Tom Dalton wrote:
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> You are certainly right that chromed lugs, drilling and pantographing are not unheard of on pro team bikes, but 1) I question how many were tarted up to this level 2) I pointing out that Colnago put form before function, specifically corrosion resistance, when the lugs were chromed, and the anodizing removed.
Question 1) Yes, I'm not aware of the Molteni team bikes using those panto'd chainrings, but lots of pictures of that stem used on Eddy's bikes for example (pretty difficult to see if the other parts in grainy race photos of the period). And lots and lots of pictures of drilled rings on the Colnago Molteni team bikes of different patterns. And some of the Colnago Molteni team bikes I have seen in race photos had everything drilled. The eBay bike has nothing done to the rear derailleur that I can see... certainly not drilled cage or body.
Most extreme actual team racing bikes I have ever seen in person was the '86, '87 and 198? Bianchi team bikes when Moreno Argentin won the Colorado Springs Worlds in 1986. They were Celeste with black chromed forks, black chromed rear triangle, black chromed head tube with the Bianchi eagle engraved into the head tube and gold filled, Celeste leather covered bars, Centenario pantographed stem, Centenario seat stay caps and brake bridge, a custom milled Record C rear derailleur, and the black Campagnolo hoods originally only made for the Centenario. And yes, it was black chrome (nickel), not paint to look like black chrome. A case of actual team bikes tarted up to an extreme level; a company proud to have just celebrated its 100th birthday in 1985 and that had a kick-ass pro team!
Here's an old post about the one I got:
http://search.bikelist.org/
Question 2) Technically chrome is considered a form of corrosion resistance for steel (picture bare steel vs. steel that is plated with a layer of copper, nickel and chrome). And unanodized Cinelli stems and bars exist from the factory.
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California
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