Re: [CR]Cinelli and Coppi and My Mistake!

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From: <hersefan@comcast.net>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: Re: [CR]Cinelli and Coppi and My Mistake!
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 13:29:52 +0000

I responded to an email regarding the Coppi/Cinelli connection by stating that it is described in the Custom Bicycle. Wrong - I just looked at the book and it tells of the friendship of Coppi and Cinelli but no mention of a frame built by Cinelli for Coppi. The wording on the Carsten site is very familiar but I just can't place from where.

I'm not sure where I got the Coppi connection. A number of articles over the years came from folks who wrote for Bicycle Guide, and I know that they did visit Cino Cinelli in person for interviews - does someone (or are one of these folks) out there have more thoughts on this? I'm thinking perhaps that the Coppi connection stuff was included in the 1985 (1986?) Bicycle Guide article on Cinelli. I'll try to dig up that article but I'm not sure where it is.

Somewhere along the way I heard that Vassasina worked for Bianchi. If so, then the Cinelli/Coppi/Bike connection gets pretty close. But doesn't make it so - I almost started a falsehood just because of a brain spasm last night!

Thanks again for anyone's help on this
> Carsten Rehbein's site (http://www.cyclo-24.de/) has the following about
> Cinelli and Coppi:
>
> "In 1947, Cinelli had his master frame builder, Maestro Vassasina,
> design a new type of frame for Fausto Coppi. The sloping Cinelli fork
> crown made a very stiff fork possible, and the Cinelli seat lug made a
> very stiff triangle possible. But the finished frame looked fragile, so
> Vassasina built a second frame with conventional parts and geometry.
> Coppi rode both and later decided to race the newer design. This was the
> first Super Corsa model. The rest is history."
>
> It's worth noting that Coppi was only three years younger than Cinelli.

>

> Mordecai Silver

> NY, NY