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Does anyone know the age of this Legnano Bike?

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The frame number reads FC670 right side of seat cluster


Thank you to everyone thats replied.

I now nothing of the history of the bike or Legnanos in general tbh and certainty wouldn't know about originality of it. The crank is a double ring, which is manual to change which I've not seen before. 60's frame with 70's bits maybe??

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    Cottered crank, friction shifter, basic caliper brakes place it some time prior to about 1975. The plastic cable clips are probably not original equipment (the originals would have resembled the pump peg), and the housed cables themselves are also suspicious. And the seat post is almost certainly not original. I bought a bike in 1973 (a Raleigh) which was very much similar, except that it didn't have a drop bar, and, I'm thinking, it used a bare cable to the rear brake. Jan 11, 2017 at 20:37
  • @DanielRHicks Cottered cranks were used well into the 80s. Indexed shifters weren't mass-produced until the late 80s, and it took a few years longer for them to really catch on. Also note the side-pull brakes - if it's from before 1975, I would expect center-pulls. Jan 12, 2017 at 22:24
  • @MikeBaranczak - You are perhaps correct (sorta) about the shifters. Prior to 1975 or so stem shifters were more the norm than downtube shifters, now that I think about it. But it depended a lot on the manufacturer. But cottered cranks largely disappeared in the 70s, since the newer style was so much superior. And I'm pretty sure that side-pulls were common in the 70s. But I'll admit that my memory is fuzzy. Jan 12, 2017 at 22:30
  • @MikeBaranczak - Looking at pictures of medium quality vintage bikes ca 1970 online I see nothing but side-pulls. Jan 12, 2017 at 22:37
  • That is an odd ring, now that you mention it (and I look at it up close). I've never seen anything quite like it. Most everything else on the bike is quite mundane, but if the ring is original it strongly suggests the 60s. Jan 16, 2017 at 13:36

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according to this site:

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Italy/Legnano/serial_numbers.htm

Can't be too sure, but i would guess it's manufactured around early sixties. Probably 61 or 62.

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Starting the serial number with FC, it is from 1963, according to this Blog

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Downtube shifters, sissy levers for braking from the tops, frame pump mounting pegs. All this suggest no newer than the 80s.

Now, I can't clearly see the transmission area, but it looks like a single front chainring with no front derailleur. This means one of

  • Someone's swapped parts about. Also note the cheap and nasty plastic pedals, which are totally not original. OR
  • It is old enough that a 1x system was used, which says it predates the "ten-speed" craze of the 70s.

That seat post is also not original.

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