Today on my commute to work I saw what looked at first like a gaspipe bike, with nothing special about it, locked to a street rack. But the name caught my eye: Maino. There was a decal "Hand made in Italy." Some of the parts were obviously not original, but there was a Pivo stem and a cottered crankset. The rear derailleur was a Shimano Eagle. I had seen a Pivo stem before on a 1970's Gitane, so I thought that Pivo was a French maker.
Maino was a big manufacturer of bicycles in Italy and was one of the first companies to sponsor professional riders, and they had a team as late as the 1960's. The first campionissimo, Constante Girardengo, rode for them. Like Bianchi, they also made motorcycles.
I am curious to find out more about this marque.
Mordecai Silver
NY, NY