Originally Posted by
greatscott
Don't forget, Cannondale, Masi, Haro, Nishiki (this company always was a decal company), Diamondback, Raleigh, Schwinn, Mongoose, GT, Fuji, Rene Herse, Holdsworth...the list goes on and on. In regards to Cinelli, they are no longer owned by Columbus, the brand name was sold to
Gruppo S.r.l. in 1997, so technically Cinelli is also a decal company, but like Cannondale and a very few others they have stayed close to the original roots, in fact you can buy a brand new Supercorsa. Supposedly the Gruppo company kept the Supercorsa true to its heritage due to its dream like ride, so it still uses Columbus SL tubing which I think they first started using in 1963. At some point some of the Supercorsas used Reynolds 531 in the early 60's as well, not sure what differentiated the two, why did one use Columbus SL and the other Reynolds 531, maybe someone with more knowledge than me can answer what that was all about. if you want to buy one, which you can only get as a frame and fork, but Adrenalin Bikes can put whatever components you want on it; see: https://www.adrenalinebikes.com/stor...ategoryID=5807 I've bought my Lynskey bike from Adrenaline Bikes and they are extremely knowledgable and great to deal with.
Gruppo is the parent company of both Columbus and Cinelli. They are, in effect, one and the same. Cinelli steel bikes are almost certainly made by someone else and are certainly not up to their former standards. I know because I just had a bad experience with a custom Cinelli Supercorsa frame. After three tries to get it right, they are refunding me my purchase price. I ended up buying a new-old-stock 1989 Cinelli Supercorsa made with Columbus SLX through my local bike shop, Mellow Johnny's (owned by Lance Armstrong). I just picked it up yesterday and will go on my first ride later today. I believe some of these are still available from Adrenaline Bikes, but they are very limited in colors and sizes. You have to call to get availability. Note that for these Cinelli's sizes are measured from center to top of the top tube, not center to center. Their price is $1999 plus shipping. I had mine built with the stuff from the first bad (rust) SC frame, Campy Super Record.
