Italian Gentleman's Bicycles - Umberto Dei?

[gabbard]

I just returned from Italy, and at the hotel where I was staying, there was an exhibit of old (1930 - 1980) town bicycles. Pisa is full of people commuting on what we would call cruisers, swept bars, fenders, integrated locks, etc., but I thought that some of you might like these. I've put a few pictures here, and more in the image gallery.

The brands were Umbeto Dei and Taurus. I went to the guy's shop who had done the restoration, and attempted to talk to him about them. I have about 8 Italian verbs at my disposal, and maybe 100 words total, so it was hard to ask him much, or understand his answers. However, he either raced or worked for several pro teams, and at some point did something with Colnago related to paint, either designing paint schemes or doing the painting, because he showed me a bunch of tubes that had been painted.

Steve

[Kevan]

casual biking days there.

(The ties.)

[BURCH]

Cool, thanks for sharing. Do you know what is the story with the necktie on the bike?

[gabbard]

I asked about ties, and given the language barrier, here is what I came up with: Since this was kind of an art display, the owner of the hotel and the owner of the bikes thought it would give a feel of bikes as elegant and something different. At least that is what I understood.

Also, my guess is that when these bikes were being ridden (1930's on) they were men's bikes (since there is no step-thru for a woman wearing a skirt), used to get to work, and you probably wore a tie.

Funny, I think of Boulder as a "bike" place, but it is very American in that regard - most people are recreating on expensive bikes (nothing wrong with that) but at least in Pisa, which is a college town, I saw more people of all ages using bikes for transportation every day than I do during bike to work day here in town. It gives the town a nice feel, but sure makes it interesting to drive a car in. It all seems to work out.

Steve

[weisan]

You know what I like the most about these bikes? The nice "safety guard" grill on the rear fender...if I had those on the front when I accidentally poke my hand and fingers into the spokes a couple of weeks ago, I won't have to deal with two botches of scar tissue on the pretty cheek I got. Lucky me, the wife don't mind. :D