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Vintage Rossin Record - Not Sure of Build Year?

8K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  datslow 
#1 ·
I came across a Vintage Rossin Record today that I can pretty much pick up for nothing. I really don't know much about the frame its self, but do know that the Italian builder had a crazy eye for detail and was pretty much the guy to go to in Italy for something special, back in the day.

As you can see, the frame has seen better days, but I have access to a full shop with just about every vintage Campagnolo piece you could imagine...plus I'd be sending this off to a new home to someone who would appreciate the frames 'patina' irrespective of newness. I would like to figure out the year of build (for piece of mind) and to know what groupo to piece together (though the wheels/hubs may be a bit difficult).

Notables about the frame which may help deciphering age:
Crome front fork
Crome drive side chainstay
"R" stamped into bottom bracket housing
Rear dropouts have wheel alignment tabs and bolts
Frame is 48cm
Paint is this pearly white/silver which looks a lot like the bike in the link I provided.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking!

Steel Vintage Bikes - Rossin Record Classic Road Bicycle 1977


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Fruit Produce Steel Coquelicot Bicycle frame
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Iron Metal Bicycle frame Ladder Balance
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#4 ·
Not sure who all went to split cable stops and when. But my guestimate for top triple brake cable loops would lean roughly 80-85ish. Not that some folks did not do the split cable stops later than others to be sure...
 
#5 ·
If I had to say, I would say mid '80s because I recall newer components than the one you linked to. I would suggest you look at a few other builders like Bianchi and Pinarello and see when they started moving from SL tubesets to SLX, SBX and TSX. Your Rossin would fall just before then.
 
#6 · (Edited)
The components that I linked to didn't have any bearing on what I was relating to- the paint job (which was a long shot to begin with). I think the Italians are so passionate about style that they'll paint bikes with whatever their hands grab onto, making color as a reference to a certain year completely pointless. I did look around for Columbus SLX tubing and it looks as though Bianchi began using it in 1985 (with team bikes using it as early as 1984 on a few). There are also people in other forums who are original owners of 1984 Cinelli's with SLX tubing. Btw, the 'p' in other Columbus tubing means 'thicker wall'.
The Bianchi X4 Code — Velo Aficionado

Man...I had this huge response all written out with Columbus sticker differences, differences in "R" stamping on the rear brake stay, differences in derailleur routing (brazed guides on top of the bottom bracket OR two channels on the bottom) and other subtle differences, then my research began breaking down to one final conclusion: Perhaps Mario was too busy making works of art to implement changes to frame design respective to a calendar year. Plus...the photos that people are posting of their Rossin's may not be the exact year in which it was manufactured (poor memory/nostalgia). Some claimed 1979 bikes look like some 1982 bikes; some claimed 1981 bikes look like 1985 bikes...but... for mine, how does 1980 look?
Vintage Rossin 1980 Bike Catalog | saarf.net
 
#7 ·
I would guess 1985 give or take 1-2 years. Over the bottom bracket cables guides were most common until about 1981-ish, although the bikes in the 1980 catalog you linked appear to have under bottom bracket cables also. Later in the 80's you start seeing the crazier paint jobs.

That bike should be built with 6 speed Nuovo Record or Super Record. Record hubs with Mavic rims such as G40. If you're looking to flip the bike you might have a hard time getting a good price since small frames have less broad market.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the reply. I was also leaning toward the Nuovo or Super Record group as well. Finding the hubs and wheels locally will be a bit of a stretch as I think for this frame size (48cm) it's a 650cc wheel size, but I cannot confirm this anywhere. I'll just have to throw a wheel set on it and see if it fits or not.

I'm not flipping the bike for sale; I'm building it for the fun of it, then giving it to a friend.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I went up the the bike shop and spent a few hour digging through my spare parts bins. I wasn't aware that I had so many Campagnolo parts... but a lot of it is mismatched. For example, the cranks are missing the non drive side arms; I have no idea where they wondered off to! Plenty of hubs and peddle sets, several different cassettes and what not. I ran out of time, so I was unable to look at part numbers.

I am not sure why my other photos aren't posting, but the other photos are of about 10 sets of hubs both short and tall walled Campagnolo Record's with the little grease inlets with caps, along with a few cassettes and four sets of wheel skewers complete down to the little resistance springs and rubber caps for the press locks.


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#10 · (Edited)
A small update:
I picked up the frame today and brought it home to inspect it over the weekend. Aside from the paint, the only inherent issues are the middle tab on the top tube needs to be replaced and the cable guides that go under the bottom bracket need to be extensively cleaned and polished on the inside. This Sunday I will check it for straitness.

The "serial number" stamped into the non-drive side Campagnolo drop out is NK48, and of course, I have no idea what that means. I also threw a wheel set on it from another road bike of mine (700's) and a set of 650's. The 650's are way way too small for the frame and would need massively long brake arms to reach the rim; so I'm pleased this frame takes 700's, because those are far easier to find in sets IMO.

The front fork only has one stamping of the Columbus dove on the threaded steerer tube portion.

The decals (columbus decal included) are not under the clear coat.
The front fork, on the crowns, have only one pentagram around the 'R'.
While the bottom bracket is not fully there, one of the cups is threaded into the drive side of the frame. This looks exactly like a Campagnolo Nuovo Record, such as this one:
VeloBase.com - Component: Campagnolo 1046/a, Nuovo Record (Strada)

The rear drop out width measures 126.67mm
The bottom bracket measures 69.75mm
The seat tube ID measures 27.15 ~ 27.2
The top tube measures 50.5cm
The seat tube measures 49.5cm

View attachment 310745
 
#11 ·
Small update. It's been a busy semester wrap up and finally had time to get up to the bike shop and mock up the frame with what I had on hand. I wanted to see what was missing, check the condition of what I had and just get a visual overall.

At this point, all I need are the rims, a few bottom bracket bits, the brakes, seat post, seat, brake lever covers and headset. Not too shabby!

This poor frame needs some TLC. Small bonus, some dude donated a perfectly good bench grinder/buffer, so I can see if I can bring back the front fork to it's original glory. Some time early next year this frame will get powder coated.

View attachment 311200
 
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