Hi all,
This is my first post in the forum though i've been trolling it for a while now. I picked up an 88 Colnago Superissimo just a few days ago off the local C/L. But after doing some research, the frame I got had a few discrepancies with what I have found through my research. First off, I couldn't feel the "rifling" of the SLX tubes used on these frames at the BB end of the tubes. I looked as well but couldn't see any. I did however, feel the rifling on the fork crowns and could see them quite readily. Is it possible that the rifling is hard to for the main tubes? Also, it didn't use a Campy dropout like many others I saw online. Is it possible that the frame is a Super or a Super Sprint of that time instead of Superissimo? I tried looking through the '88 catalog but the geometry of the three frames are really similar it is really hard to tell. Is there other ways to tell the differences between the three frames? The seller insists that the tubing is indeed SLX and that another expert confirms it as so.


Pictures of the frame are at this :
https://ganwhat.blogspot.com/2009/12/...-sprintor.html

Thanks for all your help.

Decal looks in much better shape than the others; I'll say it's a replacement and the tubing on the frame is SL. Did you put a light at the bottom bracket then look down the seat tube? If you can't see them then they aren't there.

Nice frame, good luck with your project.

Nice bike, no matter. Should be a nice ride.
Good luck on the info, and if we can help, just ask.

The overall patina seems to be appropriate for the supposed age of the frame. Take a picture of the inside of the BB shell on post it. You may need to take a few as its a difficult shot to take!!!

Yeah,
I used a flashlight and didn't see any rifling inside the tube. But the seller insisted that it does have ridges and had an "expert" verify that. But I'll take more pictures later tonight. It is a nice frame, but I did buy it thinking that its an SLX frame too. And the newer looking Columbus SLX sticker over the "tan markings" of the older sticker gave me a lot of doubts. But I'm wondering, is it possible that Colnago made a Superissimo frame with SL tubing? The 88 catalog online shows that Superissimo was built with SLX tubings.

The SLX decal is obviously a replacement as you can see the outline from the original decal underneath it. The interesting thing is that the SLX decal is a Colnago one so maybe when that one was replaced they also added the Superissimo decal? I thought that the Superissimo models had chrome head lugs?

vjp

What is the background of the "Superissimo" model? By that I mean where in the line up of offerings was it placed, did it change over the years, when was it intoduced, what is it named for, what differenctiated it from the Super or others, etc?

VJP ,
This catalog picture of the Superissimo SLX didn't have crome head lugs as well.
https://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/colnago-88/07.jpg

I thought of the same thing about the Superissimo decal when I saw the newer SLX decal. The place where the Superissimo decal is seemed like there may have been another decal. But the thing is the seller insists that its an Superissimo SLX. I'll post some pics of at the bottom bracket shell tonight.

Colnago are not my area of expertise but during this period most other brands used a BB shell with stiffening rib between the chainstay flanges, on their SLX frames. This eliminated the need for a traditional chainstay bridge. Your bicycle has this style of BB shell and the 1988 literature makes reference to a "ribbed" BB shell. The lesser models do not use this shell according to the literature. So this one feature would seem to imply that it is a Superissimo.

Of course, the true indicator is the presence of the splines in the BB end of the tubes. I have heard of cases where careless builders have cut from the wrong end of the tube and removed all the splines, but too have this happen on all four tubes would be too much of a coincidence. Still, they can be hard to detect, as they are only a fraction of a millimetre in thickness. A close inspection with a strong light and magiiifcation is warranted. Good luck.

I wouldn't worry too much about whether it's SL or SLX; the difference is minimal and mostly marketing hype. The composition of the steel is the same. The butting and thickness were the same. The inside of the tubing may need a good cleaning in order to see the rifling. But you've got the nice chrome dropouts, investment cast bb, etc.

Its a nice frame, but I'd just like to get things straight and clarified. Plus, I bought the frame thinking that it is a Superissimo / SLX tubing. It doesn't make a difference to me now, but I'd just like to get things straight.


BTW, how do you tell whether or not its investment cast bb or otherwise? I've been trying to find more information about that. Is there something to look for?


I tried taking a better picture of the inside of the BB shell but the pictures came out too dark. I'll look for other ways to do it better.

The "webbed" reinforcing at the back of the bb where the chainstays join indicate investment cast versus what the bb on the Super looks like:

hmm...i'm starting to think that the frame is actually an 88 super instead of a superissimo then.
I really didn't feel the rifling inside the tubing.

Does anybody have an 88 Super with the correct decals?

Here's a late 80's Colnago SLX on eBay. Frame details are the same as yours. https://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-COLNAGO-...t_22924wt_1167