regarding ebay item:
I know I'm late to the party here, nonetheless, since I have spent more time looking at, buying, and researching Colnagos than is really healthy for any normal person...
Craig wrote:
Jay, I'm not an expert, but I follow Colnago's pretty close. I think it is a 1980 or later Colnago. I don't think it is original paint and decal work.
******** I'm sure it's original paint. Solid colors in Colnagos tended to be thicker than the candies and metallics, dunno why. I had a brown one from the same period that had paint as thick as this, or thicker. *******
The paint looks good, but at the same time it appears just a bit too shiny for the age, no matter how it has been stored. The chrome on the right chainstay bothers me, it must be a stick on of some sort. The chrome fork also bothers me. It is more often seen on bikes from about '82 or '83, not '79
********** The chrome stick-on stay-guard was typical of the period, but could have been put on later. No big deal in any case. As for the all chrome fork, those were seen on Colnagos as early as 1973-74. I have one. Absolutely original. You could order them any way you wanted. The one I have has beautifully chromed rear drop-outs with the main black of the frame around the edges...very sweet. Chrome on Colnagos does not date them in any way, usually. As for the paint, wax up any of the old paints carefully enough and they'll shine nicely. **********
. The text on the seat stay caps also came after 1979 in most cases. The decals are a nice job, and good copies of the originals, but I don't see a "trademark" symbol on the head tube decal where it should be. Most people who make high quality after market decals leave the trademark symbol off. The components don't mean a thing. There is a huge variation in the perceived aging of the seat vs. the pedals and headset etc. I think the bike was assembled from a repaint job with odd parts to make it sparkle. What dropouts does it have?
******** Correct regarding the seat-stay cap stamp. It is perfectly possible some or all the decals are replacements...some Colnagos came with those crappy vinyl stick-on graphics at that time, and they aged and fell off after a certain amount of abuse. If they're clear-coated decals (also seen at that time) they're probably original. And it is true, I suppose that it could be a repaint, but as the seller posted recently, it appears not, and based on the seller's comments I'm betting the graphics are original. They appear to be the stick-on type however, not a favorite here at Chez Charles.
As I mentioned earlier, I think it's original paint, and probably original decals, although Craig's comment about the trade-mark sign is astute.
******** the panto'd parts are correct for the period, although had it come with panto'd parts from the factory it would have had the correct panto'd chainring, shift-levers, and brake-levers. That said, I have wondered if some of these Colnagos left the factory with SOME panto'd parts, but not a full group. A couple of bikes I've seen that were supposedly original, suggest that. Anyone know anything about that? Could you buy individual panto'd parts new and install them yourself? I'm betting you could.
In any case, a nice bike, and if I hadn't beggared myself buying that Colnago tandem I'd be looking hard at this one myself.
Charles Andrews SoCal US Sol Milky Way
"The bottom line is that people can not be regulated in a way that leads to sustainability. Any efficiency gained in the process is used to increase population and consumption. It's known as Jevon's Paradox"
--Jay Hanson