The use of road drop-outs on the "Fausto Coppi" track bike matches pictures of the pursuit bike he used during 1949. I have not yet checked to see if the "F C" on the head lug is visible in any of the magazines.
Aldo Ross Middletown, Ohio, USA
----- Original Message Follows -----
From: Jan Heine <heine94@earthlink.net>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Coppi bike - is it real?
Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 08:30:15 -0800
> Sifting through the various Coppi bikes - the one in the
> Milan Technological Museum appears to be too small for
> the Campionissimo, the one at the Madonna del Ghisallo
> has a later Simplex derailleur - I wonder about Alex
> Clarke's machine, visible at
>
> http://www.vintagevelos.com/
>
> Are those card symbols really evidence for a Coppi
> provenance? Or were they used on a) top-of-the-line bikes
> for sale or b) on all team bikes at the time? What about
> the "FC" in the lugs? A true sign of a "Fausto" bike, or
> just a "commemorative" series?
>
> The bike does appear to be Coppi's size, and the thinned
> BB shell appears to indicate a top-of-the-line Bianchi of
> the time. I have not yet asked Alex about the history to
> see whether there is more to its provenance...
>
> Opinions appreciated.
> --
> Jan Heine
> Editor
> Bicycle Quarterly
> 140 Lakeside Ave #C
> Seattle WA 98122
> http://www.bikequarterly.com