[CR]Fiorelli

Lewis asked whether the Fiorelli headset would be appropriate for his Cinelli. The answer is a resolute no. Fiorelli headsets were only fitted to Fiorelli bikes and were likely only available in a very limited way as aftermarket items for sale through Fiorelli dealers. So they would never have been original, nor likely period aftermarket items for a Cinelli. As far as quality goes, on the other hand, there is however nothing wrong with using them.
>From Lou Deeter's invaluable buyer's guide, you can read: FIORELLI: http://www.retecivica.novi-ligure.al.it/fiorelli.html (information in Italian only) previously located in Novi Ligure (AL) Italy. Sponsored pro teams in the 50\u2019s and 60\u2019s which included Kubler. Koblet, Robic and Motta. Fausto Coppi branded bicycles were produced by Fiorelli during his last years as a pro as well as following the death of Coppi. In the 90\u2019s, when the owners decided to retire, the rights to the Coppi name were transferred to the Masciaghi brothers. Factory was founded in 1932 in Novi Ligure in northern Italy.

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Fiorelli was a full line bicycle builder and most certainly does not deserve the bad reputation it often has here in the US. Much of the blame for the bad reputation should be placed upon the importer who specced the bikes the way they did. In Italy they are not considered high art, but were well-respected.

As for Joe's comment about other Italian builders whose reputations were heavily tarnished by poor quality, I can comment on the Chiorda brand. Chiorda was a mass merchandiser of bikes. They were built just outside of Rome, far from the Cycling hotbeds of Italy. They made honest bikes with no pretensions of "mojo". They were bought out by Emilio Bozzi of Legnano fame and then ultimately by Bianchi.. They did not make any of their own high end bikes, they farmed production out to others. They did sponsor a pro team for many years and won the Tour, Giro, World Cahmpionships and many other important races with the Salavarani team. I have one of the 60's Salvarani team bikes myself and when you look carefully enough, you can see that the Chiorda decals are simply applied on top of De Rosa decals. Cristiano De Rosa has also confirmed the provenance of the bike. Another Chiorda-labeled Salavarani team bike is in the hands of Takao Noda in Japan. In his case, the bike was built by Marnati in Milan (who also confirmed the provenance). A couple of the former team mechanics have told me that bikes were built by at least 10 different frame-builders that they remember, perhaps many more. Within reason the riders were able to choose their framebuilder of choice. I believe that Bozzi bought out Chiorda and Frejus because of the relative cheap purchase price combined with their strong regional bases in Piedmont and Lazio.

Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ