A couple of weeks ago we were talking about how some bicycles are worth more money if they are a certain color, and that it is a totally illogical phenomenon, the silver Cinelli SC being a prime example. As Jack pointed out, no professional team of note ever rode silver Cinellis, and there are a lot of other notable marques that had silver bikes. But it is only the silver SC that is a holy grail. ??? I must confess, when I bought the McLean it was silver. It is also fitted with all Cinelli fitments, bars,
toe clips, etc. I had it repainted. It could have been any color. I chose silver, probably because of the silver Cinellis.
The one pictured below is on eBay (110521166266) right now, $1725 with 6 days to go. It's clean, very clean, with original paint. Cinellis were never famous for durable paint. This would seem to indicate that somebody with money went out and bought the most expensive bike he could find, rode it for a week or two and hung it up. Sad in a way. ................. He was my size too.
toe clips, etc. I had it repainted. It could have been any color. I chose silver, probably because of the silver Cinellis.
The one pictured below is on eBay (110521166266) right now, $1725 with 6 days to go. It's clean, very clean, with original paint. Cinellis were never famous for durable paint. This would seem to indicate that somebody with money went out and bought the most expensive bike he could find, rode it for a week or two and hung it up. Sad in a way. ................. He was my size too.
9 comments:
Well, Gunnar, if your scenario happened, at least the rich person who bought the bike had taste.
I think that's one reason why bikes like the Cinelli are so prized in silver: They are tasteful and elegant in a timeless way. Team colors come and go, so do fades and other kinds of paint jobs. But a bike with nice lugwork in silver always looks good. Plus, it doesn't fade or become ratty-looking in the way some other colors do. Finally, a silver bike that's been neglected responds better to TLC than most other colors do.
To hell with convention, I'll take mine in Ferrari red please! -Tony
I remember, when I was a grad student at the U. of Utah in SLC, I used to see a silver Cinelli like this locked on campus all year, in deep snow, rain, etc.
Rusty and faded, yet it was still very difficult to pass by without stopping and admiring it. Somebody loved that bike.
mw
What I liked about the halcyon days of bikedom each frame had their color: Gios blue, Colnago Molteni Orange, Masi champagne... You know what I mean, and the paint had depth. And NOW it is black or red with some vinyl stick on's. What the hell happened the Metallic colors, is there some sort of UCI rule banning these colors. Metallic must have EPO in it.
Sigh... Oh so boring.
Oh BTW nice drillium on the crankset too boot.
JG
JB,
"...halcyon days"? Do you mean when we were young and everything was new and beautiful?
I agree, something has been lost, but the next generation will see beauty that we cannot, in curved, sleek carbon fiber.
I don't see beauty in carbon fiber frames, but I also don't understand the specific appeal of a silver cinelli like this, either. Perhaps you had to be there, but to me, clamp on cable guides look like a hack--a bit messy, but they'll do the job.... alost as though the builder was too lazy to braze something on there...
and I find the chrome lugs more than a little gaudy and purposeless.
Allan (heretic) Pollock
I just bought this same model and year in blood/wine red and I cannot stop admiring it. The red against the chrome lugs is gorgeous. Original paint as well with zero wear on the original Vittoria tubulars. I plan to ride the hell out of it 46 years after this beauty was hand made in Milano and hung in a garage in Southern California!
Enjoy. Ride the hell out of it.
I am leaning seriously on 73 years and I cannot ride the hell out of anything and I have sold off most of the bikes. Down to four - two of which I would consider trading for a Cinelli SC, two that I would not even consider trading. I guess that means I should sell two more bikes.
Post a Comment