Bike identification - Castiglione

[CastiglioneID]

Hello frens, I've just recently bought this bike. Seller couldn't tell me anything about it nor was I able to find anything about it online either, which makes me much more curious.



It looks, to my untrained eye, pretty high end except for the groupset that's not - full Shimano 105 1055. It has Columbus tubing, both frame and fork. Fork has Strom fork ends. The dropouts are also marked but I'm not able to read it. Another interesting frame detail is the quill seatpost. The seatpost itself is Shimano. It also has internal cable routing for rear brake and downtube shifters.

The only other identification besides Castiglione stamped several times, is on the inside of the non drive side chainstay, seen on the pictures.

Thank you.

 

[jim haseltine]

I'd agree on the high end part, looks like there's some class there despite the finishing around the dropouts being a bit crude - the RH rear dropout has been filed, probably to adjust the position of the rear wheel rather than risk cold-setting the rear end. Having said that, I saw similar on Sanson team issue frames back in the 1980s.

 

[Rod_Saetan]

That is really good, a lot of thought and effort has gone into the frame. I especially like the profiling on the seat stays, could be Columbus Air stays?

 

[CastiglioneID]

I'm posting some more pictures that I couldn't post in the OP.

 

[Fifthgrace]

Some wizardry with Google and the best source I can find says it's made in Argentina (Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires). It's a nice design with aero tubing but I'm not wholly convinced its Columbus tubing from Italy as I have come across other South American brands that copied Columbus or Cinelli branding/logos. Some nice "air" design features nevertheless and still hopefully a bargain. The attached pics are all Castiglione's apparently and you will see incorporated a "flying dove" logo similar to that of Columbus, as well as a "club" (seat lug) and "comma" (head tube) cut outs in the lugs, which are an interpretation of Colnago's signatures.

 

[CastiglioneID]

Some wizardry with Google and the best source I can find says it's made in Argentina (Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires). It's a nice design with aero tubing but I'm not wholly convinced its Columbus tubing from Italy as I have come across other South American brands that copied Columbus or Cinelli branding/logos. Some nice "air" design features nevertheless and still hopefully a bargain. The attached pics are all Castiglione's apparently and you will see incorporated a "flying dove" logo similar to that of Columbus, as well as a "club" (seat lug) and "comma" (head tube) cut outs in the lugs, which are an interpretation of Colnago's signatures.

Hello, yes I'm from the same city and apparently mine is one of the three I was able to find. Both on that same page that you found, and they look like earlier models. They both talk about having Columbus Air tubing, "first" and "second" batch of Columbus Air, so maybe the decals aren't lying.

I've also came across this page that has some more info about the manufacturer, but it's a dead end for me.

 

[vcballbat]

Not sure of the difference between the two versions but had it's own Columbus seat post. Aero tubes are stronger in one direction but weaker in the other especially on the down tube which is prone to flex from bottom bracket forces. Reynolds used a thicker gauge tube, Columbus stuck an extra tube in the down tube.

 

[Fifthgrace]

It could well be Columbus tubing then which is reassuring and we are getting somewhere- at least from "no info"!! So 3 models plus yours now equals 4 attributed models and all located in Argentina? The owner of Castiglione Image 6 stated that it was made in Mar del Plata and had another bike brand, Julian Rico, which is head badged as being made in Mar del Plata (see below)- hence I think he probably knows his stuff. Your frame and fork drop-outs, did you find where they are manufactured as I don't recognise them myself as being Italian? Looking at the link for the Artigianali model you provided- can you spot any similarities with the other 4 frames?. Despite searches on Castiglione I have also drawn a blank in relation to Sicily/ Italy which is unusual as Italian bikes and cyclists are usually well documented. Unlike the 4 other models, the 1981 Artiginale is loaded with Campagnolo...so can't rule out yet that it's a different builder by the same name.

 

[Rod_Saetan]

Not sure of the difference between the two versions but had it's own Columbus seat post. Aero tubes are stronger in one direction but weaker in the other especially on the down tube which is prone to flex from bottom bracket forces. Reynolds used a thicker gauge tube, Columbus stuck an extra tube in the down tube.

View attachment 673204View attachment 673198View attachment 673199View attachment 673200View attachment 673201View attachment 673202View attachment 673203

IIRC the first iteration of 'Air' was fork blades and seatstays, no proprietary seatpost, certainly the 1st Gios Aerodynamic utilised Columbus Air and were fairly standard frames fork legs and seat stays aside. It did get more involved later on though, as per the tube set you show.

 

[CastiglioneID]

The Strom fork dropouts are from a local manufacturer, so now I'm pretty positive about it not being an Italian made bike. I've asked about on that forum at the sellers, they may know something.

As the Artigianale model I can't recognize any similarities between the models in Argentina, but the Argentinian models share many similarities.

I think we're getting close...


Edit: I've reached out to a btt forum user that made a list of Argentinian frame builders and he mentions Castiglione. His last seen on the forums dates back to 2017. Not holding much hope.