Warning: uneducated opinion follows.
Like Chuck, I've never seen the appeal of the crimped tubing bikes. Seems like a kind of goofy marketing ploy. But regardless of the utility of that tubing design, I have to believe that if any of the framesets in that catalog had the crimped tubing, the text of the descriptions would certainly describe that innovation.
My college room mate did have a crimped-tube Saronni back in "the day," but I expect that it was made a few years later than '81 (maybe '84 or so).
Kerrigan Bennett Pleasant Hill, CA USD
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Chuck, you may be 100% on this. But if those tubes are crimped, I think they would show up exactly as they are in the photos. So...they may be crimped or it may just be the reflections. I'm afraid that I may have to write to Ernesto to resolve this one.
Or maybe Steven Maasland can ask him next time he talks to him - Steven, have you called him for his birthday yet?
Thanks Chuck for your input. I've revised the text to include your comments.
Ray Dobbins Miami FL USA
Chuck Schmidt <chuckschmidt(AT)earthlink.net> wrote:
Ray Dobbins wrote:
> Chuck, I went back and forth many times on this. In the end I
> decided it was not just a dark reflection. There is a dark
> reflection, but there is also a lighter stripe below which seems to
> be the result of the crimping. And I'm fairly convinced that what
> you see on the inside of the left chainstay is a crimp.
This photo:
shows the typical indentation in the chainstay for tire clearance and also a dark line down the center of the tube all the way back to the dropout which I am certain is not a crimping because the same dark line appears down the center of each seatstay which I am absolutely certain are not crimped.
> But it's a tough call and I can see how someone can come to the
> conclusion that none of the tubes are crimped. In fact, I'll amend
> my text to point out that you have expressed doubt that there the
> tubes are crimped. Thanks for settling this issue ;)
>
> BTW, have you ever seen a Super with crimped tubing?
To be brutally honest, I never really paid much attention to crimped tubed Colnagos because I thought they were a little silly from an engineering standpoint, of course only my opinion.
> What's your guesstimate on the date of the catalog?
1981 based solely on the chainstays with the stamped "COLNAGO" in the side.
Chuck Schmidt
South Pasadena, CA USA
http://www.velo-retro.com (reprints, t-shirts & timelines)