Ess4Bee

After a few years of riding around on my first road bike -- a 1985 Club Fuji held together mostly by hopes and dreams -- it was time for an upgrade. I picked up this beautiful Ciocc today with Columbus EL-OS tubing and a full Campagnolo Chorus 8 speed groupset. Actually, somebody seems to have replaced the front derailleur with a Campy Record one, but no complaints there!

I bought it in the outer suburbs of Boston for $575. While it'll need all the usual stuff for a bike that's been sitting (tubes, tires, brake pads, etc), I feel it was a good price. I was once asked to pay $175 for a Raleigh Record with rotted tires in this market! And needless to say it'll be a big upgrade over my Fuji.

What does everyone think? Does anyone know much about these? I spent a ton of time perusing the forums before buying it, but couldn't find much. Did Ciocc bikes have model names or were they just named after the tubing?





The 90's means no more lugs, but it still has a little pantographing:




One final shot for my fellow car-free folks. The seller was kind enough to meet me at a train station:

jamesdak 

Well I can't tell you much about that particular bike. But, I'd say you did just fine for a EL-OS bike by a quality maker. That tubing should date it to the first half of the 90's most likely. Every one of my EL-OS bikes are great riders, you should really enjoy this one, congrats!

Bianchigirll 

Great looking bike. Ciocc has always been one the frame on back burrner list to try if I found a good deal on one, and EL OS is a tubeset I'd love to try. I'd say that is a pretty good price.

Fredo76

Beautiful bike.

Ya done good!

Kabuki12

Congratulations on your “new” bike. It looks to be in nice shape .

icemilkcoffee 

A beautiful Ciocc with a complete Chorus groupset. That is a steal at $575!

Ess4Bee

It was originally listed at $700 on FB Marketplace. I figured we'd end up around $650, but the seller took my initial offer of $575!

Steel1

Hi, you will be very pleased with this bicycle! That is an excellent price.
I also have what is likely the same exact frame and size. I purchased mine as a frame set, and built it up as a resto mod with Campy Chorus 11 speed.
Can you post a photo showing the fork crown area? I am not sure if I have the original fork on my bike or not. I know mine had been re-chromed, so I can’t be sure that mine is the original. Mine has three Chevrons, with Ciocc written below.
what I can say about the frame is it has very short 400mm chainstay, and can only take 23 mm in the rear. Wheelbase 98.5cm. It handles wonderfully and surprisingly feels very stable to me.

Ess4Bee

No chevrons here, otherwise identical. I'm glad you mentioned the rear tire clearance because it came with 23mm's and it's tight.

Steel1

Thanks for posting the fork crown picture. It looks nice!
I recall my frame is around 1850g or so, which is very light for this size. Just be cautious around the bike, as the tubing is quite thin and easy to dent.

Ess4Bee

Noted! Thanks for the tips. The stem is stuck so I'll need to be careful when trying to wedge it free.

Spaghetti Legs 

Very nice bike and you will enjoy it! I have an early 90’s Ciöcc in Columbus EL. It is not oversize tubing and I assume it’s from about ‘91 or 92 before they decided the tubeset needed to be stiffened up. I’ve never been able to find a model name for mine and haven’t seen any with the top to bottom chrome seat stays like mine. I love the ride on. One except at times the fork has seemed a little flexy. I once got a horrible shimmy in a crosswind on a long straight descent off Coronado National Monument in Arizona but have done plenty other fast descents with no problems. I can squeeze 30 mm tires on. Kind and because of that and the fact it was already cosmetically beat up, I used it as my main gravel rider for a couple years.

Ess4Bee

It's a beauty. The fully chromed seat stays look good! It says a lot that you were able to use it on gravel. Maybe that EL tubing isn't necessarily quite as flimsy as people say.

Regarding the tires, do you know what the chain stay length is?

Spaghetti Legs 

Just measured, pretty standard for Italian racer 41.5 cm bb center to dropout center, 57 cm frame. Here’s a quick pic with Challenge Paris Roubaix 27 mm tires

Ess4Bee

Thanks for the quick check. Yeah, as Spaghetti Legs said, this bike appears to be 400mm on a 58cm frame, so I don't think I'll have the same luck. I wish they gave it just a little more space like on yours!

unworthy1

interesting: the "3 chevrons" was a motif used by some other (than CIOCC) Italian marque but damned if i can recall the name!
Pretty sure it was in a posting by the redoubtable MauriceMoss in his ID-ing some other mystery frame, maybe he can refresh our memory and cast some light on this frame (or just the fork) but in this era it would have been most likely a product of the Bonati/Conti factory.
You got a great bargain for $575!

gkamieneski

Looks to be a great find. Congrats!

Love the 8 speed Chorus Ergo. Shifts are always precise and FD pretty much has variable trim. I have it on my Pinarello Gavia TSX and love it.

Chombi1 

I like the forks because despite when the bike was made, they still put on curved fork legs. Much more elegant looking than the straight fork legs that were so common by that time.
I just wish they still had frame lugs then. Should not be impossible with oversized tubing....

Ess4Bee

I absolutely agree about the straight forks. I think it really messes with the aesthetics of the Colnago Arabesque, for example. (That's why the Raleigh International will forever be my dream art-on-the-wall bike, along with its beautiful lugs!)