Hi all, my second post on here, I've been lurking for a while checking things out. Anyway, I'm new to road cycling and have been looking around for new fun bikes. At a LBS I found what looks like a Look Equipe Bernard Hinault or whatever the real name is, in La Vie Claire colours. It's got the Reynolds 753 sticker in the right spot, etc, but the frame has been pretty much stripped save for fork/handlebars, wheels, brake levers, and free wheel. The wheels are a mavic tubular set.
That said, I've been doing research on the Bernard Hinaults and have seen the 500 built talk, and I've seen that no one really knows who actually built the frames. I flipped the old girl upside down today and lo and behold "Cinelli" was stamped into the bottom bracket shell. Am I looking at a fake? I adore the La Vie Claire livery but I'm not spending 250 on a beat old frameset if it's not as advertised. The bike for sure is pretty beat, but if it's actually an Equipe Hinault I'm going to snap it up. I can have pictures after work tomorrow evening if those help.
Cheers all,
Hope I've not been too much of a pain.

Cinelli is a fine bicycle, but I really don't think they build the look frames but then I have proven wrong many times. Is it a fast back seat lug?

Uhm.. many builders used Cinelli bottom bracket shells on non-Cinelli bikes.....Just because it has a Cinelli BB shell does not mean it's a Cinelli bike, but at least it kinda confirms it's most likely a good quality frame....

I own one of the Bernard Hinault Looks such as you describe. The frames do use a Cinelli BB shell (as used by many other builders). Should also have chromed Campagnolo dropouts. Anyway, if you post pics, I could probably confirm it for you.

I have not been able to confirm the builder either. I have some suspicions the frames may have been built by Cyfac (who built frames for Hinault and had ties to La Vie Claire director sportif Cyrille Guimard). I've also read they were built by Lejeune, Scapin, and the team mechanic..who knows? not me. It was apparently a behind-the-scenes contract job for Look, because whoever built them has kept mum about it.

They were sold as framesets only, as far as I know, so don't read too much into the parts on it.

Here's mine for reference--and because I'm taking this thread as an open invitation to show off. But note mine is a repaint and I had a 2nd water bottle boss added.

Lovely bike. I have the frame but need the fork. Mine is beat also.