Oh, there is a story on that black Cinelli. I rode the crap out of it AND made money on it ! It was the "positive net worth" Cinelli.
In 1982 I went to visit Spence Wolf at his house in Covelo, CA. He told me of a Cinelli that was for sale in Spreckels, CA (near Laguna Seca raceway in Monterey). He said I should go buy it. So the next weekend I drove down there and the owner told me that he had won the bike in an auction for the legal aid society of Monterey County. It was a 1963 Cinelli Speciale Corsa, and it had been restored to better than new condition by CycleArt including re-chrome. I threw down the asking price ($700) and got the bike and the winning raffle ticket.
The Mephisto wheels for this bike are today on another Cinelli in Texas. I sold the crankset to Jim Cunningham who just "had to have it". And I put the "Top 63" brakes on ebay, they went to a Japanese bidder for 1200 bucks.
The bike hung in my living room until 2007 when I sold it to a guy in California for $3200. He just had to have it as his Cinelli had been stolen. So after 25 years of ownership I more than tripled my money on this bike and had the pleasure of riding it quite a bit.
I have another Cinelli here now (former owner Hunter S. Thompson) that has about 10 miles on it since new. And a "Ridotto" which is pretty rare. It's great when you can own something that is so special and so unique, and pass it off to the next caretaker and not be upside down on it.
that's the story and I'm sticking by it !
Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA USA
Last edited by mpetry912; 03-11-19 at 06:50 PM.