About Ebykr
Ebykr celebrates classic and vintage lightweight bicycles through provocative imagery and opinion. Ride along with us.
Classic & Vintage Lightweight Bicycles
Histories, timelines, tech specs, dating guides and an archive of period catalogs, preserving the great marques and the people behind them.
Bridgestone: Beyond the Dream The first Bridgestone I encountered was in 1994, the last year the company sold bicycles in the USA, when I bought an RB-T after a long search for… 
Latest Articles
Freshly published across the archive
Identify and Date Your Bike
The makers stamped dates into the parts. Here is when each code applied, from Ebykr’s component dating guide.
Date codes at a glance
1955 to 2001 · select a maker for the full method
Campagnolo cranksMark on the back of the arm
Undated 1958–1972 · last digit of the year in a diamond 1973–1979 · in a circle 1980–1984 · from 1985 a rectangle: 11 = 1985, 22 = 1986, 33 = 1987
Campagnolo Nuovo RecordPatent line on the rear derailleur
PATENT with no year before 1970 · PAT. 70 or similar from 1970 on
ShimanoTwo letters: the year, then the month
First letter the year, A = 1976 to Z = 2001 and then A again · second letter the month, A–L = January–December, so VI is September 1997
Stronglight cranksNo date stamp: read the model
49D until about 1984 · 93 1968–1978 · 105 1976–1983 · 106 from 1984, so a 106 crank means 1984 or later
Maillard and Normandy hubsWeek, then year: 27 78
27 78 is the 27th week of 1978 · the Normandy name gave way to Maillard around 1981
The rule behind every reading: a frame is no older than the newest original part fitted to it. Sturmey-Archer hub shells, Campagnolo hub lock nuts (CAM 65 is 1965) and Simplex Prestige derailleurs are dated in plain sight too. Read the guide
Your marques
Follow a marque and its newest work collects here. Nothing is followed yet, so these are the four Ebykr covers most deeply.
- Feature1909 Bianchi Motoring & Transportation BrochureJul 17, 2026
- TimelineBianchi History: A Timeline of Key Corporate and Technical EventsFeb 11, 2026
- HistoryBianchi History: The Ultimate Guide to the World’s Oldest Bicycle EmpireFeb 11, 2026
8 postsAll coverage
- TimelineLegnano History: A Timeline of Key Racing and Corporate EventsJul 4, 2026
- GalleryLegnano Bicycles Image GalleryJun 17, 2024
- HistoryLegnano Bicycles: A Colorful History in Words & ImagesJun 17, 2024
6 postsAll coverage
- TimelineCycles Automoto: A Timeline of Key Competitive and Market EventsJan 21, 2026
- HistoryCycles Automoto History: Setting the StandardJan 21, 2026
- GalleryCycles Automoto Poster GalleryNov 6, 2025
5 postsAll coverage
- FeatureHow to Identify and Date a Vintage Brooks SaddleAug 22, 2026
- FeatureHow to Care for a Brooks Saddle: Proofide, Break-In and TensionAug 22, 2026
- HistoryBrooks England: Saddle Database & Model GuideJul 11, 2026
5 postsAll coverage
Explore by Country
The collection organized by where the bikes were built
France
Italy
The collection by origin
Documented marques per country
44 marques with documented histories on Ebykr.
From the Workshop
The most-read build sheets in the Tech Specs database
Build sheet
Build sheet
Build sheet
Build sheet
Build sheet
Build sheet
Build sheet
Build sheet
1951 Legnano Tipo Roma
Build sheet1964 Bianchi Specialissima
Build sheet1967 Jo Routens Randonneur
Build sheet1964 Legnano Pista
Build sheet1984 Colnago Super Pista
Build sheet1958 Goëland Randonneur
Build sheet1963 Cinelli Mod. Super Corsa
Build sheet1955 Bianchi Campione del Mondo
Workshop DNA
What the 25 build sheets are made of
Brakes
Saddles
Hubs
Six of the 25 machines run no brakes at all — track and path bikes.
Explore the Timelines
Events per decade for eight of the 33 timelines — darker is busier, and every cell opens its marque’s timeline
From the Archive
The period catalogs readers are opening now, the largest image collections and a Random Rebour
Bianchi 1987 Catalog — Road & Sport Bicycles 
Raleigh 1984 Catalog — Racers: The Race-Bred Raleighs 
Brooks 1933 Catalog — Saddles and Riding Kit for Cyclists and Motor Cyclists (List No. 168) 
Mercier 1983 Catalog — Touring, Road & Competition Bicycles 
Mafac 1976 Catalog — Brakes & Accessories 
Random Rebour Roughly 2,025 cataloged images, browsable by marque, type and country.
Largest collections
Cataloged images per marque
Plus 93 plates by the illustrator Daniel Rebour.
In preparation
The Ebykr Guide to Classic Lightweight Bicycles
The people, the machines and the details that identify them — a companion built from the Ebykr archive. Join the waitlist and help shape the first edition.