I just had to...

... build up the Colnago Super.

I have all these neat frames and I wonder how each one rides. Linda wanted to do an easy ride today before her race tomorrow so I decided to build it up this morning. If I wait until each is restored, I might never ride them.
The Campagnolo Nuovo Record derailleurs did great - zero to minimal trim and super quite and fast shifts(that surprised me). Overall the bike was quieter than Linda's Cervelo. I weighed it before we left and with pedals it was 21lb,11oz. Swap to a lighter seat and post, pedals, and tires(tubulars) and I might get it to 21 lb even.
As for the ride - it was about 100 degrees heat index and 21mph winds sustained(with 30mph gusts). We averaged only 15.5mph for 43 mi. With the vintage gearing, and trying to stay with Linda, my cadence was too low and the knees were aching a bit. I could have used a faster pace.

21mph out of the south. The harder you rode the more it seamed to push back. It was demoralizing at anything more than cruising speed.







Coasting by at said cruising speed.

Colnago Super

This was advertised as a 1972 Colnago Super by one of the Classic Rendezvous members. He should have known the true vintage but I should have as well. "buyer beware." I paid way too much for it as it was also listed on Ebay starting at about half the price. Ironically, a note from another Ebayer stated it was later than advertized and the seller agreed to that possibility. Wonder why he didn't correct that on CR? Anyway, it was just my size and who knows what it would have closed for(I know less than I gave) but, hey, I'm buying long with my vintage bikes.
I'm dating this as a '76 or '77. The club cutout on only the downtube lug clearly indicates it is post - '72. The "COLNAGO" was apparently added to the club on the fork crown in '76. Since my fork tube and rear dropout are both marked "14", I can safely assume they were factory matched. The top tube cable guide braze-ons were an option starting in '75 but these were easy and common add-ons earlier in cycling. I didn't really notice signs of a repaint so I think they are original. By '78, the brake bridge and crown were set up for recessed bolts - these are not. Without numbers to look up, this type of cross referencing is how you best date a frame............ and, despite finding it's not as old as advertised, the process is kinda fun.
























That's what a thinned lug looks like. I have seen much more crudely assembled frames with serial numbers.

I am tempted to build a Molteni replica as Colnago offered them in '74 and with a few mods, except for the fork crown, it would look right. Not too many early 70's frames out there that would look "as" correct. Nonetheless, I already bought waterslide decals for it and like the color combo as is. We'll see!