Bianchi Folgore post WWII period

[valerio]

some more pictures

 

[valerio]

and some more details

 

[valerio]

another detail of the cambio corsa

 

[mydadscondor]

Lovely patina!

 

[valerio]

and the brakes
soon I'll put down the list of components

 

[Jamiedyer]

Stunning! Truly a beautiful machine.
Do you ride it often or is it more kept nicely indoors on display?
I would imagine with the gearchange being so different from what we have become used to over the last 30 years or so it would maybe be best to think of it as a singlespeed with a few options , if needed


Jamie

 

[valerio]

Stunning! Truly a beautiful machine.
Do you ride it often or is it more kept nicely indoors on display?
I would imagine with the gearchange being so different from what we have become used to over the last 30 years or so it would maybe be best to think of it as a singlespeed with a few options , if needed


Jamie

thank you Jamie.
I actually got it just over ten days ago. I have been searching for this beauty forever. I totally got into this model from the first time I saw it, years ago near Parma in Italy. they made it in this color and pattern only for a couple of years, the '47 and '48
During my search I missed a few Folgore because I was too late with my offers or the models weren't good enough, they were all fully redone, some done better (those I missed), some worse. I am happy for the long wait though, eventually I ended up with a preserved one, it has quite more character. It's been truly difficult to get it but now it's here.

I live in a relatively quiet area with nice roads not too busy with hills and mountains, just need to wait for a few more weeks and I'll start riding it from time to time. The gears will indeed be just an option at the beginning, maybe at some point it will become easy to change them but for now it really isn't. At the end of the gear change the chain is always too tight or too lose, I'll practice there are tricks. for the rest it rides pretty much like any steel frame bike but using the brakes.. it's like looking for troubles. maybe is the combination wood with the brake shoes I don't know yet
Also if I get lucky enough to get in the L'Eroica poll I'll do the short track and not the longest like last year.

I intend to use the bike for the comfortable rides to keep making her aging in the best way possible as she's been doing during the last 67 years

 

[valerio]

for some it might be interesting to know what the bike is equipped with
this list can be good also for comparison with models of the same period
stem AMBROSIO
handlebars AMBROSIO CHAMPION
saddle AQUILA
seatpost 25mm
brakes UNIVERSAL 361666
brake levers UNIVERSAL 361666
gear shifter system CAMPAGNOLO CAMBIO CORSA
crankset BIANCHI
rims D'ALESSANDRO
hubs CAMPAGNOLO
quick release CAMPAGNOLO
pedals BIANCHI
tubulars CLEMENT ELVEZIA

 

[valerio]

in this picture the evolution of the cambio corsa, used approximately between 1941 till 1948, into the paris roubaix which had a short history having been used only for a couple of years before the gran sport became a standard
The paris roubaix gear shift system was named after the competition F. Coppi won with it in 1949, it is a beautiful solution implementing in one lever both the quick release and the derailleur

 

[valerio]

some purists indicated me that the brake cables weren't properly passed according to the standard back then