Originally Posted by
Drillium Dude
58 (frame size) and 0217 are stamped on my BB shell. Since I have the original paperwork, I know that the frame was built and on the shop floor in Seattle ready to be sold in December 1979. The frame could have been produced between 1977 and 1979, in my estimation. Closest I can get without knowledge of Medici's numbering scheme.
Just for giggles, I'd also like to know when they stopped the diamond cutouts in the three lugs. Apparently this was an early feature - but how early?
DD
Medici had no numbering scheme. It was just sequential within each model. So, for example, in my spreadsheet, I list Pro-Pist PP004. I have no idea when it was built (or whether the "PP" prefix is even part of the s/n), nor when it might have been built in relation to your Pro-Strada frame or mine. Yours was apparently the 217th Pro-Strada built, mine the 150th. A guy over on CR (not Mike Howard) has the old Medici build book. I got my build date/destination info from him: "Delivered 10/08/1979 to Adams Ave Cyclery" (I hesitate to publicize his full info, so as not to tick him off when a boatload of queries come flooding in...)
With our two bikes being so close together, it might be instructive to compare them in tedious detail to see how - if at all - they differ. Like mine, yours appears to have the Confente cable guides. Mike said when frames came back for repaint those were often replaced. They have slightly smaller diameter than what you typically see, so sourcing brake cable housing can be a bit of a challenge. Even though I found some old stuff, when I installed it, the Confente guides still shave off a little bit of the plastic cover.