Re: [CR] Coppi Bikes

  I think Coppi bikes first appeared in about 1958 or 59 and they were built by Fiorelli well into the 1970s if not later.  Coppi rode Coppi bikes for the last year or two of his career, but he was pretty much past it by then .

As far as I can tell, it was only the branding that made them different fro m Fiorellis - the early ones used the same fork crown with chrome and ename l "medallions" each side but inscribed Coppi instead of Fiorelli.  Decals were different of course.  I have not seen any with a head badge, only d ecals on the head tube.

Not many people seem to have a good word to say about them and not many lis t members seem to own one judging by the response I had to my request for f rame number information.  My own assessment is that the upper range bikes are really nice, if not exceptional, and as good as any production Italian bike of the same age.  In fact I preferred to dispose of my early 60s Le gnano Roma Olimpiade rather than my Coppi Campionissimo of the same era.  I don't know what the lower range bikes were like, but my guess is that th ey were probably competent and aesthetically pleasing in the way that most Italian bikes are.

Hugh Thornton
Cheshire, England