Please teach me about Italian steel

[mpemburn]

My experience with Italian steel goes back to the 1970s. The first racing bike I owned was a Bottechia. Columbus SL tubing with beautiful chromed lugs. It was a work of art! I later bought a Gueciotti as a spare, and it, too, was beautifully crafted.

As an aside: Nearly 50 years later, I now own an Italian frame again. A lovely carbon Carerra Nitro SL.

 

[avecReynolds531]

There's an undoubted heritage to Italian frame design and influence. The finest road bike I remember was an SLX framed Somec. It was a beautiful frame with something approaching a magical ride quality and handling.

With a lottery win, then a new Tommasini Techno, Casati Campionissimo, or Zullo Vintage with full Campagnolo, without hesitation.
In the real world, Hilary Stone usually has quality frames for sale or check on the LFGSS classifieds.

p.s. I'm a fan of Japanese frames too. It may be worthwhile seeking out an earlier lugged (Japanese built) Koga Miyata which tend to be more realistically priced (than Italian frames) and mostly receive excellent recommendations - going on reverence.

Edit: There are excellent articles at the Italian Cycling Journal site on the following steel manufacturers: Columbus, Falck, Oria, Castello Mario & Figlio, Tullio/ CRP. Fascinating history; the Columbus piece is particularly detailed. Links to them all here: https://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2013/10/crp-tubing-for-frame-building.html

Some Dedacciai info: https://groups.google.com/g/rec.bicycles.tech/c/N63wFMDoWdY

 

[BalkanExpress]

I am not contradicting you, l interested that you say Billato built the Look KG253 ....apropos of which l send you this link
http://labibleduvelocatalogueslook.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_16.html

Well you live and learn. thanks for the info,

how about I double down and say if it wasn’t the 253 then perhaps the 243?

 

[woodbutchmaster]

Well you live and learn. thanks for the info,

how about I double down and say if it wasn’t the 253 then perhaps the 243?

If you aren't careful l will send you every LOOK catalogue /spec sheet from 1997 to 2019

 

[Tim Bennet.]

My 'best' bike is an Eddy Merckx steel bike. I know it's not Italian, but its DNA stems from Ugo de Rosa.

It's a lovely ride and felt special to ride it into the velodrome at Roubaix after a trouble free day on the cobbles with the Velo Club de Roubaix's club version of the race,

 

[rogerzilla]

Merckx steel bikes from about 1985-95, when lots of the top pro teams used them, do ride exceptionally well. When I had mine repainted, the framebuilders said the 90s Merckxes were the very pinnacle of steel frames.

 

[Astore]

My memories from when steel racers were mainstream is that “Italian Stallions” as some owners insisted on calling theirs were regarded by most as a bit posey, all chrome and fancy paint but not as good as British underneath. Remember His Holiness Pope Cino Cinelli himself gave an interview to the Comic in which he said he would prefer to use Reynolds 531 to Columbus, but the import tariffs made it uneconomical, this was before Columbus bought Cinelli and the EEC abolished trade barriers across Europe. Eddy Merckx himself somehow got 531 tube sets to be built into his personal frames By De Rosa, just as later Miguel Indurain got some of his Pinarellos built in 653. The rifling in some Columbus tubing was widely regarded to be a marketing gimmick.

Back in the mid 70s I picked up a Cinelli from a second-hand shop for £35. I later found out it was a 1960s Speciale Corsa. I used it to ride to school, complete with pannier racks and mudguards, then to college. That frame was Reynolds 531. Prior to the Columbus takeover, Cinelli offered both, although given the comments about tariffs, I'd guess the 531 frames were more pricey. You'll be pleased to know that it did get the makeover it deserved and became a "weekend" bike. Sadly it was written off in a hit and run in the early 80s.

 

[Simple Simon]

I have a few vintage bikes that I love and have to say that a top end Peugeot is a much under rated bike.
I agree with posters above about Merckx frames being fantastic, I have a 7 Eleven that is a joy to ride, and although Belgian they have an Italian history to them via De Rosa.
When it came to having a modern steel frame I went Italian and bought a Chesini frame I built up with modern components.
This has become my ‘go to’ bike over my carbon frames.
Chesini made, and still make, some stunning bikes and 80’s and 90’s examples can often be bought for a fraction of the price of an equivalent Colnago or Pinarello.

https://www.chesini.it/eng/

Cheers,
Si.