Italian Racing Bicycles: The People, the Products, the Passion - Hardcover

Rubino, Guido P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 193403066X ISBN 13: 9781934030660

Publisher: Velo Press, 2011

Synopsis

ITALIAN RACING BICYCLES THE PEOPLE, THE PRODUCTS, THE

About this title

Book Description:

Italian Racing Bikes explores the history of creativity and craftsmanship that has made Italy the world's best at designing and crafting bicycles. Each chapter tells the history of Italy's most beloved cycling brands. Italian cycling journalist Guido P. Rubino explains the leaps in technology and design that allowed the world's champion racers to dominate the sport while astride bikes made by Italian hands. Italian Racing Bikes delves into the personalities behind the brands with anecdotes about racers, interviews with manufacturers, and more. Fully illustrated with archival black and white and color photographs, Italian Racing Bikes portrays the beauty and detail of Italy's most cherished machines.

From the Back Cover:

Sports/Cycling

40 HISTORIC BRANDS

3TTT, Alan, Ambrosio, Atala, Bianchi, Bottecchia, Campagnolo, Casati, Cinelli, Colnago, Columbus, Daccordi, Dedacciai – Deda Elementi, De Rosa,Ganna, Gios, Gipiemme, Guerciotti, Legnano, Masi, Miche, Milani, Modolo, Moser, Olmo, Olympia, Passoni, Pegoretti, Pinarello, Rossin, Scapin, Selle Italia, Selle Royal–Fi’zi:k, Selle San Marco, Somec, Tommasini, Torpado, Universal, Viner, Wilier Triestina

There are bicycles. And then there are Italian bicycles. As with high fashion or sports cars, when the world speaks of racing bicycles the conversation soon turns to Italy. Seasoned cyclists know that an Italian bicycle is more intimately yours, a more personal possession, than a bicycle of other origin. Italian bicycles are built to race with passion, and to win.

Italian Racing Bicycles traces the rich history of 40 landmark brands intimately connected with racing. Not surprisingly, the brands have deep roots, some tracing their lineage back more than 100 years to the early days of the velocipede. They also share a hunger for advanced technology, pushing engineering to new heights with exotic metal alloys, elaborate weaves of expensive carbon fiber, and aerodynamic studies that help their bikes and riders cheat the wind for greater speed.

Beyond these commonalities, though, the stories diverge. The restless inquisitiveness of Ernesto Colnago could not be more different from the methodical calm of Ugo De Rosa, for example, and yet these two iconic frame builders contributed immeasurably to the racing victories of the great Eddy Merckx. The passion for experimentation of Pinarello, the brazen creativity of Cinelli, the barrier-bursting hour machine of Moser—in search of racing victories, the volcanic inspiration of Italian artisans has repeatedly reshaped the dynamics of cycling.

Melding painstaking historical research with personal visits to each artist’s workshop, author Guido P. Rubino has unearthed the stories, the methods, the dreams, and the personalities of these cycling firms, large and small, that have contributed so fundamentally to the glory of the sport.

Guido P. Rubino (www.guidorubino.com) has been writing about cycling technology since 1996, with articles in such magazines as BiciSport, Cicloturismo, and MTB Magazine. He is the coauthor, with Paolo Faccinetti, of Campagnolo: 75 Years of Cycling Passion and author of La Bicicletta da Corsa and La Mountain Bike.

Also in this series:

Campagnolo: 75 Years of Cycling Passion

About this edition

• Publisher: Velo Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 193403066X
• ISBN 13: 9781934030660
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192