Tag Italy

Campagnolo, Component Makers

Tullio Campagnolo: The Legend, the Patents and the Record

Eleven Campagnolo catalog covers arranged in date order on a dark background, from the black Catalogo N. 12 of about 1955 to the white catalogue n. 18 of 1986

Campagnolo says its founder invented the quick release after a snowbound race in 1927 and patented it in 1930. The record tells a richer story: a first patent filed in May 1933, the cam quick release in April 1943, a parallelogram derailleur he perfected rather than invented, magnesium wheels for Lamborghini, a signed account of his life that never mentions the snow and a 1981 conviction that English-language histories leave out.

Eric Anschutz
October 22, 2026

Campagnolo, Component Makers

Campagnolo History: A Timeline of Key Patent, Product and Racing Events

A dated timeline of Campagnolo from Tullio Campagnolo's birth in Vicenza in 1901 to the minority investment of 2026: his first patent of May 1933, the cam quick release of 1943, the Cambio Corsa and the Paris-Roubaix, the Gran Sport, Record and Super Record, magnesium wheels for Lamborghini, C-Record, Syncro and Ergopower, with the Croce d'Aune story marked as the legend it is.

Eric Anschutz
October 22, 2026

Campagnolo, Component Makers

How to Identify and Date Vintage Campagnolo Components

The Campagnolo Prodotti Speciali oval with the striped globe and the blue Campagnolo script, from the cover of Catalogue No. 16, centered on a white banner

A practical guide to dating vintage Campagnolo parts from the firm's own catalogs of about 1951 to 1986: when each model came and went, the changes you can measure on the part and what the numbers, the patent words and the address on a catalog or a box can tell you.

Eric Anschutz
October 22, 2026

Bianchi, Bicycle Makers

1909 Bianchi Motoring & Transportation Brochure

1909 Bianchi Motors Brochure Embossed Gilt Eagle4 1800px

A remarkably preserved 1909 brochure, cord-tied and richly embossed, opens a window onto the early years of Bianchi as a maker of automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles.

Eric Anschutz
July 17, 2026

Bicycle Makers, Masi

Masi History: A Timeline of Key Frame-Building and Racing Events

Since the dawn of competitive bicycle racing, Italian frame builders have produced some of the world’s most painstakingly crafted machines, and of all the Italian brands desired by bicycle aficionados, vintage Masi bicycles turn up high or even highest on…

Eric Anschutz
July 5, 2026

Bicycle Makers, De Rosa

De Rosa History: A Timeline of Key Craftsmanship and Racing Events

A De Rosa frame begins and ends with a single conviction: that steel, and later titanium, aluminum and carbon, can always be coaxed a little further toward perfection. From a teenage apprentice bent over a Milan workbench to a family…

Eric Anschutz
July 5, 2026

Bicycle Makers, Cinelli

Cinelli History: A Timeline of Key Innovation and Racing Events

Very few names carry the same quiet authority in a modern bike shop as Cinelli. Born from the restless mind of a champion racer who traded the peloton for the machine shop, the marque built its reputation not on marketing…

Eric Anschutz
July 5, 2026

Bicycle Makers, Legnano

Legnano History: A Timeline of Key Racing and Corporate Events

Legnano secured its place in the great tradition of Italian cycling, forged by racing greats Alfredo Binda, Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi and by a corporate history flamboyant enough to include fascist political interference and outright murder. This timeline traces the marque from its 1902 origins to its twenty-first-century revival.

Eric Anschutz
July 4, 2026

Bicycle Makers, Colnago

Colnago History: A Timeline of Key Corporate and Technical Events

A broken leg ended Ernesto Colnago's brief competitive cycling career in 1951, but it did not end his passion for the sport. This timeline traces his path from that injury to a bicycle shop opened in Cambiago, Italy in 1954, and its growth into one of cycling's most celebrated frame-building houses, marked by unbreakable forks and a long collaboration with Ferrari.

Eric Anschutz
July 4, 2026

Bianchi, Bicycle Makers

Bianchi History: A Timeline of Key Corporate and Technical Events

Bianchi 1940 La Bicicletta Tuttacciaio 1200px

A Century of Celeste: Key Corporate and Technical Milestones of the World’s Oldest Bicycle Empire From its modest origins in a Milanese workshop at Via Nirone 7 to the absolute heights of professional cycling’s “Double-Double,” the history of Bianchi is…

Eric Anschutz
February 11, 2026

The Ebykr Digest

A monthly letter on classic lightweight bicycles

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