Final week I used to be in northern Italy to go to the manufacturing unit of two biking trade icons, and to check journey two coming-soon street bikes. Whereas I used to be there on a cool, wet autumn afternoon, I had the prospect to go searching contained in the Ghisallo Biking Museum. Inside are a whole bunch of bikes from the earliest days on two wheels as much as at present – a few of which clearly exhibit pioneering applied sciences.
It wasn’t my first time there. I’d ridden up this hill twice earlier than in a lot sunnier and hotter climate. However seeing as how the museum was based in 2006 by Fiorenzo Magni – the unique professional bicycle owner to earn the title Lion of Flanders for his consecutive 1949-1951 Ronde van Vlaanderen wins in chilly and moist climate (earlier than Johan Museeuw half a century later) – I assumed it becoming to dig deeper, previous his rain-soaked bust outdoors.
OK, so what’s contained in the museum?
1950 Aero Bike prototype predicted the longer term
So let’s begin with an aero bike prototype, since aerodynamics are all the craze today.
However this one, although it’s 75 years previous, doesn’t look all that completely different than what we see at present. Created by an Italian engineer named Cristoforo Gazzoni in 1950 at a time when each bike was fabricated from lugged metal, he needed to assume outdoors the field.
He knew what he needed, and to get aerodynamic shapes, Gazzoni carved light-weight balsa wooden cowls that match over virtually each tube on the bike, in addition to the bar, stem & cranks. Then he wrapped his creation like a mummy in material tape to clean airflow over the whole bike.
The metal cottered cranks not solely bought aero wooden arms, but in addition a pair of aerodynamic covers that sandwiched the chainring.
For the wheels, they caught with low-profile metal tubular rims and 36 spokes, however Gazzoni stretched canvas covers over prime, with sewn-in zippers to entry their valves.
Even the bar and stem bought the balsa wooden aero therapy. And when he wrapped all of it in material tape, Gazzoni successfully created the world’s first aerodynamic 1-piece built-in cockpit design.
I imply, come on, that clearly appears to be like like a whole lot of present 1-piece aero cockpits, proper? Nicely, at the least with out the chunks of wooden peeking out. It even has an built-in aero higher headset cowl.
Campagnolo did wi-fi 1x all-road derailleurs 75 years in the past!
Onto the following of the Ghisallo Museum visionaries is that this early Campagnolo derailleur design. It’s 1x and no wires to fret about routing, and even batteries to maintain charged.
As a substitute, this Campagnolo Paris-Roubaix derailleur, patented in 1948/49, makes use of a single lever to loosen the rear axle AND transfer a small cage in & out to information your chain onto the following cog. A posh association of inner and exterior planetary gears and ratchet make all of it work.
The trick is, it is advisable to again pedal to shift, however not so arduous that you just by accident eject the rear wheel out of the forward-facing dropouts. Plus, it will probably solely shift a really slender vary of gears, because the axle needed to slide ahead a little bit greater than 3mm for every additional tooth added out again, additionally messing with the alignment of brake sneakers in your rim.
However it clearly labored. As a result of on the coronary heart of the Ghisallo Museum is that is the Bianchi street bike that Fausto Coppi raced to win Paris-Roubaix in 1950.
Coppi’s Roubaix bike additionally has loads of different trick particulars, together with this water bottle cage with a strut connected to the stem for stability that may give trendy bikepackers concepts.
Early derailleur ideas have been wild!
The Ghisallo Museum has a complete swath of bikes chronicling the arrival of gears on (typically gravel, on the time) street racing bikes. The advanced single lever Campy setup on Coppi’s bike was a response to the less complicated two levers of its earlier technology.
With this one, the rider loosened the Campagnolo quick-release with the higher lever. Then, they used the decrease lever to information the chain back-and-forth onto 3-5 completely different cogs – once more whereas backpedaling. Then, you simply clamped the highest one tight once more, using away with the miracle of a number of gears (albeit intently spaced).
Straightforward-peasy.
Campy definitely wasn’t the one sport on the town for the early days of wacky derailleurs. Greater than a decade earlier, this 1938 Tour de France profitable bike of Gino Bartali was fitted with the third technology of Vittoria’s Margherita derailleur / shifting system. This one didn’t require disconnecting the rear wheel whereas using. It nonetheless used large wing nuts for tool-free tire adjustments. However relatively it used an enormous chain tensioner operated by a mid-bike shift lever. Push the lever ahead to launch stress. Twist the top to push the chain side-to-side with flaps connected to the top by way of a protracted versatile shaft. Then, lock stress again to journey ahead.
Sure, this one additionally required backpedaling to shift. So be grateful that we shift whereas pedaling ahead today.
Biking Historical past from 1791 to At the moment
The gathering of the Ghisallo Museum spans from absolutely the origins of 2-wheeled biking up till the fashionable day. There’s so much to see. And fellow bike nerds like myself may spend hours poring over the main points for the extremely affordable 6€ entrance price.
Take for example, this recreation of the Celerifere from 1791. A precursor to precise bikes, it was actually simply two wood wheels linked with an animal on prime to scoot round on.
Not solely are you able to see a full-scale velocipede reproduction of their ‘Evolution of the Leisure Bicycle’ part, the Ghisallo Museum reward store truly has mini replicas of the reproduction that you would be able to take residence, too.
It’s not all previous bikes, although. The Ghisallo Museum has a long-standing relationship, established as its founder Magni was a mentor to Ernesto Colnago, who labored as a mechanic for the 3x Giro d’Italia winner.
That continues at present, with particular Giro, Tour, and World Championship-winning editions of Tadej Pogačar’s bikes.
Unrivalled jersey collections
Past Pogačar’s current jersyes, the Ghisallo Museum additionally has the biggest assortment of Giro d’Italia winners’ jerseys. All donated by professional cyclists, workforce sponsors, or collector followers, the museum continues to be working to get an genuine jersey for each version of the Italian Grand Tour because it began in 1909.
It’s not simply Giro jerseys both. They proceed to gather iconic skilled workforce jerseys monitoring the historical past of bicycle racing.
Ghisallo Museum’s never-ending biking assortment
The Ghisallo Museum shows round 120-140 bikes at a time. However like many collections, there’s much more within the archives.
There are many basic lugged metal Colnagos on show. And even a wholesome dose of drillium in the event you look intently.
There have been tons of biking improvements between the Nineteen Eighties and early 2000s, so I discovered a whole lot of bikes of these eras to nerd out on, too.
Like this Candy ‘n Low pink metal Colnago New Mexico bike of feminine professional Nadia Sambruni with Campagnolo Tremendous Report and ‘light-weight’ aluminum wheels. Or this aluminum Staff Telekom Pinarello that Jan Ullrich rode to a 2nd place to Marco Pantani within the 1998 Tour de France, this one with Campagnolo Report Titanium 9-speed and built-in Ergopower shifters. Or virtually into the fashionable age with the 2003 Giro d’Italia-winning Cannondale CAAD7 of Gilberto Simoni with 10sp Report Carbon, alloy spoke Mavic wheels, and a Cinelli RAM (Highway Aero Monocoque) bar+stem combo, the primary 1-piece carbon built-in cockpit greater than twenty years in the past.
How rapidly issues modified
Tucked in a aspect corridor of the Ghisallo Museum, I particularly favored two exploded bike shows that highlighted how a lot had modified from the everyday Nineteen Eighties to Nineteen Nineties race bikes.
Lugged metal to welded aluminum. Downtube shifters to built-in brake & shift levers. Freewheels to freehubs with cassettes. Toe clips to clipless. Threaded metal forks to threadless headsets & carbon forks. Easy curved bars to ergo bends, aero shapes & inner routing. Basic 1-piece leather-based saddles to trendy ergonomic shapes, plastic shells & foam padding.
However some issues keep the identical.
I like to see purpose-built previous instruments. However simply as a lot, I respect how essential a hammer has at all times been to engaged on bicycles For some jobs, nothing beats a little bit percussive upkeep.
That is solely actually a glimpse of the treasure trove contained in the Ghisallo Museum. Whether or not you need to monitor biking historical past, nerd out like me on a number of the esoteric particulars, or simply ogle some oddities, Ghisallo has you coated.
Journey to the museum
If there’s anywhere it is best to journey a motorbike to for the perfect expertise, it’s the Ghisallo Biking Museum. It sits in a cross, up a scenic, twisting climb that rises above Lake Como in northern Italy. It isn’t a simple pedal per se, however there are many choices to make it more durable or a little bit bit simpler if you would like. Then, you might be rewarded with the long-lasting chapel devoted to the patron saint of cyclists, the enthralling museum, and naturally, a pleasant little cafe subsequent door.
I used to be there to check journey a brand new, made-in-Italy street bike – coming quickly. However apparently, you possibly can even drive there and borrow (lease?) a motorbike immediately from the museum to soak up the surroundings. Learn the museum’s Journey web page to be taught extra.
