That is a very cool and unusual bike...?
<<?Apart from the round fork blades which are most commonly seen on track bikes, you should also observe the shape of the chainstays which are very tall and leaf-like in their thickness. They look specially shaped to give the best power transfer along the chainstay. >>
And these are very unusual chain stays.
http://images4.fotoalbum.virgilio.it/
?I am not sure if it's a distortion in the photo, but they look bigger than a regular stay, bigger than possible through shaping (squeezing...)?
Thanks for showing us that...
Dale
Dale Brown
Greensboro, North Carolina USA
-----Original Message----- From: Steven Maasland <themaaslands@comcast.net> To: CR <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Thu, Jun 25, 2009 7:42 pm Subject: [CR] 59 cm C/C Bike with Round Fork BLades for sale
All this talk of round fork blades falls in perfectly with the bike that I would like to sell.
I have a bike that an Italian friend bought and shipped to me, it is made by a Florentine builder by the name of Cozzi. I have been looking around for the last while trying to get some information on the builder and have come across the following information
Mario Cozzi (also known by the name Ezio Cozzi) was a pro in the 20's and 30's. He wasn't overly successful in road racing but was very good on the track, where he won numerous Regional Tuscany titles. In 1927 he also won the Italian national kilo title. In the thirties he ran into political problems with the fascists and was basically excluded from most races in Italy because of his stance against racing for the fascist cycling association. He therefore concentrated on racing abroad, mostly in Switzerland and France. Once when on his way to a race in the Parc des Princes in Paris, his bike was "stolen" from the train (more likely abducted by the fascist functionaries). This encouraged him to leave Italy. He went to Chicago where he worked as a foreman for a yet unidentified bike factory (perhaps Schwinn). After the end of the war and with the fascists removed, he returned to Florence where he opened up a bike shop which became a meeting point for the local riders. He built frames and worked as mechanic. He specialized in track frames, but did also build some road bikes. He also built quite a few track bikes for Legnano pro team riders, as well as track bikes sold by Legnano dealers with Legnano decals. His family also helped out with the shop and the shop lasted at least 2 generations. If I have understood correctly, Mario's son married the daughter of Bittini, another bike shop owner/mechanic who was also known as the saddle master of Florence. Bittini would customize Brooks and other saddles for all the pros (the other big saddle maker was Ottusi in Milan) including for Merckx.
As far as the bike that I am offering, you can see photos of the bike here:
http://fotoalbum.virgilio.it/
The frame appears to be very well-built and you can definitely see the track bike building experience of the designer/builder. Apart from the round fork blades which are most commonly seen on track bikes, you should also observe the shape of the chainstays which are very tall and leaf-like in their thickness. They look specially shaped to give the best power transfer along the chainstay. The lugs all have nicely finished windows and the BB shell has many cut-outs that make it look like a mid 70's frame. There are long rear dropouts. The chrome and paint are good and in my opinion do not need to be touched. There is a chainhanger on the seatstay.
The price I am asking is $700 plus $65 for shipping. I would prefer to sell locally so I don't need to pack the bike up. So I will give preference to pick-ups over people requiring shipping.
An enterprising buyer could likely sell off some of the parts like the derailleurs, brake calipers and BB and replace them with other Campagnolo parts and end up getting a super cool bike for considerably less money.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ
USA