Legendary Builders, Little-known Stories - the Finale

   Again, a project update before getting to the title subject. I visited my brother-in-law Jay earlier this week, and we spent a little time in his shop, checking out some techniques to improve the shine on the Wilier frame. He first showed me one of his motorcycles and pointed to some parts that he had spent a lot of time on, polishing up to a nice finish, but he had not been careful to wipe it down consistently, and the metal has pretty much reverted to the original state from moisture. Lesson learned by us both!
   Jay asked where a good "test spot" on the frame would be, and the bottom of the top tube immediately came to mind. This area was in bad condition, and it wouldn't be as noticeable if something went wrong.
   He used a combination of 400 grit sandpaper, then 2000 grit, making sure to change the rubbing direction 90 degrees when switching papers, in order to remove the scratches from the previous step. Next we used a power drill with buffing wheel and the reddish brown rubbing compound.
   The 3-4 square inch area looked really good, and Jay put a little Mothers polish on to complete the shine. I think the frame is going to be spectacular when finished, but is going take some effort. We entertained the idea of saving myself the work by showing a prospective buyer "the spot" as a preview of what can be done, and then sell it to him as-is!

   I also had a customer drop off a used tandem bicycle - kind of a mountain bike-style machine. He recently purchased the bike, and it was in real need of a tune-up. I still don't like GripShift, and the adjustments involved were complicated by the long cable lengths that don't respond as quickly. The rest of the work was fairly standard, except for some very out-of-true wheels that rubbed on the brakes pretty hard.
   What I really wanted to mention about the job was that the fella removed the seatposts and saddles to fit the bicycle more easily in his vehicle, and he left the parts at home. I had nothing onto which I could mount the bike into my wall clamp! I was forced to rig this "fancy" suspension system of rope to hooks in my rafters, so that I could spin the gears and check for smooth operation:

   Reynolds, known worldwide for its production of top-quality steel bicycle tubing, got its start in 1841 as a manufacturer of nails. When John Reynolds’ son Alfred became interested in bicycles, as did many people in the 1890s, they attempted to solve the problem of joining thin, lightweight tubes without weakening the joints.

   Their proposed solution seemed radical at the time. Externally the tubes produced were the same diameter throughout, but inside the walls were thin in the middle and thicker at the ends, where they needed to be stronger. The “butted” tubes they invented were a major breakthrough for the industry!

   Many people are aware of the collectability of vintage Schwinn bicycles, such as the Phantom, Hornet and Stingray, as well as the Paramount racing bicycles. The company was THE dominant force of the American market for nearly a century! I don’t want this to become an article on Schwinn, so I’ll leave it to you to read about the mismanagement (how do you miss out on the 10-speed “sport-bike”, BMX and mountain bike trends all in a row?!!), anti-trust lawsuit and labor issues that led to the Chicago company moving production overseas, and eventually its bankruptcy.

   Back in the early 20th century, when automobiles and motorcycles prompted a decline in the bicycle industry, Schwinn was one of the few survivors, bought up smaller companies and expanded into motorcycle production. I had no idea that by 1928 Schwinn’s motorcycle division was third in the country, only behind Indian and Harley Davidson!

   Scott is a relative newcomer in the production of road bicycles and mountain bikes but puts out some world-class machines. There is no doubt that the product that started it all was the clip-on Aero Bar, first used to devastating effect by Greg Lemond on the final stage of the 1989 Tour. Company founder Ed Scott was originally a manufacturer of skiing equipment and invented the tapered aluminum ski pole. It is quite understandable that the wind-cheating position, achieved with Scott Aero Bars, was inspired by a downhill skier’s tuck.

   Mario Cipollini’s tremendous effect on the marketing of Cannondale bicycles in the late 1990s is well known, but few realize how important of a role he played, pretty much doing the same thing, for Specialized. The company had made a name for itself with the Stumpjumper, the first mass-produced mountain bike, but was looking for a presence in road racing’s pro peloton.

   In 2000 they signed a deal with the Festina team, but this was really just a shell of the team that had been ejected from the 1998 Tour de France. Although this was probably a good thing in retrospect, the squad lacked any star power, certainly nothing like that enjoyed at the time by Trek (Lance Armstrong) and Giant (Laurent Jalabert).

   The company signed a groundbreaking contract with the Aqua e Sapone team, who had a small budget, but managed to sign Cipollini. The year proved to be the pinnacle of the flamboyant Italian’s career, as he went on to win Milan-San Remo and the World Championship Road Race in Zolder, Belgium, both aboard an S-Works E5 frame. Specialized owner Mike Sinyard certainly appreciated the profile boost provided by Cipollini but also noted the important feedback given by the sprinting legend during the bicycle’s development.

   I realized, even before starting to read the segment on Trek bicycles, that most of the company’s success would be tainted by the performance-enhanced successes of Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador, most of which has since been stricken from the record books. Of course not everything Lance did was a bad thing, as he had raised a lot of money for cancer research.

   During his 2009 comeback year from semi-retirement, the Texan handpicked seven artists to each decorate one of his road or time trial bikes. At the end of the year the frames were auctioned off at Sotheby’s for a total of $1.25 million for the LiveStrong Foundation.

   Perhaps the most stunning design came from British artist Damien Hirst, who decorated a Madone and its Bontrager aero wheels with real butterfly wings because of the way they shimmered in light. The bicycle drew an enormous amount of interest from fans, and criticism from animal rights groups!

   Early pioneers in the manufacturing of carbon fiber bicycles, TVT (Technique du Verre Tisse, translated as “technology of glass weaving”) made frames ridden to victory by some of cycling’s legends. However, the small company that once sat in the quiet foothills of the French Alps and is no longer in operation, receives very little recognition of its contribution to cycling, as the frames they built were most often badged up as those of other manufacturers.

   The powerful 1986 La Vie Claire team finished with Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault standing on the top two podium spots in Paris. The bikes they rode were the first carbon fiber frames ridden to Tour de France victory, but because of team sponsorship, the TVT-built products were labeled as bicycles built by Look.

  Witnessing the success of the TVT 92 frameset, several other leading riders made the switch to carbon. Pedro Delgado won the 1989 Tour on a bike that was disguised as a Pinarello, right down to the Columbus tubing decals applied to the seat tube, but was in fact TVT!

   I have written previously about Vitus bicycles, so I won’t repeat myself about the aluminum frames that were lugged and bonded. I will mention that the frames had a reputation for becoming a bit flexy, especially for large, powerful riders. Legendary powerhouse Sean Kelly admits that he had to change bicycles a few times during a season, a process that certainly wasn’t common in that more budget-conscious era.

   I will be taking a couple of weeks off from writing to enjoy the holidays. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Legendary Builders, Little-known Stories - Part 2

   First a little project update, as I attempted to polish the unpainted aluminum on the Wilier frameset.

   Initially I rubbed some fine steel wool over the really bad areas to knock off the oxidation, then used Mothers brand aluminum polish. The process involved the use of a Power Cone (photo left), made by the same company, with an electric drill. Each time I started a new side on the individual tubes, I would spread the polish paste on the cone - it reminded me of icing a cake, but nowhere near as appetizing!
   The creamy coating would turn a really dark gray, then I would wipe down the area briskly with a rag. The cone worked effectively to get into all the awkward tubing joints, which, except for the bottom bracket area (moisture probably sat there), turned out more mirror-like when I was finished.
   Below is a before-and-after of the top tube, which still needs some help, followed by a shot of the down tube, which looked pretty spectacular.

 
   My brother-in-law works on motorcycles and has a bit more experience with getting the shine back on aluminum parts, so I am going to pick his brain a bit. I know he has a nice polishing wheel, which sure beats the drill method I had been trying!


   Similar to the practices of Henry Ford before him, Aldo Gios would build his customers a bike in any color they wanted – as long as it was blue. The color is as distinctive to the company as celeste is to Bianchi. However, unlike Bianchi, the reason for Gios’ standard paint is generally agreed upon.

   During the 1970s Gios was to supply the Brooklyn Racing Team (actually sponsored by an Italian chewing gum maker) with bicycles customized to match the same shade of blue as their jerseys. The distinctive garments had an American flag look with red and white vertical stripes around the midsection and royal blue around the top of the chest, back and shoulders. The continued use of the color represents a high mark of craftsmanship and excellence, particularly honoring the successes of the great Roger de Vlaeminck aboard Gios bicycles during that time period.

   The French company Look revolutionized cycling in the 1980s with its introduction of clipless pedals and carbon fiber frames, and having Bernard Hinault and Greg Lemond show off their products didn’t hurt. Up to that point, owner Jean Beyl’s business, named after the U.S. war-era photo magazine, was best known for ski bindings. Beyl realized that a version of the binding could be transferred to cycling, and the metal toe-clip and straps were soon to become a thing of the past – except for the occasional L’eroica bike ride!

   Faliero Masi was known as “The Tailor” because of his reputation for building bicycles that fit their owner as well as any bespoke suit. Many top pros sought out the legendary Italian builder in his workshop below the Vigorelli velodrome in Milan, using his expertise for bicycles that were often later badged up as a team bike of another manufacture.

   His brand got the exposure it deserved in the movie Breaking Away, perhaps the most successful cycling movie ever made. For main character and Italo-phile Dave Stohler, only one bike would do – a bright red Masi Gran Criterium!

   Unknown to his competitors, Antonin Magne won the 1934 Tour de France using revolutionary aluminum rims made by Mavic. Because such rims were illegal at the time, the company had painted a faux-wood finish onto the aluminum to have the rims resemble what the rest of the peloton was using.

   Today, the company has a ubiquitous presence in racing, as its yellow and black elliptical logo can be seen on the wheels of top pros, as well as on the hood and sides of the neutral support vehicles. Mavic, an acronym for Manufacture d’Articles Velocipediques Idoux et Chanel (Charles Idoux and Lucien Chanel were the founders), not only developed the first aluminum rim (in 1934) and first disc wheel (1973), their designs also included the innovative Zap Mavic electronic gear shifter in 1994.

   Giovanni Pinarello was the eighth of twelve brothers, and was a successful amateur cyclist. His pro career had few highlights – perhaps one of the more unfortunate memories was the awarding of the 1951 maglia nero, or black jersey, which was a short-lived award for the last-place finisher of the Giro d’Italia.

   The following season, his Bottecchia team bosses offered him 100,000 lire to surrender his Giro spot to a young up-comer. Giovanni, who had been learning to build bicycles alongside his brother Carlo, wisely took the money to set up his own shop, stocked with his bikes and those of other builders. These were the baby steps for the legendary Pinarello company that has supplied bicycles to more Tour de France winners than any other manufacturer.

   There was a time in British households that the word Raleigh meant bicycle, as much as Hoover meant vacuum or Biro meant pen. Such a situation would seem the ultimate achievement for a manufacturer, but such a circumstance didn’t necessarily serve Raleigh well, especially it the company’s efforts to sell top-end road bikes.

   With a line of children’s models and adult bikes noted for their affordability and reliability, Raleigh had a very family-oriented image. Although during the ‘70s and early ‘80s the company supplied bikes to the immensely successful TI-Raleigh team, other than a few individuals, corporate executives never seemed all that interested in the team they sponsored.

   In fact, when team leader Joop Zoetemelk won the Tour in 1980, becoming the first rider to win on a British bicycle, it was a landmark achievement that few noticed. Raleigh seemed to decide that the British public could not/would not understand the Tour de France, and at the time, they were probably right. Wow, how things have changed with Mark Cavendish, Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky causing a U.K. cycling sensation!

One more "builder" installment to come...

Legendary Builders, Little-known Stories

   A couple of years ago I purchased the book Bike! A Tribute to the World’s Greatest Cycling Designers by Richard Moore and Daniel Benson. I would immediately describe it as a combination coffee table book and reference tome, as it blends beautiful large format photographs with a wealth of historical information about my favorite subject.

   I find myself rereading segments of the book constantly when a story about a certain bike kind of drifts through my memory, and I want to clarify the details of the tale. More recently I browsed through the book to collect interesting bits that I thought would be interesting to share when I don’t have a whole lot to write about. Right now I’m in a bit of a “holding pattern” with my projects, so...

   Many cycling fans know that the leader’s jersey at the Giro d’Italia is pink because the race’s first sponsor, La Gazzetta della Sport, is printed on paper of that color, but few are aware of the role the Atala company played in organizing the event. Bianchi, with the aid of the Corriere della Sera newspaper, was attempting to organize a race that would be the Italian answer to the Tour de France.

   Atala, a much newer and smaller company, took the news to the Gazzetta, and their attempts to beat out their rival paper has become the beautiful national tour it is today. The Atala-sponsored team won a couple team titles in the early years of the event, as officials experimented with the format of the race and there was no individual winner.

   The builder sponsored riders occasionally after World War I, but never again managed another Giro winner. In 1947, Atala supported only a single rider – a man named Giovanni Pinarello, who went on to a bit of bicycle manufacturing fame himself!

   Eduardo Bianchi started his company, the world’s oldest still in operation, in 1885 at the age of twenty-one! As his reputation grew in Italy, Eduardo was summoned to teach Queen Margherita how to ride, after which followed an appointment in 1895 by King Umberto as official supplier to the crown. This honor allowed him to use the royal coat of arms on his bikes, and the distinctive head badge is still in use today.

   Cannondale, a company known globally for cutting edge technology and innovation, takes its name from a tiny, rustic Metro-North railroad station, which was featured in their original logo. The business started in the second floor of a pickle factory in nearby Bethel, Connecticut.

   Although their first bicycle wasn’t rolled out until 1983, the company started back in 1971, producing backpacks, clothing and accessories. A Cannondale-manufactured child trailer called “The Bugger” was not a name that endeared itself to the U.K. market!

   German manufacturer Canyon, which currently supplies both the Movistar and Katusha pro teams, only sells directly through the internet. Ironically, the company was started by a cycling-crazy teen with help from his father, who accumulated high-end components during frequent trips to Italy and sold them from a trailer at races. Roman Arnold’s family business grew to occupy a garage and eventually a shop that became very influential to the German cycling scene.

Movistar team bicycle by Canyon

   Cervélo bicycles was founded by engineering classmates at McGill University in Montreal. Dutchman Gerard Vroomen (could there be a better last name for a bike designer?) and his Canadian partner Phil White used a play on words when naming their company – cervello is Italian for “brain”, and vélo is French for “bike”.

   I’ve written much about Colnago bicycles over the years, but few people know that Ernesto Colnago was initially a mechanic to some of the sport’s biggest names. In fact, his start came during recovery from a broken leg sustained in a bike race, when he built wheels for the Gloria Cycle factory in Milan.

   As news of his skills grew, and he received commissions from the likes of Fausto Coppi, Ernesto started a small shop with the financial backing of his father. His big “break” came when he was introduced to two-time Giro d’Italia winner Fiorenzo Magni, who was suffering a knee problem. Ernesto discovered a misaligned crank, which was found to be the cause of the Italian champion’s problems. Magni was able to recover in time to win a third Giro title, eleven seconds ahead of Coppi!

   By the 1960s Colnago was building his own bicycles, as he worked for riders such as Gianni Motta and the Italian national team. His reputation spread through the pro ranks, and after helping Michele Dancelli end a 17-year drought for Italy at the country’s biggest one-day race, Milan-San Remo, Ernesto began working with the phenomenal Eddy Merckx. The Italian master frame-builder later estimated he built more than 100 bicycles for Merckx alone, while working for the Belgian great’s Molteni team!

   The majority of the world’s most prized vintage steel bicycles are built from Columbus tubing. Although started in 1919, much of the Milanese firm’s reputation grew in the ‘30s from the manufacturing of home and office furniture, in particular seating. Examples of their furniture, made in partnership with avant-garde designers and architects of the period, are stored in a vast warehouse on company premises. The now deteriorating fabrics contrast sharply with beautiful flowing tubing from which they still hang.

   Like many of his fellow builders, Ugo De Rosa was at one time a racer, but while others fell into manufacturing bikes because of setbacks in their cycling careers, he wanted to be a frame-builder from a young age. While studying engineering at technical school, he repaired and assembled bicycles at his uncle’s workshop to develop his understanding of the machines. He founded De Rosa Cycles when he was only eighteen years old!
   His reputation grew as a result of a meeting with French great Raphaël Géminiani, who asked Ugo to build him a bicycle for the upcoming Giro d’Italia. Géminiani rode the bike to eighth place, then followed up with a third place finish at the Tour de France.

   However, De Rosa’s breakout success came when he stepped in as Eddy Merckx’s builder after the Belgian legend had a fallout with Ernesto Colnago. Merckx had just set the hour record aboard a bike labeled “Windsor” (a Mexican company), although it had been built by Colnago. One version of the story was that the labelling was intended to honor his Mexican hosts, but word is that Merckx actually received $10,000 to badge his bike, which understandably infuriated Ernesto Colnago.

   The name "Flandria Cycles" recalls one of the great heartlands of pro cycling, as well as a legendary team that had the likes of Eddy Merckx, Freddie Maertens, Roger de Vlaeminck, Joop Zoetemelk and Sean Kelly all eventually spending time on the roster. Behind the scenes, however, were four Claeys brothers struggling for control over the company.

   One of the brothers decided to retire and another left to form a competing company. The two remaining Claeys divided the business – literally, with a brick wall constructed to separate the workshop into halves. In places where the machinery was too heavy to move, the wall simply split that in two as well!

   The Taiwanese company Giant lives up to its name as the world’s biggest manufacturer, producing five million bicycles a year, from cheap town cruisers to state-of-the art racing machines. Amazingly, the company is a relative newcomer, having been around just over forty years, focusing mainly on the building and badging of bikes for other companies.

   It was the actions of one of their customers, Schwinn, which altered the course of Giant’s history. In the 1970s, the word “Schwinn” meant bicycle almost in the same way Americans say “Kleenex” for a tissue. However, as the decade ended and sales dropped off, the company looked to Giant for a high quality, low cost alternative in production and was able to turn things around.

   Years later when Schwinn switched some of its production to China, folks at Giant were quite angry and retaliated by hiring a former Schwinn marketing executive, putting him in charge of the company. Bill Austin took the company global, shedding the once negative “Made in Taiwan” stereotype by sponsoring pro teams to show the quality of Giant bicycles, starting with mountain bikes then adding an association with the Australian Institute of Sport. His big move was supplying the highly-successful ONCE team that included French legend Laurent Jalabert.

   While Giant was able to show off its innovative compact frameset, now an industry standard, and continues to promote its modern aero racing bikes with today’s Giant-Alpecin team, it seems things have come full circle as a “Schwinn bike” now has a negative stereotype, as the machines are often off-the-shelf, department store products.

Giant-Alpecin team bicycle by Giant

More to come...