So, e-bikes are the cool kids right now – quiet, fast, and smarter than most of us before our first cup of coffee. But let’s be honest: not everyone’s here for the digital drama. Batteries die, apps crash, and sometimes you just want to hop on and ride. No fuss. No firmware. Just you, the road, and a machine that doesn’t need a software update every other week.
That’s exactly why vintage bicycles are quietly rolling back into the spotlight. No screens. No nonsense. Just gears, steel, and soul.
Designed and developed during the last millennium, Pinarello ESPADA was way ahead of its time. It was the bike that Miguel Indurain used while breaking the Hour Record. One of the most iconic bikes ever produced, it is also known as “Pinarello Sword” because espada means sword in English.
A beautiful classic road bike: Eddy Merckx 10th Anniversary.
Last week, Facebook offered me an interesting group named “Vintage Carbon Nonsense and Marketplace”. It is an interesting group, dedicated to the ’80s and ’90s carbon bikes.
Carbon-fiber frames have a longer history than most people think. According to Wikipedia, the American bike producer Kestrel produced the world’s very first all-carbon bicycle frame in 1986. But before then, there were hybrid designs, like carbon fiber tubes bonded to titanium or aluminum lugs.
United States-based UCI WorldTour team US Cannondale-Garmin announced the lineup for the 2015 season. The team formed through the merger of team Garmin-Sharp (United States) and Cannondale Pro Cycling (Italy).
Colnago C35 equipped with Campagnolo Super Record gold: it is not only an artwork, but it is also a milestone in the history of cycling technology. It was produced in 1989, as a commemorative model created in celebration of Colnago’s 35th anniversary. Developed from the work with Ferrari Engineering, it was one of the first frames to be manufactured using a carbon fiber composite and was equipped out with a gold-plated Campagnolo Super Record groupset.
In the late 1980s, an American team has started to shine in the European cycling scene: the 7-Eleven Cycling Team.
The 7-Eleven team founded by Jim Ochowicz, a former U.S. Olympic cyclist, in 1981. A few high-profile cyclists including Ron Kiefel, Sean Yates (former directeur sportif of Team Sky), Andrew Hampsten (1988 Giro d’Italia winner, also King of the Mountains, with the 7-Eleven team), Davis Phinney (father of BMC Racing Team rider Taylor Phinney) rode for the American team. The team lasted 16 years (from 1990 to 1996 under the sponsorship of Motorola).
The advertisement of Greg LeMond’s 1989 Tour de France winner Bottecchia (in Italian). A beautiful and extraordinary bike. LeMond was racing for the AD Renting-W-Cup-Bottecchia team.
During the 1980s and at the beginning of the ’90s, the size of the front wheels of the time-trial bikes was 650c, unlike today’s bicycles.
Colnago Master 2013: the 30th Anniversary of Colnago’s classic bicycle Colnago Master is celebrated with a re-release of the classic frame. Originally designed 30 years ago, the Colnago Master is a truly timeless road bike, a complete work of art.
It is first produced in the mid-1980s to be one of the world’s best road racing bikes. With its brilliant ride quality, astonishing good looks, and Italian craftsmanship, it is still relevant today. Colnago Master 30th edition is a summation of the craft and passion of the Italian marque.
Verona is a beautiful city in Northern Italy, it is the city of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”. Verona is also home to Chesini bikes.