Marty asked:
> Amazing stuff on that website, thanks for the link.
> When viewing the 5th picture in the gallery
> (bluish bike with 'MAINO' card) the bike has
> what looks like a pump behind the seattube,
> Can anyone tell me what it is? I don't think its a
> pump as there is one on the downtube.
> Also the shift mechanism (if you could call
> it that) on the front chainring is interesting,
> anyone know details of that?
> Obviously this bike goes back way before anything
> I might have seen.
The "doohickey" behind the seat is a "gonfleur" a primitive example of a CO2 cartridge. The shift mechanism is a Vittoria Margherita gear system. The one shown in the picture is the second generation one with the chainstay clappers. If you rotate the knob end of the long lever (that works as a chain tensioner) near the seat tube you can adjust the two clappers in such way that you can move the chain either right or left as needed to shift the gears. The gear shifting takes place while pedalling backwards. The chain tension lever itself pivots around a fixation on the front part of the chainstay. At the bottom is the jockey wheel, which was one of the Vittoria patents; at the top, the lever fits in a ratchet cage that is affixed between the seat and down tubes. By pushing outwards on this lever, you can disengage the ratchet and loosen the tension on the chain permitting the chain to switch cogs in the back. Once the desired gear is engaged, you simply pull the lever backwards sufficiently tight in the ratchet guide. The gear system works remarkably well. Bartali rode to his first Tour de France win in 1938 using just such a system.
The bike shown would be from either the late 30's or early 40's. Ken Denny was recently the winning bidder on a similarily equipped Legnano offered on Italian Ebay. Some of you may recall that I brought a 1936 Frejus to 'Le Cirque du Cyclisme' in May of this year with a first generation Vittoria gear system without the chainstay clappers. In Italy, bikes with Vittoria Margherita gears are quite sought after by collectors.
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Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ