I'm currently working in a bike shop that repairs scrap bikes and got my hands on this fine piece of trash Benotto which came in with our last delivery of junkers. By the looks of it someone had it professionally converted into a city bike and then left it to rot in some moist austrian basement. The chain stay is especially rusty and needs sand blasting to see if the frame is even salvagable.
The frame itself seems to be devoid of any serial numbers. It's starring remnants of a Columbus sticker and forged drop outs. The goldish paint, the absence of chrome, the Campagnolo crank and the Benotto-branded brakes make me think this started out as one of their lesser high-end models like the 1500 or 2000 in the 70s. Although: the low quality stickers don't match any benotto race bike I saw online, the archaic Campi front derailleur looks older, while the low flange hubs are more likely from the second half of the 70s or 80s.
The city bike convention happened around 1990 I guess. The Campi Centaur (?) rear derailleur, the saddle, seatpost and stem all match that time period.
What model am I looking at here?
by CodewortSchinken