>From Mark Petry's website
http://www.petry.org/
"Cinelli serial numbers do not run in sequence. Only in the post - 1981 timeframe (corresponding to the sale of the company to A.L. Columbo) do the serial numbers indicate the date. Some frames may have sat unsold for years in the shop, others may have been built by subcontractors. The key to dating a Cinelli is the lugs (3 holes or no hole) and the bottom bracket oil port. The presence or absence of these features will help to establish the manufacturing date of a Cinelli frame. The BB port disappeared in about 1965. The 3 holes in the lugs appeared in about 1968. The Special Corsa ("A" model) is distinguished by its sloping fork crown, where the "B" model has a conventional flat fork crown. The "C" model is known as the "Riviera". There may have been a factory lightweight model, featuring a milled BB - 3 such bikes are known. There was also a "Laser" aerodynamic / time trial bike offered in limited numbers in the mid-80s."
I was looking at various old photos, trying to ascertain when Cinelli went from a hex head seatpost binder bolt to an allen head bolt, and I can't decide. It looks like early '70's, but I know that's not very specific. My '68ish SC has a hex head. Since Cinellis often seem to get refinished, it seems possible that older hex head bolts were sometimes replaced with the more modern looking allen head bolts when the frames were repainted
Best regards, Marcus Helman Huntington Woods, MI
Norm Lafleur wrote:
I am about to check out a late 60's to early 70's Cinelli SC. The current owner bought it used in the early to mid 70's and described it as an early 70's bike. But in conversation he said that it originally had a Record steel rear derailleur and Universal 68 brakes. I suspect that this would indicate a 60's bike but I don't know what frame details to look for to verify this. Also I don't think the steel derailleur and Universal 68's existed at the same point in time. What should I look for on the frame to determine the vintage? He also said it was in rough shape but I have to look...not everybody has the same tolerance for patina.
Norm Lafleur
Ashfield, Ma.