"The Bike Shop" by Maynard Hershon

My thanks to Dave Martinez for searching through his attic and finding this article in an old issue of WINNING magazine. You can click on the images to enlarge them.

I invite you to contribute by sending in photographs of your Cinelli bike, illustrations, personal stories, and articles about Cinelli bikes and components.

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Cinelli "Rapha" XCR Criterium Racer

Beginning January 2011 and for the next two years, Rapha has partnered with four masters of framebuilding to offer four distinct, hand-made bicycles. Each partner has been selected because of the mastery of their craft and passion for road cycling. With each partner we have created a model constructed uniquely for a particular style or purpose of riding. The collaboration between Cinelli and Rapha has resulted in the XCR Criterium Racer. From Rapha:

The choice of the Criterium racer. Fabricated with oversized Columbus XCR stainless tubing, this bicycle is made for diving fearlessly into corners.

Cinelli has been a leader in bicycle design since 1948. Sitting only 10 miles outside of Milan, it stands to reason that design and art also influence Cinelli products. Cinelli is a brand where competition, history, passion and performance have long melded to bring beauty to the sport of cycling.

In an adjacent factory, Columbus Steel is a close compatriot to Cinelli. Columbus began making bicycle tubing in 1919 and has a decorated heritage of powering the likes of Coppi, Merckx, Pantani, Armstrong and countless others.

For this collaboration, the seamless Columbus XCR stainless steel tube-sets are literally passing across the factory floor to Cinelli to make the Rapha Criterium Racer. With geometry specified by generations of building for the strongest, fastest and most fearless in the sport, this frame and fork are intended for the aggressive racer. The Columbus XCR tube material exceeds anything in the market for technological quality and has a higher stiffness to weight ratio than titanium or aluminium, delivering great feel and total confidence at high speeds. Painted Pearl White, except for a polished reveal of the beautiful stainless, and with pink, black and grey race bands, the Criterium Racer marries tradition and performance.

The Rapha & Cinelli XCR is limited to only 30 frames/fork per year because of the scarcity of the material. Delivery of your frame/fork is estimated for 4-months from time of order. Cinelli will take orders direct, go to www.cinelli.it to buy your XCR Criterium Racer.

Price: Frame/fork starting @ €3,500 + shipping; please note: Prices do not include import tax and duty which will vary by country.

Related blog story: Cinelli XCr Stainless Steel

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Anésio Argenton and His Cinelli Pista

Anésio Argenton, born in Boa Esperança do Sul, São Paulo, 1931, was four-time Brazilian cycling champion and the only Brazilian who won a gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago. In the 1963 Pan American games of Sao Paulo he took the bronze medal. Argenton also raced in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games.

Thanks to Matteo for the information.

I invite you to contribute by sending in photographs of your Cinelli bike, illustrations, personal stories, and articles about Cinelli bikes and components.

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Cinelli Tribute Jersey to Viktor Kapitonov's Victory

Cinelli has issued a tribute jersey for Viktor Kapitonov's legendary victory aboard a Cinelli at the 1960 Rome Olympics in which he out sprinted the home town favorite to claim the gold medal. Kapitonov had also mistakenly thought he had won earlier only to discover that there was one lap remaining:


In full size here.

The limited edition numbers 300 jerseys. Available from Cinelli here and Probikekit here.

Related story: 1960 Rome Olympic Champions Celebrated

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Cinelli Pursuit Concept by Erik Nohlin

An independent design study undertaken by Erik Nohlin, see his portfolio here.

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Formula Bici: An Almost Cinelli Story

This story courtesy of CINELLI (Gruppo S.r.l.).

Formula Bici: An Almost Cinelli Story

Recently we received some photos from a Cinelli collector asking whether a track frame he had recently acquired was a Cinelli or not. It had a graphic schema similar to that of the supercorsa, utilised Cinelli investment cast frame components and had a small Cinelli decal on the seat tube, the stated brand of the frame, though, was Formula Bici and on the top tube there was the signature of a builder called “Andrea Pesenti”. Andrea Pesenti indeed has more than a strong link to the Cinelli brand, he was the Cinelli framebuilder for over ten years and famously has built every single one of the Laser frames ever produced, without exception, and continues to do so for next year’s reissue of the model.

Formula Bici was a subsidiary company of Cinelli formed in the early 80s, around the time when we Cinelli began tig-welding BMX frames– the famous CMX series – the first frames built by Andrea, an early proponent of this construction method, with Cinelli.. Around the same time Cinelli decided to create a subsidiary brand, named Formula Bici, which would produce simple, slightly more economical variants of the classic Cinelli steel models of the day for Cinelli to sell, primarily but not exclusively, in its shops it had at the time “Gran Ciclismo”. Just as some of the later Laser frames include Andrea’s engraved signature on the underside of the bottom bracket shell, some Formula Bici frames are also “signed” by Andrea. The style of these frames was simple, restrained and elegant, usually only in one solid colour with single colour decals, a sort of early parent to our current line of Gazzetta frames.

The legacy that remains of this brand lies in a few simple classic frames made with functional good quality components made by Cinelli, and, unusually for the period, evidencing the name of its own framebuilder. The photographs below are courtesy of Stefano Pedrini, owner of the frame. Note the particular fork crown with the two point to match the Formula logo and personalised Italian Cycling Federation details on the seat stays."






I invite you to contribute by sending in photographs of your Cinelli bike, illustrations, personal stories, and articles about Cinelli bikes and components.

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A More Affordable Cinelli

I invite you to contribute by sending in photographs of your Cinelli bike, illustrations, personal stories, and articles about Cinelli bikes and components.

Thanks for stopping by.

I can be contacted at veronaman@gmail.com