Boot sale find benotto 2500: gravelly buildy thingy

[Mod-Master]

Hey guys, what could a 4 mean on the seat cluster? I found just a lonely 4 on the drive side seat cluster and don’t know what it’s there for.

 

[petgel]

Not a benotto I’m afraid

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Not a benotto I’m afraid

It has Benotto on the seat stay caps and bottom bracket, so yes it is. Fork is not original. OP knows this

 

[Mod-Master]

It has Benotto on the seat stay caps and bottom bracket, so yes it is. Fork is not original. OP knows this

Don’t forget clear as day says it on the dropouts and definitly a 2500 due to those models having the benotto dropouts and Columbus SL

 

[Mod-Master]

The forks are very Light but quite fragile though. Bent them on a small dip in the road(not pothole)

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Don’t forget clear as day says it on the dropouts and definitly a 2500 due to those models having the benotto dropouts and Columbus SL

Is it on the b/b as well or did I get it a**e upwards?

 

[Mod-Master]

Is it on the b/b as well or did I get it a**e upwards?

No not sure but some 80s(the ones built by a Mexican brand that bought benotto and then sort of left it to die) benotto’s had the same bb shell but I think it’s quite generic.

 

[petgel]

It has Benotto on the seat stay caps and bottom bracket, so yes it is. Fork is not original. OP knows this

 

[petgel]

Don’t forget clear as day says it on the dropouts and definitly a 2500 due to those models having the benotto dropouts and Columbus SL

Pretty sure the 2500 had campag dropouts. Also the lugs don’t look the correct shape for 2500 as well.

 

[petgel]

looking through the thread again and all the photos. I’ve owned well over a dozen benotto going back to 1978, and have never seen one like this. I would say the nearest model to this is an 800. That’s going by the seat stay lugs and dropouts. But as an earlier poster said, no Benotto on caps so very strange. I doubt looking at tge ligs and internal it is Columbus sl. If Columbus at all, can’t really go by the badge after a heavy respray. Possibly sells or tge like. If it is a Benotto then certainly Mexican built late 80s

The late 70s through early 80s bikes were high quality with campag dropouts. People think they were built my DeRosa but they weren’t. The only Benotto built by DeRosa were the team bikes with flat fork crown and Dubois lugs.

Still an absolute bargain for £30 given the bits on it.