# Colnago Super or not?



## plussa (Nov 10, 2006)

I bought this Colnago "Super" bike without making much research beforehand. I have tried to figure out the model year without much success... and also does it have original decals or not. The groupset seems to be from around '87 or so if I'm correct...

The internal top tube routing with protruding cable guides, chrome seatstays where the chrome extends above the brake, and lack of Colnago club in the fork are what puzzle me the most. The cutout shape in the bottom bracket is not very usual either...

Can anybody help me?


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## paredown (Oct 18, 2006)

That is one I have not seen before--but late 80s seems a good guess. Also the bottom bracket looks more like what Pinarello was using, rather than Colnago.

OTOH, it was often said that Colnago subcontracted their entry level steel frames to different subcontractors in Italy, so it is fully possible that this is just a variant. (By this time the Master series was a more prestigious frame.) There was also a lot of Colnagos that were painted in Belgium, and variant paint jobs as a result. I guess it is possible that it is not a "Super" but some other model.

Here's some pics of a Super that I bought NOS in Germany a few years ago, but was too small for me...similar cable routing I think. Also similar vintage. But you can see mine had the chrome on one side only, and the name on the tops of the seat stays.


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## plussa (Nov 10, 2006)

Thanks for your reply paredown!

Here's a 1988 Colnago Super Superissimo that looks quite similar to mine. From the pic you can barely see that the cutout in the BB seems to be rectangular:











Also, here's a Colnago Super with similar brake cable routing and chrome in both chainstays:










Here's a 1990(ish) Colnago Super Sprint:



















There are small differences in every frame I have seen images of, which is probably caused by the outsourcing Colnago did during that period. So it's probably a Super, Super Sprint or Super Piu with Colubus SL or Cromor tubing, or combinataion of those tubings. The fork doesn't seem original though. As I receive the frame I will take a closer look...

I read somewhere that the number holder under the top tube tells that the frame is a ex-racing team frame, so it's not probably a load of crap, am I correct?


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