I just bought the Casati I have had my eye on. I am so excited about this bike. It is a bit gimmicky, with the cables running through the frame tubes, but it has that great feeling that I associate with Italian bikes. It's bright red. The paint is ok, some little nicks, some fading on the fork. The bar and stem are not correct. The pantagraphed parts are long gone. The brake hoods are wrong. But I don't care. It's fun to have a bit of a project, and the bike is just so cool.
Now the questions arise. I am the third owner, and the guy who sold it to me doesn't know much about its history.
How old is it?
The serial number on the BB is 362. The brakes have allen key recessed
nuts. It has a clamp-on f. derailleur. The Columbus sticker is pretty
chewed up. I am guessing that it meets the pre-1983 criteria, but just
barely. It looks very similar to the bike in
http://bulgier.net/
What about the rust spots? The chrome on the fork crown is gone in a couple of spots, and flaky in others. I don't see re-chroming as an option.
Also I just found a rust spot on the underside of the top tube.
Help and advice will be greatly appreciated.
Marcus Helman
Huntington Woods, MI