TYPE:
12 speed - "lightweight" road / race type - 1983 model Pino Morroni
SIZE:
24 inches or 61 cm : 610 mm (physical seat tube C-t-T) - 560 mm (physical top tube C-t-C) - 410 mm (chainstay) - 96 cm (wheelbase) - 260 mm (bottom bracket height) - 73 mm (bottom bracket drop) - 33.50 inches (standover height with 700c wheelset) - 73 degree (head tube angle) - 73 degree (seat tube angle)
COLOR:
Pino Racing Yellow (...something akin to Ferrari "Fly" Giallo or Yellow used as a background in the famous "Prancing Horse" badge of Maranello - which might be perfectly understandable in some bizarre cosmic sense since Pino had great respect for Enzo Ferrari and at one time had even briefly entertained the notion of driving for team Ferrari) ... [Correct and original, with the understanding that at this point in time I have performed minor touch up work using a computer color matched pigmentation of acrylic enamel paint applied with an extra fine tipped camel hair brush. It should also be noted that this very same hue of Pino Racing Yellow is commonly, although not exclusively, found on those bicycles that he built during the decade of the 1980’s, and should rightfully be considered his signature paint color from that period.]
BADGING:
Head badge decal consisting of a vertically oriented rectangular White background having a Green bordered edge with a series of three Green mice with Black outlines above the words "PINO INTERNATIONAL DETROIT, MICHIGAN U.S.A." (head tube) - Black scripted signature decal reading "Pino Morroni" (aft right and left sides of top tube) - 1978 to 1984 vintage Columbus frameset rectangular decal with post 1974 registered trademark indicator (forward facing at top of seat tube) - horizontally oriented rectangular decal with White background having an inset Green bordered edge and a series of three Green mice with Black outlines (right & left fork blades) : all decals and transfers applied without protective clear coat ... [Correct for what would have been original, with those various Pino specific decals being painstakingly accurate reproductions I had custom made based upon genuine versions that I either had on hand or which were kindly lent to me for that very purpose (...a special "Thank You" goes out to Wayne Bingham of Velo-Classique for an assist with the Pino signature decal). The Columbus tubing decal, however, is both proper and original - not a reproduction. As was apparently a somewhat common practice with respect to Pino Morroni bicycles, or at least those he made for "special" individuals, this particular example was provisioned without any decals whatsoever affixed. Rather, it was presented with accompanying sheets of decals which were to be applied at the new owner’s discretion, and apparently he never got around to doing so in in this instance. While I have seen Pino bicycles where his "signature" decal was located either fore or aft along either side of the top tube, and therefore I have come to believe either position could be considered "proper", I opted for the latter in accordance with that seemingly unwritten (...no pun intended) Italian frame builder’s convention of placing said signature toward the rear of the top tube nearest the seat lug. I am also well aware of the fact that some Pino bicycles have a decal matching that found on their head tube applied to the upper region of their seat tube, whereas on other similar of his bikes this decal is conspicuously absent. In this case, I decided to forgo just such a decal as I prefer the cleaner look afforded by its absence. Of course, all of this helps to explain why there seems to be only a marginal degree of standardization as to the type, style, number, and placement of decals to be found on those precious few vintage Pino Morroni bicycles that have managed to draw scrutiny in the public domain.]
FRAME:
Columbus SL double-butted 4130 Cro-Moly seamless steel tubing - traditional sized tube set (1 inch or 25.4 mm top tube / 1 1/8 inch or 28.6 mm down tube and seat tube) - pairs of "hollow core" lateral stiffening rods having reinforcement rings at their extremities brazed into all three of the main frame tubes - exposed chrome plating on entire length of the oval chain stays and round seat stays as well as the Gipiemme model 1841AA brake bridge - chrome plated Cinelli type CSM short point stamped steel lugs with chrome plated Cinelli type CCM 70 mm investment cast bottom bracket shell - 36 mm x 24 TPI Italian threaded bottom bracket shell (non-drive side - right threading / drive side - also right threading) - braze-on top tube brake cable guides (...affixed to the top side of lateral stiffening rods) / chrome plated shift lever bosses on the down tube / derailleur cable guides on underside of the bottom bracket shell / down tube water bottle mount (...integrated into lateral stiffening rods by virtue of these being tapped for an M5 x 0.80 pitch thread) / right rear stay derailleur cable stop - chrome plated Campagnolo model 1010/B forged short horizontal rear dropouts without rack eyelets / custom truncated forward profile / standard 10 mm x 26 TPI threaded derailleur hanger and locating notch / drilled and tapped for spring tensioned adjustment screws / drilled and tapped for a Portacatena chain holder - 130 mm dropout spacing ... [Correct and original, with the singular exception of my having added decorative paint fill into those oval windows found at the front and back sides of the chrome plated Cinelli bottom bracket shell. Upon cursory inspection, this may appear to be nothing more than a typical and rather traditional lugged steel diamond shaped frame. But the closer you look, the more arguably innovative yet undeniably intriguing details you are likely to discover - and when taken in aggregate, all of these peculiarities are bound to leave even the most jaded cycling enthusiast with the impression that this is anything BUT a run of the mill frameset. First of all, the top tube is notably short relative to the overall frame size while the corresponding stem length is quite considerable. This is because Pino had come to believe that it was competitively advantageous for riders to "unload" their rear wheel by moving their body mass forward toward the center of the bicycle so as to distribute weight more evenly between the two load bearing points. Specifically, he considered larger riders to be the most handicapped in competitive venues due to their increased size placing a disproportionate amount of weight squarely over the rear wheel, thereby rendering them slower than if that same amount of weight were more evenly distributed. To address this situation, Pino’s framesets from the late 1970’s onward typically employed shorter top tubes in combination with longer stems than previously held convention might have otherwise dictated. Perhaps the ultimate extension of this theory (...if you will pardon the pun) would be the hour record bike used by Francesco Moser having a top tube measuring a mere 50 centimeters in conjunction with a scary long 185 millimeter stem machined from titanium and bolstered by a supplementary support rod attached to the brake hole in the fork and the stem binder bolt. But this is by no means the only unusual detail to be found here. Notice that the position of the down tube shifters have also been moved markedly forward in order to better accommodate access in consideration of the forward mounted rider position. Also, if one looks closely, they will find that a pair of standard Campagnolo 1010/B short horizontal rear dropouts have been modified wherein their forward lips were removed resulting in something akin to a vertical dropout - this being done so as to facilitate quick and easy rear wheel removal where tighter than normal clearances would not have otherwise allowed. Even the tubeset used to build this frame was altered to the extent that Pino thinned the standard Columbus SL tubing walls themselves, thereafter adding unique lateral stiffening rods, and even integrating ovalized chain stays at a time when this particular feature was still relatively uncommon. One final note worth mentioning, this particular bicycle most certainly does exhibit an unusual amount of chrome plating compared to any other Pino Morroni creation of which I am aware. This is no doubt due to the fact that it was originally presented to James (Jim) Biniecki (...the late owner of the renown Warren Custom Plating), one of Pino’s personal friends and a fellow machinist who also happened to do much of the chrome plating for Pino over the years.]
FORK:
Columbus SL butted 4130 Cro-Moly steel fork blades / Columbus Cro-Moly steel steer tube - 1" (25.4 mm) x 24 TPI Italian threaded steer tube - exposed chrome plating on entire length of forks - Columbus chrome plated semi sloping investment cast fork crown with oval "dove" logo cast into both sides of the shoulder - chrome plated Gipiemme model 1803 (right) / 1804 (left) forged dropouts without rack eyelets - 100 mm dropout spacing ... [Correct and original, although I should add that it was my personal choice to do the paint infill seen on both the Columbus "dove" logos and the oval windows of the fork crown. To my way of thinking, this and several other similar embellishments further enhance the natural aesthetics found here without inflicting any permanent or irreversible alteration to the bicycle itself to the extent that one could always "wipe away" this paint with a judicious bit of thinner should they prefer to return things to an absolutely original state.]
