ctak

Salute!

merziac

Got a notice that the new book will be on its way tomorrow, ordered the cap too.

ctak

merziac

Have become a big defacto fan of them, got to see a brand new one live last month, so cool, in the presence of greatness to be sure, was glad to have the new Strawberry as a worthy buffer.

I did consider a Battaglin but wanted face to face for this build.

Going to get one at some point, probably not going to be a new one but you never know, they are an absolute bargain when you consider many of the other options at the same price point, these are fantastic, period.

Love them.

Old Fireleg

Pinarello's star began to rise with him.

bulgie 

Yes, Battaglin rode a Pinarello to his '81 Giro victory (and, I assume in the Vuelta of that year, which he also won).
At least in all the '81 Giro pictures I have found, where the bike is visible, it's a Pinarello.
But he was allowed to have his own bike company at the same time? Seems odd. Was there any connection between Pinarello and Battaglin-brand bikes?

Classy rider.

Old Fireleg

In 1981, the Inoxpran team had a contract with Pinarello. That’s why also Battaglin drove Pinarello in every race. In 1982, Pinarello switched to the Metauromobili team. And Battaglin provided Inoxpran with bicycles under his own name. (Which was the reason and what is the consequence, I don’t know) Battaglin bikes were apparently started to be manufactured in 1981-82 because before that, the racer had not achieved outstanding victory.
A few years later the Life repeated this game with Battaglin - only with an inverted sign. The Carrera Jeans team used Battaglin bikes, but encouraged by the success, they set up their own bike brand and Giovanni had to look for a new team.

T-Mar

The ad is for the 1982 model year and it employed an altered photo. The photo is from the 1981 Vuelta a Espana with the Pinarello logos airbrushed out and replaced with Battaglin. The jersey colour has also been altered from yellow to pink, to suggest it's from the Giro. The original photo is attached. It's worth noting that Pinarello tried to expose the ruse by using a version of the original photo in their 1982 catalogue.

When Battaglin decided to start his own company after winning the Vuelta-Giro double in 1981, the prime market was Italy and it was best to cash-in on the Giro win. It's a mystery why they didn't just stage new photos but the reason for choosing this photo is obvious. It's taken from the non-drive side, which better disguises the Campagnolo equipment. Battaglin's 1982 Inoxpran team was equipped by Gipiemme and a drive side photo would have made the discrepancy obvious and unacceptable to Gipiemme. When Battaglin frames were originally released, they came standard with a front derailleur, as the Gipemme was a re-branded Simplex which used a unique mounting boss.

Pinarello's switch to Metauro Mobili was not voluntary but forced by Battaglin's decision to start his own bicycle company. Obviously, the team did not want to lose it's star rider and thought it best to switch to Battaglin bicycles. Ironically, Pinarello benefited the most, as Battaglin never again achieved his 1981 form, while Pinarello got mileage out of aging Lucien Van Impe taking the Mountains classification in the 1982 and 1983 Giro d'Italia, and the 1983 Tour de France, for Metauro Mobili

ctak

Fascinating, thanks for the history

Old Fireleg

I read this interview a few years ago, luckily I found it again. It mentions Battaglin and interesting stories from behind the scenes.

https://pezcyclingnews.com/amp/inter...-per-bausager/

bulgie 

Too funny! That's awesome that you found the actual photo they altered. Caught cheating!
Yes I know it happens all the time. I built a frame for a multiple US Nationals gold medalist, 2-time Olympics team member that he rode under two different bike makers' decals. A steel track sprint frame, and his last bike sponsor was Merlin. They had to paint the bike to look like Ti and put Merlin decals on it because they tried and failed twice to make him a sprint bike that was stiff enough. I didn't mind the fake decals, I got paid...

Another Pinarello story -- at the factory they have a bike they claim is the superlight that Battaglin used in the Tre Cime mountains stage in the '81 Giro. (He got 3rd on the stage, but put time into his GC contenders, so it's effectively the day he won the Giro.) But the bike Pinarello has is a different bike! I have seen the real bike, have close-up pictures that I took. I compared all the race-day pics from Tre Cime, and there are several points you can see that match the one I took pictures of, but don't match the one Pinarello has. I can't tell if they even know they have the wrong bike -- should we tell them?. https://pinarello.com/hall-of-fame/1...anni-battaglin

Here's an article from 2015 fawning over the wrong bike. Funniest part is when they claim the triple chainring Campy crank he used was invented and custom-machined by them, for Battaglin, for that race. It's a box-stock Campy triple that's been around, unchanged since 1970, maybe earlier. (The 1970 Schwinn Paramount touring model P-15 came with them.) To be fair, there are three interesting differences with Battaglin's:

1. Super Record Ti BB spindle, which was only made in a double-chainring version, so they put a massively deep indent in the outside of the chainstay to clear the third ring.
2. The cranks got the "Mexico" treatment -- unanodized, edges re-radiused/rounded off, and mirror polished. It's the only "Mexico" triple crank I've seen. (I only put Mexico in scare quotes because I don't remember who called them that -- Colnago maybe? Probably whoever did these did not call them that. If there's a generic term for these, someone let me know.)
3. The small inner chainring was drilled for lighter weight (or for the lightweight "look"). It's definitely the box-stock Record triple ring though -- they drilled right through the stamped-in lettering where it says Campagnolo. Drilling was done in a hurry, apparently with a dull drill bit, because they left big visible burrs around the holes.

Hmm, BikeForums isn't letting me upload a photo -- I just get a pop-up that says "Alert" and no other info. Weird.
Anyway, all my pics of that bike are here. Those of you who are very familiar with the Campy Record triple crankset will see the unmistakable proof that it could not have been made by Pinarello. If they say they made it, they are either passing on incorrect info unknowingly (like nobody who works there now was around then), or they're lying.

I wanted to upload my little stash of race-day photos showing the things that are different from the one Pinarello is claiming is the real Tre Cime bike, but I didn't take those pics, so it'd be a copyright violation. I found them on the web, so if you're interested, you can too. Sorry I didn't save the links, just the photos for my own enjoyment.

Oh wait, google-image-search to the rescue. Here are some links:

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jqhj2ga5D-...-in-azione.jpg
In this one you can see the recessed nut in the front of the brake, and the lack of an adjusting barrel -- just a housing stop there. I think you can tell the headset is a Pista, not a Strada. Pinarello's bike has a Strada. the one I took pics of is Pista. Also the bar wrap matches the bike I took pictures of in 1998 exactly. I think they never retaped the bars after Tre Cime, and no one ever rode the bike again!

https://us.selleitalia.com/wp-conten...AVAREDO-81.jpg
Another showing the lack of adjusting barrel on the brake, and evidence of the recessed nut (looks like a hole where the shiny chrome acorn nut should be). And seems to be a pista headset.

I have a couple more pictures that g-i-s couldn't find, one that shows the seatstay cap is not chromed on the race-day bike, or on the one I took pics of. It is chromed on the bike that Pinarello has. Another race-day pic shows the stem pantographing is like the one I took pictures of, a visibly different style than the engraving on the bike at the factory.

Mark B in Seattle

Old Fireleg

Yes, I have experienced this contradiction already. The Cinelli stem (1A vs. 1R) and the Allen screw on the brake caliper show the difference from afar. Here is another picture of the supposedly original Tre Cime. With race number 61 but the red anodized bottle cage is the same.


Only two pictures of the mountain stage, but the Allen screw and 1A stem are shown. And here’s a picture of the last TT stage, here’s the red cage. But this is a bike with an aero shifter and 1R stem.

But I’m not surprised because there are also a couple of “original” pieces from Merckx’s Mexican bike. Just like Saronni's Goodwood-winner. I’ve seen Moser take photos with the ’84 Giro winning bike decades later, but it was a few years later type , although the painting was the same. For a racer, a bike is like a hunter’s dog. Tool.