# Pinarello Montello, questions for the peanut gallery...



## Quattro_Assi_07 (Jan 13, 2006)

Hi everyone,

So far my collection of bikes has been focused mainly on 1980s Japanese bikes. The ones that I had or wanted when I first started riding. The one exception is an Italian made, late 80's Quattro Assi made by Tommasini that I haven't decided what to do with. That is another story... Anyhoo, I have had a full C-Record grouppo for about 8 years now and have been waiting to find a frame worthy of these components. I think I finally found one and here it is... a Pinarello Montello. Seller's pictures... and he took lots of them for sure. Paid $700 for it and although some might balk at that price, for me it was a matter of condition. The bike saw very little use based on the pictures. Here it is... more to follow down in this post...








I wanted the frame to hang my C-Record parts on and I had planned on having it stripped of the paint and basically doing this to it, minus the Delta brakes... This is 55/Rad's bike and excellent photos by the way and is my inspiration for removing the paint...












































Basically, stripping it and then having the "decals" beadblasted into the chrome finish. After talking to the seller and confirming with 55/Rad, the finish under the tinted paint is shiny chrome and should polish out very nicely. If any of you have seen any of my other bikes (Miyatas, Univega, vintage Dura Ace AX and EX, Superbe Pro) you will know that I prefer them to be period and original as much as possible. After viewing the attached photos of the bike I bought, what is the hive opinion, should I leave the paint original and install the C-Record parts or start stripping? My original thought was that the original finish is very delicate and my bikes get to see the tarmac not hang on a wall. What do you think about the finish as it is now? How well do you think the finish will hold up if ridden? Will the finish rapidily deteriorate? Sorry for the long post but I am having a hard time deciding what to do. :mad2: I actually like the color of the bike as it stands but wouldn't be opposed to the all chrome finish.

Nice Pinarello pantographed Cinelli stem.

















Headtube decal has seen better days...




























































Paint cracking, shiny chrome showing through a bit.








Nicely pantographed seatpost. Some paint flaking as well...
















































































If you have gotten this far, thanks! You passed the test... :thumbsup: now tell me what you think!

James

p.s. I told my wife that this will be my last restoration and she said "Yeah, right! I've heard that one before!" Funny girl... that's why I married her. She doesn't read these posts, so I can say she will be getting something really shiny herself real soon!


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## nenad (May 5, 2004)

I am a fan of leaving the original paint. C-Record would go there nicely


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Very nice and well worth the money in my opinion...

55/Rad's bike is one of the prettiest bikes that has ever been posted on RBR...He has a few others as well..

The Dura Ace 7400 series group on yours looks to be nice shape...parting it out will certainly offset the cost of your bike is you choose to sell the components


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## boneman (Nov 26, 2001)

*Go with the C-Record*

I had a Gavia (TSX) in the black chrome and bought up a complete set of C Record to build with but decided the frame was 1cm too big upon returning to the States and sold it. You won't be disappointed.


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## Quattro_Assi_07 (Jan 13, 2006)

Dave Hickey said:


> Very nice and well worth the money in my opinion...
> 
> 55/Rad's bike is one of the prettiest bikes that has ever been posted on RBR...He has a few others as well..
> 
> The Dura Ace 7400 series group on yours looks to be nice shape...parting it out will certainly offset the cost of your bike is you choose to sell the components


Thanks Dave. What is your opinion on paint scheme for this bike? I even have another that a friend of mine has suggested. The red, white and chrome scheme as used on the Bottecchias. Of all 3 options; original, all polished chrome, or red, white and chrome, which one would you go with...


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## Quattro_Assi_07 (Jan 13, 2006)

*Going with C-Record is a given...*



boneman said:


> I had a Gavia (TSX) in the black chrome and bought up a complete set of C Record to build with but decided the frame was 1cm too big upon returning to the States and sold it. You won't be disappointed.


I have a full C-Record group with spares so that was never the question. My question is in regards to the paint or finish of the frame. Should I stay original, go with the all polished chrome, or something else... like the red, white and chrome as seen on the Bottecchias? What would you do?

Best,

James


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Quattro_Assi_07 said:


> Thanks Dave. What is your opinion on paint scheme for this bike? I even have another that a friend of mine has suggested. The red, white and chrome scheme as used on the Bottecchias. Of all 3 options; original, all polished chrome, or red, white and chrome, which one would you go with...



That Bottecchia paint scheme is my all time favorite so I'm not very objective


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## boneman (Nov 26, 2001)

*Stay with the original*

Personally, I'd stay with the original as it's unique to Pinarello. While I love the Bottecchia scheme, it to is unique to Bottechia and will in some ways always be associated with Lemond riding one, well at least on some stages, to victory in the TDF. Just my opinion but you just don't see many Pinarello's these days, never mind one in black chrome. 55/RAD's bike is extremely well done but unless you want to make the investment and take the time, I'd just stay original. Besides, you've got the matching stem and post which are awesome.



Quattro_Assi_07 said:


> I have a full C-Record group with spares so that was never the question. My question is in regards to the paint or finish of the frame. Should I stay original, go with the all polished chrome, or something else... like the red, white and chrome as seen on the Bottecchias? What would you do?
> 
> Best,
> 
> James


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## Quattro_Assi_07 (Jan 13, 2006)

boneman said:


> Personally, I'd stay with the original as it's unique to Pinarello. While I love the Bottecchia scheme, it to is unique to Bottechia and will in some ways always be associated with Lemond riding one, well at least on some stages, to victory in the TDF. Just my opinion but you just don't see many Pinarello's these days, never mind one in black chrome. 55/RAD's bike is extremely well done but unless you want to make the investment and take the time, I'd just stay original. Besides, you've got the matching stem and post which are awesome.


The chromed finish wouldn't be too much trouble to get too. Basically strip the paint and polish the chrome. 55/Rad told me that my frame's chrome will no doubt be in excellent condition judging by the condition on the paint. 55/Rad also mentioned that I could do a reverse of what he did. Basically have a matt panel with the shiny chrome Pinarello showing through. The harder part would be the beadblasting of the Pinarello "decals". I could always have some decals made up. I was thinking about having some clear Pinarello letters made from a matt clear vinyl film. I spoke with the guys who made some stripes for my MINI and they said they could do them no problem. 

What I am concerned about is how well the paint will hold up to occasional riding. I guess I could go ahead and build it up and ride it until the paint fails or gets too bad to look at! Is the black chrome finish what you call this tinted clear coat over chrome? What is the most common finish that these frames are found with?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Best,

James


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## Kuma601 (Jan 22, 2004)

Either finish looks good. My thought is once the "Pinarello" is blasted into the chrome...it is permanent. One possibility would strip it but have a translucent white decal made to get a similar effect. 

One car care products manufacturers gave out a bunch of these types of decals and it pretty much resembles a blasted/etched look when placed on a glass window. The look would be similar on chrome.


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

I vote stock. That smoke chrome is SO sexy!

HTH

M


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## ctam (Apr 21, 2003)

Why not leave it stock with the "black chrome" finish and if it starts to deteriorate then get it refinished?

I'd love to get that stem and seatpost for my bike!

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=156147

(the second Bottecchia up above is also mine...haha)


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## Quattro_Assi_07 (Jan 13, 2006)

*Hi ctam...*



ctam said:


> Why not leave it stock with the "black chrome" finish and if it starts to deteriorate then get it refinished?
> 
> I'd love to get that stem and seatpost for my bike!
> 
> ...


I think I will leave it stock for now and see what kind of condition it truly is in. Unfortunately, I am overseas currently and won't get to look at it until early March. In your opinion, how well does this finish hold up? Anything you do to it to keep it up? I wax all of my frames with a good quality carnuba wax. Would it be ok to do the same with this one?

I checked out your bike at that link and it is gorgeous. I hope mine will look as nice. Unfortunately, I don't have the Delta brakes, only the standard C-Records. Do you have the pantographed stem and seatpost? It looks like it from the pictures that you do but are they the same as mine?

Excellent Bottecchia, I love it! This Pinarello is my first vintage Italian bike but I can't say that it will be my last. I would like a Bottecchia as well someday but for now, I have this one and my vintage Japanese bikes.

Thanks for your reply and opinions.

Best,

James


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## ctam (Apr 21, 2003)

I do have a pantographed stem on there, except mine is silver. My seatpost is a stock Campy C-Record - no pantographing. I've never seen the seatpost finished in the black chrome until seeing yours. I was actually about to contact the seller about buying just the seatpost and stem but the auction ended before I had a chance!! [email protected] you! HAHA!

The finish itself is more delicate than paint but holds up fairly well. The only area you really have to be concerned about is the chainstay. Also don't use a frame mounted pump - that'll wreck the finish on the seat tube. Just ride it and if the finish gets trashed then have it redone - no sense in wasting the cool finish that's on there right now!



Quattro_Assi_07 said:


> I think I will leave it stock for now and see what kind of condition it truly is in. Unfortunately, I am overseas currently and won't get to look at it until early March. In your opinion, how well does this finish hold up? Anything you do to it to keep it up? I wax all of my frames with a good quality carnuba wax. Would it be ok to do the same with this one?
> 
> I checked out your bike at that link and it is gorgeous. I hope mine will look as nice. Unfortunately, I don't have the Delta brakes, only the standard C-Records. Do you have the pantographed stem and seatpost? It looks like it from the pictures that you do but are they the same as mine?
> 
> ...


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## pigpen (Sep 28, 2005)

Leave it stock. The black chrome is the most intresting of all the Pinarello color schemes.


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## Quattro_Assi_07 (Jan 13, 2006)

ctam said:


> I do have a pantographed stem on there, except mine is silver. My seatpost is a stock Campy C-Record - no pantographing. I've never seen the seatpost finished in the black chrome until seeing yours. I was actually about to contact the seller about buying just the seatpost and stem but the auction ended before I had a chance!! [email protected] you! HAHA!
> 
> The finish itself is more delicate than paint but holds up fairly well. The only area you really have to be concerned about is the chainstay. Also don't use a frame mounted pump - that'll wreck the finish on the seat tube. Just ride it and if the finish gets trashed then have it redone - no sense in wasting the cool finish that's on there right now!


Sorry, I accidentally came across the auction and made a quick offer that the seller accepted. I never thought that I would find one of these bikes so soon after seeing one on RBR. 

Good to know about the paint. I don't use frame pumps anymore and the chainstays look good, so I'll definitely work to keep them that way.

Another couple of questions about yours. Is yours a 6,7, or 8 speed. Also, what shifters are you using. I have a 6 speed group and have the 6 speed Syncros shifters. I've been told that they can be converted to 8 speed with the proper internals. Being that this is my first Campy bike, would you recommend these shifters or something else? I've read more than a few opinions that the Syncros stuff is not all that great, although they look fantastic. Just was wondering how you had yours set up and how you liked it.

Thanks again,

James


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## ctam (Apr 21, 2003)

Mine is 6 speed. I don't think you can see it but I have an alloy Campagnolo freewheel on it (the one with the gold ring around it). I'm using C-Record retro-friction shifters - the 6/7 sp version. I have a 1st generation C-Record rear derailleur on mine - I don't think it would work well with index shifting.

If your shifters are Syncro I or Syncro II you can't covert them to 8sp. When Campy released the 8sp version in 1991 they renamed the shifters to just plain "Syncro" and they actually made the right barrel larger so that it could pull the extra cable required for 8sp. I'll post a pic later - you can actually see the difference. In 1992 Campy changed the levers again and made them curved at the top and index only (no more friction option).



Quattro_Assi_07 said:


> Sorry, I accidentally came across the auction and made a quick offer that the seller accepted. I never thought that I would find one of these bikes so soon after seeing one on RBR.
> 
> Good to know about the paint. I don't use frame pumps anymore and the chainstays look good, so I'll definitely work to keep them that way.
> 
> ...


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