Re: [CR]Cinelli & Coppi & D.O. Cozzi

(Example: Production Builders)

Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 18:22:38 -0800 (PST)
From: "brad stockwell" <brdstockwell@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Cinelli & Coppi & D.O. Cozzi
To: hersefan@comcast.net, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
In-Reply-To: <021920040113.25357.685f@comcast.net>


Cinelli Fans:

For what it's worth, the article "Who is Cino Cinelli?" by D.O. Cozzi in BICYCLING! of May 1976, page 57, does not describe Cinelli building bikes for Coppi, but it does mention them racing together, and it mentions Cinelli hiring a Bianchi employee.

Here are the 2 pertinent paragraphs:

"Until early 1945 Cino Cinelli built a very successful career around racing bicycles for factory teams on roads and tracks throughout much of Europe. He was one of the first to define the potential of Fausto Coppi, beating him handily on more than one occasion during the years they raced against each other. When he wasn't pedaling, Cinelli managed his salaries and considerable prize monies with acumen, enabling him in October, 1945 to abandon bicycle racing forever and become a manufacturer."

"The original company was formed with three partners and tooling and employees acquired from a frame builder fallen on hard times. In the beginning there were 20 workmen, a number that has increased only slightly over the years. To captain the frame-building activities Cinelli convinced the chief frame mechanic at Bianchi (for whom he had raced for over a decade) to join forces in the brave new venture."

The article goes on to say that in 1951 Cinelli moved to his circa-1976 location, and in 1952 he bought out his partners.

Later there is this info: "Virtually no one working for Cinelli is less than 40 years old; most of the workers have been there since activities began. The chief frame mechanic has had a file or brazing torch in his hands every working day for the last 60 years, and although he receives a government pension, he still comes to work for 'Signore Cino'. "

Cino predicts: "If the world hour record is ever to get beyond 50km, it will take smaller wheels, longer cranks, and tipping the rider forward to reduce his frontal ... I built a bicycle like that in 1960, and it works fine, but no one wants to use it for fear of succeeding and having it subtract from their personal achievement...anyway, longer cranks, 185-190mm, will be used one day soon for road racing and on the tracks...super-light weight is fine too, but never if it costs rigidity."

(Apparently no one told Moser about this fear of technical advantages minimizing achievment.)

Another quote: "The future? I guess the future is in the hands of my son... He's a good boy, and even if he doesn't know or care much about the mechanical end of this business, he'll get along all right."

Brad Stockwell Palo Alto

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