Thursday, May 7, 2015

Recent acquisition: Early to mid 1960's Cinelli Super Corsa with Cinelli Bivalent hubs

     This is a really cool bike we recently got in. It is an early to mid 1960's Cinelli Super Corsa. frame measurements are as follows:
  • 56 CM CTC seat tube
  • 57CM CTC top tube
  • 32 1/2" stand over height
     It has been re painted at some point and the only decal on it is the Reynolds 531 seat tube decal. I am not sure if the frame is built with Reynolds 531 or Columbus tubing, Reynolds was being phased  out in 1963, although it was still an option if the customer wanted it. It has no holes in the fork tangs or the head lugs which started to appear in 1968. It also still has an oiler port on the BB shell and the drain hole in the bottom of the BB shell which disappeared in the mid 60's. It also has the spring anchor hole on the the rear derailleur hanger to accomodate the Campagnolo Sport derailleur, which disappeared in the mid 60's. The serial number is 3091 stamped on the BB shell, but Cinelli serial numbers are all over the place, so that does not really help in dating it. All the above info was via Chuck Schmidt's Velo Retro page. Cinelli timeline Velo Retro
     It has the proprietary Cinelli Bivalent hub system, very unique! Here is an article about it: Cinelli Bivalent hub article via Classic Rendezvous. The wheels are interchangeable front to back. The outer hub flange has a splined ring the coincides with a splined Regina freewheel body. The freewheel stays attached to the frame via specific frame fittings and a through bolt quick release secures everything together. they were introduced in 1961-62 and were a steel barrell and alloy flanges and were later switched to an all alloy hub shell, which is what is on this bike. They were discontinued in about 1967 ish and are now highly collectable.
     The bike also has the rare Cinelli head set (missing the even rarer steel Cinelli spacer), which were discontinued in the mid 1960's. The frame also has the rare universal rear cable hanger, specific to the Cinelli seat cluster. When the bike was refinished apparently they lost the original head badge screws and used a bit larger diameter ones to secure the badge, Doh! I took them off and it is not bad underneath, they were careful at least. The badge is the 51mm enameled brass version.
     The bike also has other cool features such as the Model 55 drilled plastic Unicanitor saddle, front Campagnolo derailleur with cable stop (slotted),  no date code Campagnolo cranks, Universal Mod. 61 brakes, Campagnolo cable guide / pump peg, and Campagnolo double DT cable stop. Older logo Cinelli stem (90mm), and Cinelli crest logo Mod. Giro D Italia bars (alloy).
     This bike is an ideal candidate for proper restoration. These early'ish Super Corsas are pretty difficult to find in this condition. Enjoy the photos!
                                                     Please contact me at: bikeville@gmail.com with any questions.
                                                                Thanks!
                                                                 SOLD!