1850-2003
History of Innovation

In Italian Il Vecchio is an endearing title loosely translating to “the old wise one”. This bestowment holds certain esteem with us; although seemingly simple to understand, the richness of its full meaning requires something only a long apprenticeship or total cultural immersion will truly define. We’re old, but in our craft, longevity is attached with the irreplaceable gift of experience. We’re proud of the successes achieved throughout our rather lengthy postgraduate work on what a bicycle should be. Such are the sweet lessons gained on the roads and trails our journey has carried us over.

In 1885, outside of Milano, a young visionary named Edoardo Bianchi set up a tiny machine shop and constructed the first creation bearing his name. Other notable achievements that year were the completion of the Washington Monument, George Eastman’s introduction of film on a roll, the presentation of the Statue of Liberty by France to the US, and Ottmar Mergenthaler’s invention of the Linotype machine. Although seemingly dwarfed in historic comparison, cycling historians would unanimously agree Edoardo’s legacy of innovation, the revered Celeste-colored bikes of the great champions, environmental harmony, artistic inspiration and the happiness brought to those who have ridden a Bianchi deserve equal footing with its birthday brethren.

In a world that easily buckles before the seduction of youth, we’d like to point out the subtle luxury that time hones through endless refinement. Look at the basic outline of bicycle frames…not much difference in their simple elegance is there? Two diamonds joined to form the most efficient human-powered machine on planet earth. However, let’s assume a purchase is based on more than gazing at this collection of tubes and hoops and you’ll wisely pilot various marques…how much discernable difference will there be? If your comparison includes a Bianchi, the questions your body asks and answers will be subtle, yet speak loud enough to point the Queen of Bicycles’ front wheel toward its new home. There isn’t a guarded formula or secret sauce we use to make our bicycles, but there is an inherent intuition that passes from the well-worn lesson book down through the artisans who design and build Bianchis.

As trite as our suggestion sounds, we urge you to take a spin around your local bicycle shop’s roads to soak in what certainly cannot be verbalized but only commuted from the road or trail, through our frame and deep into yours. Then you’ll know why age isn’t a liability but rather a learned path to possibility.