Due to a very lucky find, I'm now the owner of a Fausto Coppi, made by Masciaghi from Columbus Genius, in Team Polti colours.
Here it is finally at home:
The bike itself seems to be a bit of a mystery. It was owned by the Coppi/FiR rep so has hardly been ridden. Between the last two owners they think it has less than 300 miles in total on it. Almost everything is original (circa 1995) apart from the saddle which some scallywag stole so that's a replacement.
This is what I know/think I know so far. I'm happy to be corrected and any further information is welcome:
The frame itself seems to be quite rare. The fastback (I think it is) seat stay design was outlawed by the UCI shortly after they started production so very few were made and of those quite a lot were shelved and didn't even get painted. It's a very light frame for steel.
The groupset is a mix of Dura Ace 7400 (brake calipers, bottom bracket, crankset and cassette) and FiR (seat post, front mech, rear derailleur, down tube shifters, skewers and brake levers.) This is where it seems to get interesting. I can't find any information on the groupset at all. It doesn't seem to be rebranded Campagnolo (or any of the other Italian or French manufacturers - the limit screws on the rear derailleur are in an unusual placing) and any google search to find it seems to lead back to this bike. The seat pin does look the same as a Campagnolo aero post. Either previous for sale adverts or forum posts asking for information. The cockpit is 3ttt. Here's the sellers pictures (as they're better than mine:
The wheelset is another mystery. The rims are FiR (which is what they were known for) ES-80 but the hubs are made by spoke company Alpina. Again, I have never seen these hubs before and can't find any information on them.
The front is an Alpina slim RS-16 and the rear is marked as an Alpina RR-1:
I've asked for information here, on RetroBike, on the Facebook group 90's Cycling Remembered and anyone I know who knows their stuff and so far, nothing.
For interest, here's an article on Team Polti where you can see the frame:
Due to a very lucky find, I'm now the owner of a Fausto Coppi, made by Masciaghi from Columbus Genius, in Team Polti colours.
Here it is finally at home:
The bike itself seems to be a bit of a mystery. It was owned by the Coppi/FiR rep so has hardly been ridden. Between the last two owners they think it has less than 300 miles in total on it. Almost everything is original (circa 1995) apart from the saddle which some scallywag stole so that's a replacement.
This is what I know/think I know so far. I'm happy to be corrected and any further information is welcome:
The frame itself seems to be quite rare. The fastback (I think it is) seat stay design was outlawed by the UCI shortly after they started production so very few were made and of those quite a lot were shelved and didn't even get painted. It's a very light frame for steel.
The groupset is a mix of Dura Ace 7400 (brake calipers, bottom bracket, crankset and cassette) and FiR (seat post, front mech, rear derailleur, down tube shifters, skewers and brake levers.) This is where it seems to get interesting. I can't find any information on the groupset at all. It doesn't seem to be rebranded Campagnolo (or any of the other Italian or French manufacturers - the limit screws on the rear derailleur are in an unusual placing) and any google search to find it seems to lead back to this bike. The seat pin does look the same as a Campagnolo aero post. Either previous for sale adverts or forum posts asking for information. The cockpit is 3ttt. Here's the sellers pictures (as they're better than mine:
The wheelset is another mystery. The rims are FiR (which is what they were known for) ES-80 but the hubs are made by spoke company Alpina. Again, I have never seen these hubs before and can't find any information on them.
I did find a mention of Alpina hubs ( and a mention of hubs that were made for Marco Pantani) with a picture of what looks like the front wheel in this article but that seems to be it: http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/features/best-of-pez-the-alpina-spoke-factory/#.VUjU6PlVikq I haven't weighed them but they feel very, very light.
The front is an Alpina slim RS-16 and the rear is marked as an Alpina RR-1:
I've asked for information here, on RetroBike, on the Facebook group 90's Cycling Remembered and anyone I know who knows their stuff and so far, nothing.
For interest, here's an article on Team Polti where you can see the frame:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/latestnews/retro-amstel-gold-gianetti-remembers/#.VUjVAPlVikq
I just need the rain to stop so I can go and ride it!
[Edit] Some more pictures & details including a signature in blue pen on the rim: