leg reinforcements are from Italy...Richard Sachs uses them, but this is not a Sachs, they were available to all, Nova Cycle Supply or others have them even now.
My guess is also American builder, a smaller guy, so if it breaks and breaks you, you don't know who to sue. That was for Richard Sachs.
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I think JunkYardBike probably gave you your best lead--Eisentraut. Check into frames built by the guys who learned from him, guys like Bruce Gordon, Bill Stevenson, and Mark Nobilette.
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