It is not especially uncommon to find kid's racers in Italy with sprint rims - they were marketed in different sizes with 17in, 20in, 22in and 24in sprint rims. A Bianchi like this Ebay one was made in good quantities; when my son Keir was racing for a couple of years he rode a Scorza with 22in sprints especially on the track. This one was a little later, c1978 and was alledgedly built for the grandson of the framebuilder. However racers were widely sold especially in France and Italy to adults and kids all through the 50s, 60s and 70s. But over the years in Britain (despite them never being officially imported) I have seen a number of miniature racers of different makes from Italy. Some were made with wired-on rims too; one of Keir's first bikes was a little 1950s Italian kids lightweight - I forget the make now - with 17in aluminium rims, flat bars and a single speed. Cinelli did offer kid's bikes too but they were fitted out with balloon tyres. There certainly was kids racing in Italy early on - in a late 50s Sporting Cyclist there's an account of some Italian eight year olds racing on bikes of this type. And in a Bicycle magazine from the mid 80s there's another account of children's racing in Italy. Perhaps this why Italy produces such good riders... Kids now race regularly in Britain from the age of eight upwards ... so watch the results in the pro peloton in ten years time! However back to the Ebay Bianchi - I am of the opinion that this is later than 1959 - the decals look later, as do the stem, rear gear and saddle though of course it could have been rebuilt at a later date. The frames are normally quite crude (like this one) but have good geometry which results in sweet handling.
Hilary Stone, Bristol, England
> Outed by Aldo:
>
>> Kid's Bianchi road bike on Italian eBay, listed as 1959 model:
>
>> http://cgi.ebay.it/
> 9951
>
>> Small Ambrosio tubular rims, Campy derailleurs.
>
Bob Hovey wrote:
> I was hoping this bike would prompt some (any?) discussion because I got
> really curious when Aldo first posted it. I've seen a few posts on CR about
> the
> type of market for so-called "racing bikes" in Europe in the late 50's and
> early 60's. If I remember correctly, it was stated that the general public
> just
> did not buy them. The ten-speed bike with tubular tires and turned-down bars
> was not a widely-marketed item. And a non-racer who bought one for general
> use
> was pretty much considered a "poser". (I hope my memory is correct here and
> I have not mangled things too much, if so, please correct me).
>
> Given that, what is the explaination for this bike? Is this really a child's
> bike, sold with front and rear derailleurs and tubular tires, a Unica saddle?
> Has anyone ever seen a bike like this before, from this time period?
>
> Was there ever children's races in Europe, a group below juniors? Maybe a
> pro racer and proud papa had the bike built for his child?