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Why are some vintage Italian bicycles labelled "Super?”

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Why are some vintage Italian bicycles labelled "Super?”

Old 10-21-20, 10:35 AM
  #26  
repechage
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Originally Posted by CargoDane
Sort of like "Turbo" on everything in the 80s. Or "Pro" on everything in the 2000s.
very late 1976:

Confente Pro-Strada, Pro-Pista
then on the heels, Medici Pro-Strada, Pro-Pista.
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Old 10-21-20, 10:39 AM
  #27  
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I wonder when "Tactical" will be applied to bikes? If it already hasn't.
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Old 10-21-20, 11:45 AM
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I think it's mighty nice of the Italians to use an English word like "super" to describe their bikes and stuff.

Originally Posted by CargoDane
Sort of like "Turbo" on everything in the 80s. Or "Pro" on everything in the 2000s.
Yep. Let's not forget everything "Laser" in the 70s, and "Digital" or "Digital Ready" in the 90s, though I don't think the latter spread to bicycles. Wait, what about the late 90s to early aughts? Was there an iBike?
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Old 10-21-20, 11:49 AM
  #29  
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I can't remember the buzzwords from the 90s. I think "Pro" was very much in vogue in the 2000s (aughts). I think the iPod happened in the aughts too. I also seem to remember a lot of mountainbikes (cheap and expensive alike) something with "rock" in it.
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Old 10-21-20, 11:57 AM
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It's all relative: as in "Schwinn Super Sport" Don
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Old 10-21-20, 11:58 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by repechage
very late 1976:

Confente Pro-Strada, Pro-Pista
then on the heels, Medici Pro-Strada, Pro-Pista.
That's more in the sense of "for" as in "for-the-street" and "for-the-track".

No, "pro" as in "short for "professional"" was more prevalent in the 2000s.
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Old 10-21-20, 12:10 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by TLaurent
... Is it just a marketing ploy or is there real value to Super frames?
...there's real value. I'm just not certain the value is directly correlated to the word "super", as much as it is to the maker.
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Old 10-21-20, 12:13 PM
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Originally Posted by ollo_ollo
It's all relative: as in "Schwinn Super Sport" Don
"Super" was appropriate in describing the gross sporting improvement (geometry esp) over the next-level electro-forged bikes like the Varsity/Continental.

But the Super Sport moniker would seem to have been borrowed from American muscle-car marketing as I see it.
And I can dig how Peugeot purloined the term (for the 1979 model year) when they finally upgraded their U09 frameset geometry and tubing, as the changes were Super in terms of sporting performance.
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Old 10-21-20, 12:25 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by DiabloScott
“super” means “eleven” in Iti-talk.
My amplifiers are one better than super. They go to 12.

Bicycles come as "super" like cleansers as "ultra". Anything "ultra" came home in my ex's shopping.
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Old 10-21-20, 12:28 PM
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
My amplifiers are one better than super. They go to 12.

Bicycles come as "super" like cleansers as "ultra". Anything "ultra" came home in my ex's shopping.
UltraGlide?






























https://www.flymo.com/uk/content/hin...raglide-review
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Old 10-21-20, 05:23 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by CargoDane
That's more in the sense of "for" as in "for-the-street" and "for-the-track".

No, "pro" as in "short for "professional"" was more prevalent in the 2000s.
No, Mario thought of his bikes Professional Strada, Professional Pista.
Medici just mimicked

In Italian, For is per.
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Old 10-21-20, 06:17 PM
  #37  
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Mehhh.......
I would have used the words "SEXY", "DISCO", "PSYCHEDELIC", "DYNOMITE" and maybe even "COCA" back in the 70's and 80's instead, on bikes and components and would surely have sold jillions more than using boring ole"Super"!
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Old 10-21-20, 08:47 PM
  #38  
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Super, Schmooper! For something really special you need something with "Speciale" in the name, as in my Cinelli Speciale Corsa.
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Old 10-21-20, 09:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Wileyone
That one is so "Super" they couldn't get the decal straight.
The decal is straight it's just a goofy camera angle
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Old 10-21-20, 11:01 PM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by repechage
No, Mario thought of his bikes Professional Strada, Professional Pista.
Medici just mimicked

In Italian, For is per.
No, in this case ("pro-strada" and "pro-pista") means "for" the road and "for" the track.
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Old 10-22-20, 06:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Salamandrine
Was there an iBike?
Yes, you have to upgrade every 87 minutes.
Works better on smooth roads. No cables.
If it gets stolen, life seemingly ends.
Take it from a teenager, and they pass out.

Last edited by RobbieTunes; 10-26-20 at 04:01 PM.
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Old 10-22-20, 06:20 AM
  #42  
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I lived in Italy for awhile in the 1990s and studied Italian. The adjective ‘super’ (pronounced more like ‘sue pear’, though that’s not quite) is everywhere and many things are ‘supercool.’ It’s just an Americanism that’s firmly planted in the culture. Generally, it felt to me like Italian uses a relatively small number of adjectives relative to English, ‘brutto’ and ‘bello’ chiefly. I haven’t been there in 25 years, so I don’t know if that’s the case any more.
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Old 10-22-20, 02:56 PM
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I guess it's my turn to be a pedant, but 'super' is originally latin and goes back to classical times at the very least. It's mainly interesting in that it wasn't modified at all as colloquial Italian gradually came to dominate.

I remember well visiting relatives in Italy. My older 2nd cousin knew only two English words, which he was very proud of and used as much as possible: "OK" and "coca-cola". Neither of which are English, strictly speaking.
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Old 10-22-20, 05:03 PM
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It may have its origins in Latin, but in this context it's certainly feels like an American import. I would bet money that it came in with the popularity of Superman. There are many Italian words that are derived from the latin root: superficio, superare, superattivo, etc. But these relate to height or outward surfaces, and not the way that 'super' modifies Superman, or cool becomes super cool. I'm not a linguist or an etymologist, so I could definitely be mistaken.
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Old 10-22-20, 05:38 PM
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Originally Posted by jet sanchEz
Marketing ploy would be my guess.

Also, "super' is an easy word to say in any language.

I have a
Cinelli Super Corsa, a Tommasini Super Prestige and a Cervelo Super Prodigy.

Super Prodigy is my favourite to say, it just kind of rolls off the tongue
The best part about the Cinelli Super Corsa moniker is that it only exists because of a decal supplier's typo. Up until (I think) the early to mid-70s, Cinelli always called the model "Speciale Corsa." Somewhere along the line, they ordered new decals. They wanted "Speciale Corsa." The printer gave them "Super Corsa." I am not sure if this happened before or after Cino sold the company to the Columbos (somewhere around 1978), but it appears that whoever was in charge said "what the heck" and used them. Hence the names "Speciale Corsa" and "Super Corsa" became interchangeable. "Super Corsa" eventualy won out. It probably did not help that, up until the 1960s sometime, the sticker that went on the frames said "Mod. S.C.", meaning "Super Corsa" was a reasonable guess at the model name for the non-cognoscenti.
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Old 10-22-20, 08:34 PM
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The SC, S.C., speciale corsa, Super Corsa, Supercorsa causes all kinds of grief.

i have found them languishing on eBay when not enough key terms have been used.

i have a ‘71, but really want a ‘64-‘68 before the geometry changed.
one day. An being a contrarian, I want Black.
i have seen them, they do exist in my size even.
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Old 10-22-20, 10:18 PM
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Originally Posted by CargoDane
Sort of like "Turbo" on everything in the 80s. Or "Pro" on everything in the 2000s.
Specialized's basic folding bead road tire is the "Turbo Pro". Way to go guys
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Old 10-23-20, 05:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Ferrouscious
Specialized's basic folding bead road tire is the "Turbo Pro". Way to go guys
We didn't say that people ddn't still use it. Porsche sells an EV with the monicker "Turbo".
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Old 10-26-20, 12:38 PM
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Originally Posted by jet sanchEz
Marketing ploy would be my guess.

Also, "super' is an easy word to say in any language.

I have a Cinelli Super Corsa, a Tommasini Super Prestige and a Cervelo Super Prodigy.

Super Prodigy is my favourite to say, it just kind of rolls off the tongue
The Cinelli’s official name is Speciale Corsa. Or, so it started out as such. That is what is written in the frame transfer of my Cinelli.
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Old 10-26-20, 04:00 PM
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Originally Posted by agmazza
The Cinelli’s official name is Speciale Corsa. Or, so it started out as such. That is what is written in the frame transfer of my Cinelli.
Mine, too, and it's a good point.
My Colnago Super is not.
My Speciale Corsa is.
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