Re: [CR]Re: Info needed for U. Testi bike (Jonathan Agnew)

(Example: Framebuilders:Masi)

From: <themaaslands@comcast.net>
To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org (Classic Rendezvous)
Subject: Re: [CR]Re: Info needed for U. Testi bike (Jonathan Agnew)
Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 17:48:00 +0000

Jonathan wrote:
> The writing on
> my frame cites "Campionato del Mondo" for 1947 and 1948. I have not yet been
> able to confirm whether this indicates what I think it might (or should, unless
> they were making exaggerated claims), which is that the (almost certainly
> amateur) world road championships were won on Testi bicycles for those years.

Campionato del mondo means world championship, which is quite different from Campione del Mondo which would indicate a world champion. I think thhis distinction is quite telling for a couple of reasons. Firstly, apart from Coppi, there were no other Italian world champions in 1947 (either amateur or professional that I can tell.) Coppi rode a Bianchi to victory. Secondly, at the time, the chances of any non-Italian rider using a small Bolognese framebuilder's frame were quite slim. I think it is much more likely that this indicates that there was indeed one or more Italians riding a Testi brand frame in the world championships without having won 'the' championship. At the time, to have one of your bikes participating was sufficient reason to be proud, especially when dealing with what was apparently a regional brand. At the time, the top racing brand from Bologna would have been Cimatti, which would have left Testi as the second brand in the Bologna area.

Jonathan does however hit one point firmly on the head: namely, that some smaller framebuilders produced some of the nicest frames of the day. Often outdoing the best of the 'big' first tier builders.
--
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ