Balilla Corsa 59 was their pro aluminum side pull intro'd in 1959. Balilla Corsa 61 was their pro aluminum center pull intro'd in 1961. (Curved brake shoes with red rubber shoes!) Balilla Model 59 Lever had the hinged center piece QR on the front of the lever body. Balilla Model 62 Lever same as above but with the inside edges of the lever closed for comfort; intro'd 1962.
From what I have seen there was no difference between the best from Balilla and the best from Universal and both were used by the pros in the 1960s.
Here's a price (in £) comparison from the 1963 Ron Kitching catalog: Balilla Corsa 59 - 47/6 Balilla Corsa 61 - 59/6 Universal Mod. 51 - 47/6 Universal Mod. 61 - 67/6 Beborex Super - 53/6 CLB Racer Course - 53/6 G.B. Coureur 66 - 60/- MAFAC Racer - 68/9 MAFAC Top 63 - 75/- Weinmann 500 (red, blue, silver) - 45/- Weinmann 999 Vainqueur (red, blue, silver) - 69/-
Insidentally, I found out recently that Balilla turned into GALLI at some point (late 60s - early 1970s?).
Chuck Schmidt SoPas, SoCal (70s, sunny with breeze)
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