Vintage Benotto find - help w/age & model please!
#1
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Thread Starter
Vintage Benotto find - help w/age & model please!
Hi all
I found this today at a local thrift store for $49. I know it's a good bike because I know of the Benotto name.And I believe it's a early bike because of the head badge + there are some stickers on the back of the seat post; including 1 that says 1977.
But I don't know how old it is - and more importantly what model it is? The only thing I can tell you to hopefully help is it has a Suntour Honor rear derailleur and Benotto brakes.
Can anyone help me?
Thanks!
I found this today at a local thrift store for $49. I know it's a good bike because I know of the Benotto name.And I believe it's a early bike because of the head badge + there are some stickers on the back of the seat post; including 1 that says 1977.
But I don't know how old it is - and more importantly what model it is? The only thing I can tell you to hopefully help is it has a Suntour Honor rear derailleur and Benotto brakes.
Can anyone help me?
Thanks!
#2
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Good luck with sale.
#3
feros ferio
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Bikes: 1959 Capo Modell Campagnolo; 1960 Capo Sieger (2); 1962 Carlton Franco Suisse; 1970 Peugeot UO-8; 1982 Bianchi Campione d'Italia; 1988 Schwinn Project KOM-10;
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Low end model with carbon steel frame, probably comparable to a Peugeot UO-8, but perhaps with superior handling characteristics. (Even cheap Italian road bikes tended to have very nice sports touring geometries, and rode far better than their price would indicate. My first Bianchi fit into that category.)
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
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-----
bottom ender asian machine
note the Nikko Sangyo bulge-formed head and the five-piece steel hub
most regulars here would not give it stall space
no connection to Benotto, either Italy or Mexico
-----
bottom ender asian machine
note the Nikko Sangyo bulge-formed head and the five-piece steel hub
most regulars here would not give it stall space
no connection to Benotto, either Italy or Mexico
-----
#7
Full Member
Thread Starter
It's not a Benotto?! Why would someone go to all that trouble?
Oh well - thanks for the info; saved me from trying to sell on eBay & ending up with a bad feedback!
Oh well - thanks for the info; saved me from trying to sell on eBay & ending up with a bad feedback!
#8
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For the same reason you bought it: It says Benotto on it, which is a known premium brand. "Must be worth something!"
I would bring it back to the thrift store for a return, to be honest.
One thing to look for when you're hunting bikes: You see how the rear dropout is equal-thickness bent metal, rather than something clearly poured into a mold? In many cases, that is a de-facto sign of a low-quality, low-level bike and a good indicator you should turn away. Basically that dropout is made as cheaply as possible: They stamp it out of a sheet of steel, then press it into shape.
Not every Benotto has it, but the better ones that are still alive here in the US will often have a heart-shape cutout underneath. Some pics of various Benotto dropouts are here.
Better luck next score! If you learn a few of the telltale signs of low-end bikes, like overly large lugs with no curves and stamped dropouts, you'll be a in a better position to recognize a good quality bike without relying on the decals, which are often faked.
I would bring it back to the thrift store for a return, to be honest.
One thing to look for when you're hunting bikes: You see how the rear dropout is equal-thickness bent metal, rather than something clearly poured into a mold? In many cases, that is a de-facto sign of a low-quality, low-level bike and a good indicator you should turn away. Basically that dropout is made as cheaply as possible: They stamp it out of a sheet of steel, then press it into shape.
Not every Benotto has it, but the better ones that are still alive here in the US will often have a heart-shape cutout underneath. Some pics of various Benotto dropouts are here.
Better luck next score! If you learn a few of the telltale signs of low-end bikes, like overly large lugs with no curves and stamped dropouts, you'll be a in a better position to recognize a good quality bike without relying on the decals, which are often faked.
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#9
feros ferio
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: www.ci.encinitas.ca.us
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Bikes: 1959 Capo Modell Campagnolo; 1960 Capo Sieger (2); 1962 Carlton Franco Suisse; 1970 Peugeot UO-8; 1982 Bianchi Campione d'Italia; 1988 Schwinn Project KOM-10;
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I concur with the first sentence. I am not sure about the closing sentence, in the sense that the Asia-built Bianchis at least shared the sweet spot frame geometry of their Italian cousins, so there was indeed a connection in that sense.
__________________
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069