321gojo

Hi all, I have acquired this bike (from my dad) in very good original condition. I understand form other forums that it is very rare with some experienced members never having seen one. Any input form the group would be appreciated, thanks.
I will post pics when I am aloud to.

pic link - https://www.bikeforums.net/g/picture/24741088

repechage

Definitely uncommon.
don't use it until it receives a complete service.
if you are near your father's height, make the minor fit adjustments and ride it.

yes, you could sell it off for a handsome sum, but then it's gone.

Cinelli was on a street named Monza at one point, maybe still are? The Monza auto race track is not too far from there also.

that's all I can provide as a tie in.

if you do not have the proper tools to do the work, seek out experienced vintage aware help. ( grey haired mechanics in other words )
I would hesitate in this case a bike co-op.

juvela

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an earlier discussion thread on the machine rests here -

​​​​​​https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/vi...-monza.206998/

martl


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Doug Fattic 

Let me put a little historical context to your father's bike, Before 1970, adult Americans did not ride bicycles for sport or recreation. There were a few pockets of interest here and there (particularly southern California). Bicycles were for boys to get around until they were finally able to get their driver's license. That is why top of the line bicycles (like your Cinelli) were very uncommon here in the US until the bike boom of 1970. There were many in Europe.

By the way this bicycle is going to have tubular tires. Are you familiar with them? They are sometimes called sewups because the inner tube is sewed up inside the casing. They have to be glued onto the rim. This made the rim lighter and the tire less likely to get a pinch flat from hitting a pot hole.

Do you know the story on how your dad got this bicycle? Did he race or bring it back from Europe? These stories can be as interesting as the bicycle itself.

xiaoman1 

321gojo,
Very nice "keepsake" from your father. Cinelli's are a much coveted make. When doing the service, if you are not familiar with the process ask someone that is knowledgeable with the process....not every LBS will do it justice.
If it were in my possession, I would be carful not to "over" clean it.
Great find and story.
Best, Ben

321gojo

From what I know or remember, my Dad's best life long friend (like an Uncle to me) was a semi pro and raced in the Pan Amercican (Mexico?) games. He and my dad rode on the weekends around coastal SE Mass. I believe his friend either sold him or gave him the bike around 1961.

Wish I knew more.

smd4

Still a pretty good story! Would love to see pictures when you can.

cb400bill

The pictures posted above are of the OP's bike.

cb400bill

Here is one more pic.

321gojo

I am familiar with the sewup tires and will re-fit them. The wheels are in great condition. I need to figure out where to get them and how to mount them (and get used to the presta valve, lol). I am only cleaning paint with warm soapy DAWN soap spray bottle and I am polishing the alloy chromed parts. I am aware of "over doing it" Kid gloves definitely. The bike looks a lot worse than it is, it's cleaning up very nicely. Goog maps of MIlan might offer some insight to the model name. there is a Vilae Monza running through Milan.

smd4

Thanks. Thought that thread was about a different bike.

Gary12000 

what a lovely high end racing machine from the earlier days, we see 70's stuff but 60's stuff and earlier as a previous poster mentioned is not that common.

a gentle cleaning and a period mild mile mild resto, or actually just a service would be what i would do, i would not change the bar tape or anything.. and save all the original grease in a tin lol (joking)..
i would acually seriously keep the sew ups when you remove them if they are decent looking just because iv'e heard some folks like them for a museum type setting..

cb400bill

iab

Monza at the time of manufacture of that bike was actually a town outside of Milan but I believe now has been incorporated into Milan. And yes, the original Cinelli shop in Milan was located on viale Monza 10. It is currently a glasses shop.

I have seen at least 3 of these now. All sorts of speculation about them. Was it decaled for a shop or team or the street, who knows? But I have been up close and person to a couple of them and there is no doubt it is not a hoax and the decals were placed when it was made.

This particular bike I think is older than 1961, imo. The badge looks like the larger one to my eye. That and the wolf's ear lugs puts it into the late 50s. Really cool bike. Should clean up great.


Viale Monza 10 in 2018.

Cinelli 005 by iabisdb, on Flickr

merziac

Fantastic get, fabulous.

Welcome aboard, glad you found us, you are absolutely in the right place.

We live, breath and love this sort of thing, especially Cinelli's and especially one this old, cool and special.

You need 5 posts X 2 days for 10 posts for pics, respond to all posts here and comment on any others to get there.

juvela

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thanks very much for your always outstanding observations iab

wrt date -

one thing which struck me regarding the kitting is that it is assembled with Gran Sport front mech and Gran Sport headset although by the 1961 date the Record model front mech and headset had been launched

this made me wonder if might be some manner of midliner model...or perhaps the shop was simply using up what was in the parts bins...

other kitting bits suggestive of a midliner concept include the plain saddle pillar rather than a NITOR or Campag one, the Sheffield pedals rather than Campag and the Migistroni chainset rather than Campag

happy to defer to the Cinoese experts

shall look forward to reading the comments of martl when he is able to drop in...

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smd4

Do you plan on riding it?

If so (and I know the following may be sacrilege for some folks here), I would do a little more than a light cleaning. Unless you're good at this sort of thing, I would definitely take it to a reputable shop and have all the bearings cleaned and re-packed, and in general have it looked over for any issues. Personally, I would get out the semichrome and try to revive the alloy and steel parts a bit. I'd definitely try to clean those chrome lugs up. I'd get new sewups, new toe straps and maybe even think about re-taping the bars (saving all the old parts, as mentioned). After cleaning the frame, I might put a coat of wax on it to help protect the paint, and maybe make it pop a little.

Of course, to many here, the condition as-is is part of its value and provenance. You own a piece of history.

clubman 

Love the 5 pin Cinelli cottered crank. And just about everything else about the bike. Congrats.

merziac

Paging @martl

321gojo

Thanks @iab for that pic and comments, I love the photo. I would guess it's a little more than coincidental that the Cinelli shop was in Monza (township, neighborhood, suburb, ???? of Milan and the name on my S.C. It seems I have a bit of a real treasure on my hands. (I should probably lock my garage at night, haha.) At the risk of sounding self-serving, I will post progress pictures as I go, I'm not in a rush, taking some little free time I have in the evenings to polish, CLA.

321gojo

Just to clarify, I only assumed 1961 because of some links (timelines, adds, history, etc) that people have sent to me and the Cinelli time line has 1 sentence mentioning "Monza" Mod. SC was made in 1961 only. That may not be accurate, apparently.

merziac

That bike should be locked in the the house.

iab

People "upgrade" all of the time. I question the entire cockpit. Headset, stem, bars - I don't think they are original to the bike. I'd like to see if the RD has the cable adjustment screw. And I have never seen a Cinelli crank after 1960 (not to say they don't exist, just never seen one). Can anyone date the Reynolds decal?

Spaghetti Legs 

Absolutely update with in progress reports and photos. We all do that here! BTW, I’m the guy that chimed in over at road bike review.

iab

Just to clarify, the Cinelli shop was never in the town of Monza. Only located on viale Monza (translation, Monza avenue) in Milan.

I really believe it was some sort of special deal with someone (shop, club, team, etc) rather than a reference to Cinelli's location. If it were meaningful to Cinelli himself, I would expect to have heard more than 3-4 examples. He was very good at marketing himself.