# Marinoni



## stelvio1925 (Oct 29, 2008)

As some of you folks realize, I'm a sucker for vintage lugged steel bicycles. Add the craftsmanship of old-school Italian frame builder, transplanted to North America, and I was definitely intrigued. Not well know south of the border, Guiseppe Marinoni was a bike racer himself in the ‘60’s. He learned his craft on his own after a brief apprenticeship from a prolific Italian framebuilder. He then moved to Quebec in the mid ‘60s where started making frames for local racers initially. The story took the typical expansion as cyclist heard of him & his business grew. The company still makes bicycles today, mostly the non-ferrous kind. This frame appeared in great shape, and had a price that didn’t break the bank, so it was a done deal.

Looking at my parts bin, I found enough bits to complete a Dura Ace EX build. My 1st ever road bike I put together in the early '80s was all DA, even the DynaDrive pedals with the oversized pedal axles. I rode it until it was stolen in 1995. For this build I even snagged NOS 32-hole DA EX freehubs, Mavic Open 4CDs , but held off on building the wheel until I get to spend some saddle time on it this season. I would like to find less robust gearing than the 13-21 6-peed cluster that came with the hubs. I substituted Weinman Carerra calipers as the DA EX brakes were too long for this frame. DA EX brake levers, pedals & toeclips, seatpost & stems round out the build. My favorite Cinelli Giro d'Italia bars, Cinelli cork tape & Selle Flite saddle as usual.

Just managed a short check ride around the block, as winter has not yet released its grip around these parts. No doubt I'm eager to put the miles on this new ride.


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## rhauft (Aug 8, 2006)

She's a beauty Stelvio, bravo!


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## High Gear (Mar 9, 2002)

Nice build. Simple beauty.


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## johnsocj (Aug 5, 2002)

Wow. That's really sexy. Marinoni frames, when found, are usually had for a steal. They're undervalued for their quality. I rode a Marinoni pista on the track for a couple of years, and still kind of jones for one of his older road bikes. I heard from multiple sources that he also built Merckx's hour record bike.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Totally beautiful.


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## OperaLover (Jan 20, 2002)

Awesome! That is great build. 

I regret selling my Marinoni. It twas TIG welded Columbus Nemo frame and fork. They are under vastly under appreciated in the U.S..


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## Bertrand (Feb 1, 2005)

Great looking bike! I'm the proud owner of a newer-generation Marinoni. I will never get rid of it.


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## Frith (Oct 3, 2002)

*Very nice Marinoni!*

I'm partial to them myself. Particularly the old ones. I have one about the same age as yours. I'm in the process of rebuilding it in modern campy centaur bits. It was nice as a fixie but it's just not seeing the kind of riding time I'd like to give it and would give it if it were geared. There will be a thread with lots of pics when the conversion is complete
<img src="https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1252/1286394323_c442d319da_o.jpg" />

A couple years ago we picked one up for Mrs. Frith as well. 
<img src="https://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4632668740_6d16bb9561_z.jpg" />

In addition there is a newer tig welded one that lives in England waiting patiently for me whenever I visit. (This summer she gets some new parts... fenders, brooks saddle and a new crank) It's seen use as a touring bike all over Canada, UK and Thailand.
<img src="https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1142/1431407235_d5c6bad2d1_z.jpg" />


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## nayr497 (Nov 8, 2008)

Awesomeness!

And I love that era Flite myself! Have them on a few bikes and keep a stockpile of them in my closet.

Nice bike!


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## latman (Apr 24, 2004)

Very nice ! Are those cinelli bars 26.4 or 26.0 ferrule ? The reason I ask is I have a slightly younger DA stem with 26.4 Cinelli bars and it was tight to fit as they were made for 26.0s

are those pedals really DA EX? they look like later 7400s that I need for my Merckx ?


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## stelvio1925 (Oct 29, 2008)

Thanks for the kind words y'all. All I can do now is just gaze at the bike until the weather clears.

@ Frith: that picture of you green single speed looks familiar. Nice elegant build. Do post pics when you hang the Centaur bits on it.

@nayr497: did the same thing when I found a vendor with several NOS on hand. I bought out most of his stock. Some of my older Flite's have sagged a bit in the middle, so I'm glad a have several in stock.

@latman: no you may not have the 7400 pedal for your build :wink5: . You're right though, the inside of the cleat plate is clearly marked with "7400", Very sharp eyes. Clearly the font on the 7400 is slightly different than the EX. OTOH Velobase does not show any 9/16" spindled pedal for the EX line, but the crankset is pre-7400. The pedals for the EX in the site has the Dynadrive version only. The 7400 pedals pictured don't have black cleat plates though. Anyone have any old Shimano catalog scans from the era? I may just substitute the 7400 clip-ins if I get tire of riding these pedals. The bars are 26.4mm.


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## Frith (Oct 3, 2002)

It might look familiar because of this http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliansimpson/1286393673/ picture? (possibly not safe for work if you work with people who hate all is good in this world)


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