# 80's Simoncini



## r_mutt (Aug 8, 2007)

anyone know anything about these bikes? there's precious little on the internet about them. i found one that's probably too expensive, but it's dark silver with yellow SIMONCINI lettering. campy everywhere and made with columbus tretubi.


----------



## r_mutt (Aug 8, 2007)

here's a pic.


----------



## Eben (Feb 6, 2005)

*I have the same frame...*

Simoncini Special Professional. Got my frameset NOS on ebay about five years back. I paid $170 simply due to the fact that the seller had it poorly listed, who does a search for Simoncini anyway? We both thought I stole the thing but he was gracious about it. 

In any case, here are my impressions. It's a decent frame from a second (or third) tier Italian builder. Made from Columbus Tretubi which was a mid level tube set. Supposedly one of the large shops with a mail order catalog imported Simoncini frames for a couple years back in the 80's. Couldn't find out much about the actual builder but the frame tells the tale. Compared to the Colnago and Merckx of the same vintage I have owned, everything is a lot rougher. Bottom bracket threads were very poor as was the seat post fit. The paint is ok but chips easily, decals are applied over the paint. 

Due to the price and frame quality I figured it would make a nice fixed commuter and built it as such with a re-spaced track hub. After about a year of riding the rear brake bridge snapped cleanly from the right seat stay. I kinda' chalked this up to my rough treatment but the local frame builder I went to for repair disagreed. According to him, the original brake bridge was not the correct width for the intended rear spacing and this caused the failure. I had him change the rear spacing to fit a standard track hub and re-braze the bridge, problem solved. 

Bottom line: The frame looks good and rides fairly nicely but I wouldn't pay any kind of a premium for one.


----------



## r_mutt (Aug 8, 2007)

wow! that _is_ the same frame. 

thanks for the info. the bike has early 90's campy c-record everywhere- including the headset, with an athena rear derailleur, which is nice, but he's asking 1K for it, which i thought was way too much. how much would be a reasonable offer?


----------



## Eben (Feb 6, 2005)

I'm not an expert on the value of the parts but if you're really into the bike I'd offer $600 and not negotiate much from there. That still seems a little high to me but It's probably the least you could hope the owner would take. If you're not stuck on this particular frame you could probably find a frameset with better construction/tubing and comperable parts for about what the owner would actually sell this one for. Good luck!


----------



## jjrubin (Feb 14, 2008)

*there's way more to the Simoncini story*

Having done some research recently, here is what I learned:

Simoncini has a long history. According to their UK importer http://www.cyclesclements.co.uk/

"Simoncini - a small family firm based in Tuscany in the heart of Italy have been making Cycle Frames and Forks of the highest quality since 1949. Previous riders of Simoncini Frames have included Mike Gutman, Swiss Cyclo Cross Champion in 1983, and Kohut Slavomir, Polish Road Champion in 1999. "

Their price list shows a Simoncini SLX frame for 355 pounds (about $700). Top current road models are over 4700 Euros. So a hand-made, low-volume Italian racer and priced accordingly.

The Clement site also has a link to a Cycling Weekly (UK?) road test of a Simoncini aluminum Columbus Altec frame:

"THERE'S only one way to sum up this bike: a joy to ride. The Simoncini was in fact so special that I didn't want to give it back, and my apologies go to Cycles Clement in Ledbury for the delay in returning it. Simoncini are based in Tuscany, Italy, and have been producing top-level frames for more than 50 years. "

Don't miss the Simoncini website http://www.simoncinitelaibiciclette.com/Eng/index01.htm with pictures of the shop.

I just got a vintage Simoncini SLX (pics attached), and I'd say the lugwork is the equal of my same-era Eddy Merckx SLX. More on the ride comparison when I've had more time.


----------

