Edward Bianchi 1948

Description

Complete bicycle dating from 1948 , built in the racing department of Bianchi . It mounts Campagnolo's patented "Tipo Corsa" two-lever gearbox . A relatively agile but dangerous system because it forced the rider to turn back , known in England as " the suicide shifter." The longer lever acted as a quick wheel release, while the other directly controlled a derailleur. When shifting, the rider had to open the quick release, then act on the second lever by directing the chain to the desired sprocket to then actually change gear by pedaling backwards. When the operation was complete, the release was closed again: the chain was automatically brought to the correct tension. In fact, when changing from a smaller to a larger sprocket, it was the same movement of pedaling backward that "pulled" the wheel forward. Otherwise, the wheel itself ran backward in the dropouts due to the force of inertia. The system therefore worked best only when the gear change occurred with the bike in motion. The limitations of this system was, again, the artificiality of the whole thing, with the inconvenience of backward pedaling. However, it allowed the use of 4 sprockets with a range of 6 teeth between the smallest and largest. Typically, professionals used 49, 50 or 51 crowns and 15-, 17-, 19- and 21-tooth freewheels. All components mounted on this vehicle date from the period, such as the hubs, Nisi rims , except for the walking handlebars , fitted at a later period .