Turin started as a Chicago Co-Op bicycle store, founded by Lee Katz,
At one time Turin had 2 shops in Chicago, one was close to the loop (my dad and I visited that one in the early 1970's.) I sat next to Lee Katz, the Turin founder, about 4 years ago at a CR dinner event in Carlsbad, California at a Mexican restaurant.
In the 70's, I think that Turin was one of THE TOP high-end shops in Chicago. I believe that Turin offered Schwinn, Raleigh, Colnago, and a store-brand called "Turin". The Turin brand was made by Mercier of france, according to Katz, and was sold by other bike shops in Illinois (such as Champaign Cycle in my hometown of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, my sister owned one of those bikes.) The low-end models resembled Peugeot's and there were no high-end models, I believe.
The symbol of the Turin shop (and the bicycle head badge) was Pablo Picasso's famous horse sculpture that was a gift to the city and sits outside of city hall (immortalized in the final scene of the "Blues Brothers" movie, where the swat team storms city hall.)
http://www.chicagoarchitecture.info/
Unlike the actual sculpture, shop badge was rendered in psychedelic colors ~ orange, gold, yellow, blue, etc. Lee Katz is now founder and proprietor of Lake Cycling Shoes
You might contact him for more information on the early days of the Turin bicycle store in Chicago.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA