I have a 40-year-old, 54 cm, vintage Mino Denti Strada road racing bike for sale. Asking $1500 + shipping. If interested e-mail to "jim" at this domain. The bike is in very good condition equipped with vintage hi-end road-racing components from the same period — mostly Campy SR and Cinelli. Photos and details below. If you live in the greater San Francisco area, a first-hand inspection of the bike could be arranged.
SOLD!
Full View
Handlebars
Brake Handle
Head Tube Front
Head Tube Side
Front Brake
Fork Crown
Fork Stiffeners
Saddle
Seat Post
Seat Cluster Front
Seat Cluster Side
Rear Break
Brake Bridge
Rim
Front Hub
Rear Hub
Front Derailleur
Rear Derailleur
Bottom Bracket Top
Bottom Bracket Bottom
Petal
Petal Spindle
Note: The images with black backgrounds were taken in 2010 and the images with green backgrounds were taken in 2019 after the bike was refurbished.
History
Mino Denti was an amatuer and professional cyclist from 1964 to 1970. However, a serious bicycle accident in 1970 ended his career as a professional. In the mid 1970s, he turned his passion into frame building with guidance from Luigi Girardi (at Bianchi) and Pietro Serena. Mino still runs his Mino Denti Ciclismo shop in his home town of Travagliato, Brescia, Italy where he continues to produce quality carbon-fiber racing machines on a small scale at Via Casaglia, 70.
This unique brand is not often seen in the United States and would make a perfect addition to a vintage bike collection. Or, it would be the ideal vintage machine to ride in a L'Eroica adventure. This model represents what Mino wanted to achieve in his early years as a frame-builder -- a refined, hand-crafted road racing frame made with lightweight Columbus SLX tubing. This is the work of a true artisan.
I purchased this frame from a pro bike shop in San Diego after my Masi was rear-ended by a car in 1984. The bike shop owner had recently visited Italy and purchased a few of these Denti frames to take back to the states. The frames looked pretty nice, so I purchased one. I transferred most of the parts from the Masi to this frame. The wheels were completely rebuilt since the rear wheel on the Masi was crushed in the car accident. However, my knees were starting to give out around this time when riding hard and I had to cut back. Therefore, the bike never got that much use.
In July 2019, the bike was completely stripped down and fully overhauled over a period of about two weeks. That included recleaning and relubing the crank/pedal spindle bearings, the headset bearings, the wheel bearings, the brakes and all the gearing components. The original white cork ribbon handlebar tape was replaced with Cinelli Cork Ribbon which has remained unchanged since 1983. The tires and tubes were replaced with 700c x 25mm Continental Grand Prix Classic clinthers in the style of the original 1982 Continentals. The previous SRAM chain was replaced with a new SRAM chain. A stripped seat bolt and a worn cable guide were also replaced with Campy equivalents to keep the bike as original as possible but in good working order. I had a bike shop recheck the frame, fork and wheel alignments and all alignments are spot on.
Condition
Used but in very good condition. The frame has no cracks or dents and is not bent. Paintwork and decals are original. There are a few small paint scratches. Some of the steel parts, including the forks, brake bolts and bottom bracket ring, have suffered a little bit of pitting over the years but all parts are working smoothly without any play.
Some of the components are unusual. The rear hub is from the original 1972 limited run of 500 Campy Hi-Lo hubs made for the German Olympic team. (A second run of Hi-Lo's were produced in 1982 but I have the original sales receipt showing that this Hi-Lo was from the first limited production run.) The Campy 4-hole front derailleur was only manufactured for 6-months in 1978 and is somewhat rare. The Campy SR titanium crank and pedal spindles are also uncommon.
Details
Road frame is a Mino Denti Strada hand-crafted in 1984. Serial no. 574.
54 cm seat and top tube with a tight frame geometry where the rear tire almost touches the seat tube. The steep head tube angle also makes for a stiff ride. Drop out widths are 120 mm front and 126 mm rear.
Columbus SLX double-butted tubing with a 27.2 mm seat tube diameter. Investment cast bottom bracket; Chromed Columbus fork blades with stiffeners, chromed chained stay, and chromed Campagnolo dropouts. Brazed with long point lugs with braze-ons for derailleurs, shifters, bottle cages, brake cables and pump. Recessed centers for brake bolts. (SLX is a "super-butted" version of SL with greater rigidity.)
Wheels were custom built by yours truly in 1984.
Campy Record hubs, low flange front, German Olympic Hi-Lo rear.
Suntour (Maeda Industries) 6-speed 13-14-15-17-19-21 tooth freewheel (1977).
Ambrosio 19 Durex wheel rims laced with 15 gauge DT Swiss Champion, straight-gauge, stainless-steel spokes.
700c x 25mm Continental Grand Prix Classic clinchers with Presta values from 2019 in the style of 1982 originals.
Road Components are mostly vintage from the 70's and early 80's with a couple of newer parts in the same vintage style.
Campagnolo Super Record Titanium Groupo including a titanium crank set, a titanium petal set, a rear derailler with titanium bolts, brakes (with recessed center bolts), brake levers with gum hoods, and headset. 52 and 42 tooth Campy SR chain rings.
Cinelli Giro d'Italia 38 cm handlebars with Cinelli 1A stem covered with white Cinelli Cork Ribbon from 2019 in the style of the original cork ribbon.
Bernard Hinault Stella Italia Turbo Saddle.
Simplex "teardrop" retrofriction braze-on shifters replacing the Campy friction shifters.
Bullseye aluminum ball-bearing pulleys replacing the original Campy plastic pulleys. The red color matches the frame color.
Silver Silca Impero plastic frame pump with Campy steel chromed head. NOS Campy blue rubber caps included.
Blackburn black-anodized bottle cages.
SRAM drive chain from 2019 replacing the original worn SRAM chain.
Extras include various Campy tools, parts and catalogs dating from that period.
Also included are Campy bottom bracket tools, a Campy T-wrench, a Campy wheel hub tool, a Campy petal tool and a Campy brake tool; various Campy parts including bolts, covers and skewers; extra DT spokes; (maybe an old Suntour two-prong freewheel removal tool??) Also included is the Campy N. 17 catalog with inserts showing detailed drawings and descriptions of all the Campy parts on this bicycle. Also included is a Columbus bicycle tubing catalog from the early 1980's (before SLX). And, an original Silca steel floor pump.