Re: [CR]Colnago Oval CX--Is it Rare & Collectible?

(Example: Production Builders:Teledyne)

From: <OROBOYZ@aol.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2004 19:22:54 EST
Subject: Re: [CR]Colnago Oval CX--Is it Rare & Collectible?
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org


In a message dated 12/11/2004 4:42:41 PM Eastern Standard Time, veronaman@comcast.net writes:

<< originally purchased from the Stuyvesant Bike shop in NYC. >>

Re: http://ebay.com/<blah>

These bikes were really pretty special and are certainly collectible IMO. I think they came a year or two after that auction's stated date of 1981-82, more like 84-85 methinks... They were part of the Italian answer to the Aerodynamic fad that included the Shimano AX components, etc.

I also question a bit about that bike coming from Stuyvescents, as they were not Colnago dealers but pushed Bottechia and Atala; Sarah up at Conrad's Bike Shop had a lock on Colnago for Manhattan at that time I seem to recall. (Don't cross her!)

No matter... Every lug was specially made, investment cast, for that model. Imagine all that trouble for 25 bikes (I am not sure that's true either but there were very few made. I would guess more like 250 would be closer to the truth...)

The seat post was an odd tiny size (22 MM in diameter?) and fit into a tubular sleeve brazed inside the aero seat tube. Very odd and a lot of trouble to make! We sold two or three of those bikes at cycles de ORO back then. One went to a woman rider in Raleigh .. her bike was fully chromed in a brushed finish with translucent "Chromo Velato" blue paint. Stunning!

Finally, although Tony Rominger's bike was referred to as an Oval CX, it shared little with these older bikes except aero tubes and his Hour Record bikes frame tubes were just squished a bit. Not those older lugs, etc. (That still was cool that Tony did that on such a traditional lugged steel bike.)

Dale Brown cycles de ORO, Inc. 1410 Mill Street Greensboro, North Carolina 27408 336-274-5959 fax 336-274-6360 <A HREF="http://www.cyclesdeoro.com">cyclesdeORO.com</A> <A HREF="http://www.classicrendezvous.com./main.htm">ClassicRendezvous.com</A>