Classic Italian Bicycle Brands: A Short Guide for Vintage Buyers

Italy's reputation for road bikes rests on two kinds of maker: the famous names that raced in the Tour and the Giro, and the small workshops that built frames one at a time for local riders and teams. A vintage Italian road bike from either can be a superb machine. Here is a short guide to the names you will meet most often.

Bianchi is the oldest of them, founded by Edoardo Bianchi in Milan in 1885 and known for its celeste green. Colnago was started by Ernesto Colnago in Cambiago in 1954, Pinarello by Giovanni Pinarello in Treviso in 1952, and De Rosa by Ugo De Rosa in Milan in 1953. Cinelli, founded by Cino Cinelli in Milan in 1948, made frames and also the stems and handlebars found on countless other bikes, while Gios, from Turin, is remembered for its deep blue team bikes.

Behind almost all of them stand two suppliers. Columbus of Milan made the steel tubing, from SL and SLX to Multishape and Cromor, and the tubing sticker on the seat tube is one of the first things to check on a classic frame. Campagnolo of Vicenza made the components: a period Campagnolo groupset is a large part of a vintage bike's value.

Then there are the small builders. Workshops such as Cicli Boschetti, Rino Boschetti and Chesini built in modest numbers, often with hand-cut details and custom paint, and their frames are prized by riders who want something less common than a big-brand bike. Their bikes are harder to research, so a good listing should give the frame size, tubing, components and condition plainly.

Whatever the name on the down tube, judge the bike in front of you: frame size and geometry, the tubing, whether the paint and decals are original, and which parts are period-correct. Every bike in our collection is listed with those details, and we are glad to send more photos or measurements before you buy.