See next Timeline below...

:: C I N E L L I - T I M E L I N E ::

Last modified 04.06.2012

Cino Cinelli born in Montespertoli (near Florence), Italy, 9 February 1916, died 20 April 2001.

Cinelli family: Poor farming family from the province of Florence. 10 children total (born in less than 20 years) 7 boys and 3 girls. The second Arrigo (b. 1913), third Giotto (b. 1915) and fourth Cino (b. 1916) sons were active in cycling. Arrigo raced as an independent pro (1936-38); Giotto raced as a team pro for Maino (1936) and Bianchi (1937) and independent pro until 1940. Cino raced as independent pro (1937), and team pro for Fréjus (1938-39), Bianchi (1940-43), and Benotto (1944).

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1938 or 39 - Cicli Giotto Cinelli (Giotto with older brother Arrigo as minority partner) start producing Cinelli Firenze stem and bars.
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1940s-early - Cino meets Hedi Matter at the Italian Sieber office where Hedi works.
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1944 - Cino Cinelli retires from professional racing when WWII hostilities shut down all racing in Italy, Cino goes to work as sales rep for Benotto in the Milano area, while at the same time selling other cycling products along with his brother's stems and bars.
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1946 to 48 - Giotto Cinelli Firenze bike era (approximately 200-300 bikes made).
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1948 - Giotto sells the machinery and stem, bar, and bike production to Cino and goes on to manage a successful injected plastic molding company, Elettroplast, that is owned by his Father-in-Law.
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1948 to 50 - Cino moves stem and bar production to Milano in this period.
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1949 - Cino establishes Cino Cinelli & C. in Milano, the first Italian firm specializing in the distribution of cycle racing accessories. This enterprise begins by serving federations and clubs, which at this time represents the entire Italian racing market.
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1949 to 52 - Cinelli frame has semi-sloping fork crown with or without point on outside of fork leg and seat cluster that is Frejus-style with separate seat tube collar; frame production around 250-300 per year.
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1949 - Cinelli 56mm head badge is acid-etched, silver-plated brass with the low areas filled in with paint by hand; there is also a smaller seat tube badge (discontinued after a few years). The small stem badge is originally made cloisonne-style the first few years (fired colored glass over brass that is then silver plated). Note that the head badge has the words "MARCA DEPOSITATA" at the bottom and the stem badge does not.
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1940s-late or 1950s-early(?) - Prototype frame is made for Fausto Coppi featuring the full-sloping fork crown and fast-back seat post bolt system; the birth of the S.C. "Speciale Corsa" (see notes at bottom).
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1950s - Output around 250 frames annually.
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1950s-early - Cino Cinelli & C sole sales representative worldwide for Columbus tubing.
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1950 to 55 - Modello B with flat crown and internal rear-brake cable routing.
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1951 - Earls Court Show (London) advert dated Nov. 8th lists Model S.C. Lusso (Reynolds 531), Model B. Roma, Model C. Corsa (later known as Mod. Riviera).
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1953 - Cinelli "fast-back" seat post bolt system introduced.
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1958 – Large paint-filled brass with silver-plate 56mm head badge discontinued, replaced by smaller paint-filled brass with silver-plate 51mm head badge.
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1959 – Unica-Nitor plastic saddle is introduced by Tommaso Nieddu of Turin, founder of Vittoria derailleur company. Giotto (owns a plastics company) and Cino help with development and later Cino enters into partnership with Nieddu in 1962.
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1960 - Mod. S.C. referred to as "Super Corsa" in 1960 Ron Kitching catalog.
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1960 - Wolf-ear head tube lugs disappear on Mod. S.C. and Mod. B.
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1960 - 1A forged aluminum alloy stem is introduced at Italian Trade Show at Rome Olympics (production begins three years later).
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1960 - Viktor Kapitanov of the Soviet Union wins the Olympic road race at the Rome Olympics on a Cinelli Model B; afterwards Cino presents Viktor with a Mod. S.C.
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1960s-early – Decals lose metallic quality silver and gold.
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1960 to 64 – Bottom bracket shell occasionally 74mm width for Campagnolo 74mm axle.
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1961 - Cinelli Monza version (very few known to exist) with Mod. S.C. decals and "CINELLI MONZA" decals on down tube.
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1962 to 64 – Mod. B occasionally equipped with Altenburger dropouts, derailleurs,brakes and hubs.
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1963 - Mod. Riviera offered in Ron Kitching catalog.
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1963 - Cinelli five-pin steel cranks (made by Magistroni); previously three-pin.
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1963 - Switch from Reynolds 531 main tubes (with Columbus fork and stays) to Columbus SL (Strada Leggera = Road Light) tubing; Reynolds 531 main tubes still available on request. Mod. B made with Columbus main tubes and Falck fork and stays.
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1963 - 1A (A = aluminum) forged aluminum alloy stem and aluminum alloy bar production begins; non-anodized till mid-late 1960s.
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1963 - Handlebar end caps in soft plastic introduced. Installed over bar end and under tape, they provide covers for corks inserted flush in end of bar.
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1963 - Bivalent hubs introduced (first version has steel barrel with alloy flanges). In a 1986 Cino Cinelli interview by David Herlihy, Cino states that the hubs were made for Cinelli by Campagnolo and the special splined-body freewheel by Regina and were mostly sold to Americans in the late 1960s.
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1960s-mid - Campagnolo Sport derailleur spring anchor-hole no longer appears in rear dropout.
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1960s-mid - Mod. S.C. bottom bracket shell oil port and drain hole discontinued (some earlier S.C.s known w/o oil port).
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1960s-mid - Frames no longer supplied with chrome Cinelli "Supercorsa" headset and chrome Cinelli bottom bracket (track bike supplied with clip-style headset).
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1960s-late - Campagnolo dropout loses "boss" for the Sport derailleur spring hole.
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1967 or 68 - Bivalent hub with one piece alloy shell (second version) produced around 1967-8 in a limited run of 1-2 years.
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1968 – Three holes in the tops of lugs start to appear on some frames.
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1970s - Output around 600-700 frames annually.
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1970 - Three holes in fork tangs added.
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1970s-early - Most Mod. S.C. have fender eyelets removed.
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1970s-early – Bottom bracket braze-on cable guides added.
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1972 to 76 - Mod. S.C. Leggerissimo made to order for Radsport Brugelmann in Frankfurt; yellow with red head tube and seven holes (six holes arranged in circle with seventh hole in center) in bottom of BB shell.
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1972 - 1A stem has both 12mm bar clamp nut and 7mm hex expander bolt changed to 6mm hex.
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1972 – New binder bolt (two hex bolts threaded into hex-shaped center piece).
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1973 - Production of Mod. B ended.
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1973 - 1R (R = Record) forged aluminum stem (hidden handlebar binder bolt) is introduced.
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1973 - M71 clipless pedal starts production.
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1973 or 74 – Shifter braze-ons added.
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1974 or 75 – Bottle braze-ons added.
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1974 - Paint-filled brass with silver-plate 51mm head badge replaced with anodized aluminum head badge.
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1974 - Aerodynamic "funny bike" for Dane Ole Ritter's Hour Record.
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1977 or 78 - Top tube cable braze-ons added.
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1978 - Sale of Cino Cinelli & C to Antonio Colombo.
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1978 - New Flying C logotype is introduced, designed by architect Italo Lupi.
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1978 - Anodized aluminum head badge replaced by Cinelli crest decal.
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1979 - Antonio Colombo, having recently separated the bicycle specific tube manufacture Columbus – his brainchild – from the his family’s core A.L. Colombo steel business, enters as a shareholder in the Cinelli company. He is allowed this by Cino Cinelli who has an eye towards retirement, and who as a long-time world-exclusive distributor of Columbus bicycle tubes has watched Antonio grow the business in recent years and sees that the two of them might have a vision and passion that could be compatible.
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1979 - New Flying C logotype designed by architect Italo Lupi.
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1980 - New frame decals designed in the Memphis Group style by architect Italo Lupi are introduced.
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1980 - Serial numbering system organized by 5 digits, the first two being the year and the last three being the serial number of the frame for that year.
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1981 or 82 - Laser aerodynamic bike introduced.
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1982 - Gianni Gabella, designer of many landmark Cinelli products of the period, designs a new set of investment cast lugs for the Supercorsa; these are a little shorter, with only two “points”. These would be followed, shortly after (1983?), by another set of investment cast legs, still used today, with even shorter more rounded lug - emblematic of the modern Italian “sport” style – fork crown with Flying C logo, the seat tube lug and fastback stay with inlaid pearl logo above the bolt, as well as the Cinelli “spoiler” bottom bracket shell – the first bottom bracket shell to significantly resolve the problem of corrosion caused by water residue in the bottom bracket area of steel tubes.
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1983 - Antonio Colombo takes greater control of the company and becomes the majority stake holder and Cino Cinelli retires, but his son, Andrea, stays on as President for several years, collaborating with Antonio and the designers and engineers on several nascent projects of the period.
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1983 - Sleeved seat lug (26.2mm seat post) replaced by new, non-sleeved seat lug (27.2mm seat post).
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1983 - Mod. "Golden Black" (black paint, black anodized components and 18K gold plated steel parts) shown in 1983 Cinelli catalog along with Mod. SC ladies bike.
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1983 - "Domino" stem (polyurethane openable upper half, alloy stem) and Mod. L saddle (plastic top, forged aluminum "wishbone" frame, comes with longer aluminum bolt to use with Campagnolo Nuovo Super Record single-bolt seat post). Personalized engraving available on 1R stem from Cinelli. "VIP" saddle, bar/stem and tire bag set, all covered in matching colored suede leather.
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1983 - Cinelli decal at bottom right side of seat tube is moved up above the chainring for more visibility
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Notes:
- Cinelli would paint or chrome frames anyway the customer wanted through the 1970s (matching a color swatch sent by customer if need be, substituting a decal for the headbadge, deleting decals, chrome etc.).
- Mod. S.C. track frames and Mod. B lack oiler and drain holes in bottom bracket shell.
- Cinelli branded Magistroni cranks gone after the 1950s.
- Over the years Cinellis were built with various dropouts including Campagnolo Cambio Corsa and Paris-Roubaix, Simplex TdF and Altenburger among others.
- Cinelli M71 pedal still shown in 1983 catalog.
- Mod. Riviera city/sport bike was primarily built for the English and German markets by a builder from Monza, who never built under his own name, according to an interview with Andrea Cinelli. Over the years the Riviera was built by various companies, including Garlatti in Parma.
- Over the years Cinelli offered boys and girls Rivieras, juvenile bikes, along with city bikes, all made by various companies. But the Mod. S.C. and Mod. B were always made in house, never by an outside company.
- The head badge has the words "MARCA DEPOSITATA" at the bottom and the stem badge does not.


Cinelli Model Names:
- S.C. originally the abbreviation for "Speciale Corsa" and later "Super Corsa" (listed as "Super Corsa" in 1960 Ron Kitching catalog and listed as "Tipo Supercorsa" in 1963 Cinelli catalog).
- England 1951: Earls Court show ad lists Model S.C. Lusso, Model B. Roma and Model C. Corsa (Mod. Riviera)
- Germany 1950-early: early 50s German HORMANN catalog shows Cinelli line as: CINELLI 'A' (Riviera), CINELLI 'B' (Mod. B) and CINELLI 'C' (Mod. SC).
- England 1963: Ron Kitching catalog lists Mod. S.C., Mod. Corsa (this is the Mod. B) and Mod. Riviera.


Cinelli Framebuilders:
- Luigi Valsassina - lured away from Bianchi to begin production of Cinelli frames for Cino Cinelli. Previously Valsassina built frames for Fausto Coppi when he rode for Bianchi.
- Chirico - studied under Valsassina for 11 years.
- Mario Camilotto - Said to have personally built every Cinelli Supercorsa from the time that Antonio Colombo bought Cinelli (1978) until frame builder Giovanni Losa took over in the early 1990s.
- Giovanni Losa - Cinelli 'house' builder from the early 1990s till 2008.


Cinelli Head Badges:
1949 - 1958 56mm Cinelli crest paint-filled silver-plate over brass head badge
1958 - 1971 51mm Cinelli crest paint-filled silver-plate over brass head badge
1971 - 1978 Cinelli crest anodized aluminum head badge
1978 - 1979 Cinelli crest decal head badge
1979 - today Flying C decal head badge


Columbus Tubing Specs from the 1963 catalog:
Columbus butted frame tubes for road races --
No. 1 - Type "SP" butted 0.7/1.0 - weight kg. 2,375 per set - Strada Pesante (Road Heavy)
No. 2 - Type "SL" butted 0.6/0.9 - weight kg. 2,065 per set - Strada Leggera (Road Light)
Columbus frame tubes for track races --
No. 3 - Type "PS" for Sprint and 6-days-races - weight kg. 2,435 per set - Pista Spiccato (Track Strong)
No. 4 - Type "PL" for pursuit or record-races - weight kg. 1,830 per set - Pista Leggera (Track Light)


Cino Cinelli Palmares:
Raced professionally from 1937-1944
1937 Individuale
1938-1939 Fréjus
1940-1943 Bianchi
1944 Benotto

1936
- 17th Giro di Lombardia, October
1937
- 1st Giro dell'Appennino, August 29
- 1st Coppa Andrea Boero
1938
- 1st Coppa Bernocchi
- 12th Giro dei Tre Mari
- 1st Stage 7, Giro d’Italia, May 14
- 1st Stage 11, Giro d’Italia, May 19
- 1st Giro di Lombardia, October 23
- 2nd Torino – Ceriale
1939
- 1st Stage 3, Giro d’Italia, April 30
- 1st Giro della Campania, June 25
- 1st Giro della Provincia di Torino
1940
- 1st Giro del Peimonte, May 2
- 1st Tre Valli Varesine, August
1941
- 2nd Giro del Veneto, April 20
- 3rd National Road Championship, May 5
- 3rd Giro del Lazio, August
- 2nd Giro di Lombardia, October 19
1942
- 3rd Giro dell’Emlia, October
1943
- 1st Milano San Remo, March 19


Yearly number of sales of Cinelli frames sold at Spence Wolfe's Cupertino Bike Shop in Northern California. Sales records cover the period from 1955-1977. In 1954 a complete, high-end Cinelli road bike from Cupertino Bike Shop would sell for $67.50!

Total sold at Cupertino Bike Shop from 1955-1977:
SC = 649
Mod. B = 79
Pista = 32

Strada SC by year
1954 = 0
1955 = 1
1956 = 1
1957 = 18
1958 = 15
1959 = 29
1960 = 26
1961 = 53
1962 = 31
1963 = 15
1964 = 19
1965 = 28
1966 = 25
1967 = 25
1968 = 18
1969 = 49
1970 = 67
1971 = 60
1972 = 71
1973 = 66
1974 = 13
1975 = 13
1976 = 4
1977 = 2

Mod B by year
1954 = 0
1955 = 4
1956 = 9
1957 = 10
1958 = 7
1959 = 15
1960 = 3
1961 = 2
1962 = 3
1963 = 7
1964 = 9
1965 = 8
1966 = 2
1967 = No sales recorded from this point

Pista by year
1954 = 0
1955 = 0
1956 = 1
1957 = 3
1958 = 1
1959 = 4
1960 = 0
1961 = 5
1962 = 0
1963 = 1
1964 = 4
1965 = 2
1966 = 4
1967 = 1
1968 = 3
1969 = 0
1970 = 1
1971 = 0
1972 = 1
1973 = 0
1974 = 1
1975 = No sales recorded from this point


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HELP!!! Can anyone establish a date on this very first Cinelli Mod. SC?

<https://www.bikeraceinfo.com/oralhistory/Cinelli%20interview.html>

A Visit With Cino Cinelli by David V. Herlihy
Author's note: the following sketch of Cinelli's life and contributions to cycling is based on his own account as given to me, and supplemented by information obtained from his son, Andrea.

"The fabled frame was the result of Cino's yen for a more rigid design. To this end, he conceived sloping fork crowns and the peculiar "fast-back" seat post-bolt system. Early on, he hired a Bianchi frame maker, Luigi Valsasina, to assist in frame production. (Now 85, Valsasina left the firm a few years after Cinelli's own exit). Cino recalls how his technician initially resisted such an unorthodox design. Cino, having an order to fill for the great Fausto Coppi, instructed Valsasina to build two bikes for the champion--one a traditional configuration and the other Cino's new design. Both frame-builder and racer were duly impressed with Cino's alternative, and the Super Corsa was born."

If you are interested in more than his wins, this is what I have for his racing history.


1937 1st Giro dell'Appennino, August 29 29 agosto 1937
1937 1st Coppa Andrea Boero

1938 1st Coppa Bernocchi
1938 12th Giro dei Tre Mari
1938 1st Stage 7, Giro d’Italia, May 14
1938 1st Stage 11, Giro d’Italia, May 19
1938 1st Giro di Lombardia, October 23
1938 2nd Torino – Ceriale

1939 1st Giro della Campania, June 25
1939 1st Stage 3, Giro d’Italia, April 30
1939 1st Giro della Provincia di Torino

1940 1st Giro del Peimonte, May 2
1940 1st Tre Valli Varesine August


1941 2nd Giro di Lombardia, October 19
1941 3rd National Road Championship, May 5
1941 3rd Giro del Lazio August
1941 2nd Giro del Veneto, April 20

1942 3rd Giro dell’Emlia, October

1943 1st Milano San Remo March 19


Also, fwiw, wikipedia.it has Cino racing Lombardia in 1936. Placed 17th.

Looks great, Chuck. We just need CDM to weigh in.....

Didn't he speak up on CR?

He may indeed have. I only read about half the posts, depending on how busy I am at work or with life.

In any event, Chuck really picked up the ball and ran with it.

May need to put in a summer t-shirt order

Thanks all, I see a couple of mistakes I overlooked... please keep those contributions coming. There are still a couple of weird year things in there I need help with like that Fausto Coppi thing for example.

What can you tell me about this foray into mountain bikes?



I came into possession of this bike a couple months back. I know it was a collab with Gary Fisher, but do you have any idea of the kind of volume these were produced in? I'd love to know more about this [seemingly] rare oddball.

Thanks for that iab... I'll add those into the Timeline.

I now confer upon you a Masters in Cinelli. Keeping this thread forever.

Thank you Robbie... I'll keep adding to it as long as you guys keep volunteering new factoids.

I have a model B and the original owner I got it from said he for sure bought it in '74 but the timeline says the non-badge headtube was '78-'79. He said he is positive it was '74 because it was 21st birthday present. It also has all '74 Nuovo Record on it. Is it possible that the non-badge decals on the headtube could have been done in '74?

The entry in the Timeline about the head tube decal pertains to the Cinelli Mod. SC... I don't know much about the seventies Mod. B, sorry.

I do know there was some overlap with the use of the new and old logos ikn the late 70's. The timeline allows for that, but doesn't really address it, either - not that it necessarily needs to.

Fortunately, Cinelli never used brazing monkeys.

Great compilation! Many thanks for this!

One thing though: According to this mail by a Billato Representative, posted to the CR list by Lou Deeter, Billato at some point made Cinelli SCs:

https://search.bikelist.org/getmsg.as...10402.0134.eml