Colnago Owners / Info / Appreciation Thread

I didn't weigh mine, I was trying to quote, which didn't seem to work.

2kg for frame and fork, given a steel fork will be at least 600g, means a 1400g frame, so pretty much the same as a C40. My Super, frame only, feels as if it weighs around 2000g (guessing).

i'm hungover and not got scales so can't weigh my mexicos
both pre 79

no crimps in stays

this was the last mexico, the esa, has no internal chain stay crimps,soon to bee completed

my old nuovo mexico, no interrnal stay crimps, colnago stamped on stay, i think all models had this from the early eighties

fucking miss that ole' nuovo fo' sho'

my nonesensical input aside,
one way to determine what the frame is maybe to consider the balance of probability
Going by the velobase thread, there were 3 main Mexicos,(shown above) none of which had internal crimps
Supers had crimps, and it seems to me improbable that the frame is a one off mexico with internal crimps, so it's probably a super

the only mexico with crimps in stays
"In 1980, there was a Colnago Mexico "Mosca" (aka Colnago 2000), a Team Time Trial bike created for the Team USSR. The right title would be Mosca 1980 Quartetto Olimpionico 100km con l'aerodinamica bicicletta which was labeled Colnago Mexico on the chainstays but obviously, they were entirely different from the Merckx model. It had a 650 front and 700 rear as well as 24mm seat post diameter and 17mm handlebar stem. Some of this model came with gold plated stays and fork and were sometimes also referred to as Colnago Mexico Oro confusing things even more. There is also a bike that is confused with the Colnago Mexico "Mosca", the Moscva Crono (1980 - 1982) which is easy to spot because it has seatstays that end at the middle of the seat tube and they do not end at the seat lug like the "Mosca", chainstays that are now stamped "Colnago", multi-shaped tubes, and lug within a lug in the BB. It does retain the 24mm seatpost and the 17mm handlebar stem and the uni-crown fork with brazed reverse brake bolt. Some of these also came with gold plated stays and fork and were referred to as Colnago Mexico Oro. FYI: The Campagnolo OEM Colnago aero seat post on these bikes were made aero by milling a solid seat post flat on the sides and retaining the round bottom where it fits into the seat tube and these were not pantographed but just had a small Colnago decals on both flat sides. These are not to be confused with the small round seat post for Colnago Oval CX."

Yep as 606 points out, the weight reference - frame only

aint no way in hell a 35 year old steel frame (granted, amazing steel) weighs 1400g, the same as a C40

I don't think that too much accuracy can be derived from the weights unless allowance is made for the fact that yours has been repainted and likely clearcoated too. The early Colnagos with original paint appear to have only a very thin coat of paint evident from the sharp definition of the lugs and clover cutouts and they weren't clearcoated.
Just guessing but I'd imagine a modern paint and clearcoat could weigh in at around 400/500g which could be considerably more than an original and then there's the deviation in weight of the non Colnago fork to throw into the mix.

On a side note I'm sure the C40 documented weight is 1400g but several people have weighed their c50s in 53/54 size and they came in at around 1100g (c50 has bigger tubes than c40 but reported to be only 15g heavier)

@saarf nice page of porn

Yes, you're right (also @schleazy). I weighed it ages ago and remembered this important number being neatly just less than 2 kg and just quoted it as the total weight without checking. Now I had a look back where I noted it down and find frame=1999 g (with headset cups), fork=731 g (with crown race). So, either I can confirm that a super frame weighs about 2 kg, or that my frame is about the right weight to be a genuine super (which is also important to me!).

may have my other 77 frame set back this week, meant to be chrome finished, no doubt heavy
got the itm goccia for the mk1 c40, going for a campag ti seatpost to finish

Don't imagine for one second that the '77 is going to be anything less than stunning when it's built. Do you mean you've had the whole frame chromed?What've you got put aside to build it up with?

Like to see a picture of the c40 when you've finished. Still yet to get one but slowly getting more and more excited about the prospect.

i still have to complete this c40 b stay

on the 77, the frame should have complete chrome finish , and will have 1st gen campagnolo super record with panto'd shit

how it was

this is what "inspired" the project, one i found on a Belgian farm ages ago and sold

(uncrimped stays)

I'm expecting a bag o' shite to be honest, guy has had frame set nearly 6 months, the process is pretty much like powder coating, not true chrome, and we agreed to do as a test

B-Stay looks nice, very clean and I like that colour scheme a lot. The mk1 is a bit special though a few pages back with the round tubes, I'm yet to have seen another in the wild.

If the chrome job comes off ok it'll look stunning for sure. I see a lot of faux chrome on many everyday objects and it looks great, almost indistinguishable from the real deal so don't see why it can't be replicated to the same effect on a frame. Nice group, are those levers factory drilled?

(uncrimped stays)
Ha ha.

Thanks,I think the b stay is in Navigator decor, the mk1 was a result,right money, the frame is pretty much immaculate ,and has internal tt guides, (most had external),which may have been a factory customization as the 'art decor' is intact so must have been done after routing, but the nds side of forks have a couple of blights, and as you say, they are rarely seen in the wild, the vendor had a mk 2 in Casino Art decor, said he has a load of shit he needs to sell, so we'll see

re the chrome

I'd initially said to guy if he can do it well, i would recommend him, he told me
the process brings out blights and takes time, but 6 months is taking the piss, London chrome could have done for about400 quid in 6 to 8 weeks, and I could have got it done in Amsterdam for 350 euro and 6 to 8 weeks, I had a verbal on the phone last week and he rang today saying it will be done on Wednesday, so we'll see
issues i see in comparison to the real deal are on drop outs from wheel insertion, so if frame is smooth finish I'll let it sit a few months to hftu

London chrome could have done for about400 quid in 6 to 8 weeks.

Can they? have they done bicycle before?

i rang them (on old kent road) and they told me they could
For my super cx I was thinking Mercian as they offer rear triangle and forks service as well as a proper og paint job

Gonna double check.

TBF, 6 months actually sound about right.

I have no experience with the process, but I contacted a company in Amsterdam then rang old kent road last November, both had similar 6 to 8 weeks process times
the process I'm waiting for is not dissimilar to powdercating, done by someone in Orpington, so that process should not take 6 months
in fairness, it I did tell him to take his time, just do a good job, as I was worried about the finish being too heavy, like p coating, which would dull down lug features and the fork crown
now and again i pop in to Seabass cyles in camberwell, good bunch, they have expanded into spraying, and the fella I speak to said their experience with the process in hand has been unsatisfactory

this is process as I understand it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up_CLJXRyaM

I heard of that process, the bonus part is that it also retain the main advantage of chroming (protecting the frames).

Think my bike going through that process.

are you talking about the process on the you tube clip or london chrome?
if you mean what i'm waiting for the guy is up for doing more, we'll see how this turns out

They sell used around the £40 mark. Very nice it is too

no idea , i got a bassano pink art decor one
dug this out of the war chest this afternoon, got the flakiest paint off, i was thinking of getting it completely redone, but now I'm considering just clear powder coat to stabilize the original decor, and build as "original condition"