Cinelli

Cinelli is an Italian bicycle manufacturing company based in Milan, Italy, producing mostly road bicycles and components. Cinelli has a reputation for quality in design and production similar to Italy's other famous bicycle marques.

File:Cinelli Unica.jpg

Cinelli Unica

File:Cinelli Mecano.jpg

Cinelli Mecano

File:Cinelli Aliante.jpg

Cinelli Aliante

History

1948, a good professional racer with 15 years pedalling experience in the legs and the geniality in mechanics, decides to make use of his brilliant intuitions developed during the many miles run on every type of road surface, it’s Cino Cinelli.

Some may remember him for his cycling career, many for his great gifts given to cycling, the modern handlebar, the first saddle with a plastic frame, the first foot clips, the first quick release pedals.

30 years later, in 1978, Cino handed the company over to a young entrepreneur in the steel tube industry with the bicycle at heart: Antonio Colombo.

His interpretation is different, perhaps more visionary, the eye sees beyond the present. So the company is transformed and the inventions of the “design made in Cinelli” begin to get known all over the world. The bicycle changes, or better, the vision of the bike changes. The bike is seen as total project. Laser is born, the lugs are abandoned and Tig welding is introduced in the frame. Furthermore it is the only Italian bicycle to win a Compasso d'Oro (1991) besides more than 28 gold medals in various Olympic games and World Championships.

Competition is always in the Cinelli’s DNA. Its handlebars are chosen by Champions such as Lemond, Fignon, Hinault and Chiappucci, without forgetting Lance Armstrong and Mario Cipollini and also Di Luca, Freire and Simoni.

Cinelli’s Rampichino (1985) introduce MTB in Italy, Cork Ribbon (1987) reinvents the bicycle ribbon, Spinaci extensions (1996) are used by over 800000 cyclists, Bootleg (2000) challenges the rules and reinvents the concept of street cycling, Ram (2002) revolutions the handlebars.

These are the roots of Cinelli, this is its present: today Cinelli is mentioned in the Dictionary of Italian Design (Rizzoli, 1999), in the ADI Design Index (2000-2001), and the Corriere della Sera newspaper calls it a cult object in the USA like Ferrari, Vespa, Lavazza or Fornasetti (9th January 1999).

Since 1997 Cinelli is a division of Gruppo SpA and together with Colombus forms a world recognised production pole in the top level cycling industry.

Gruppo’s factory is based in Caleppio di Settala, 10km east of Milan. The new 18.000 m2 complex includes sales and accounts offices, products development, engineering, production and warehouse. Source

Innovative products

• Binda toe-straps (1951)

• Unicanitor saddle (1962) The first plastic-bodied saddle.

• First aluminium racing handlebar (1963)

• M71 Pedal (1971) The first quick release clipless pedal.

• Laser (1980) Track pursuit and time trial model which pioneered a new aerodynamic aesthetic and TiG welding in bicycle frames.

• Rampichino (1985) The first mountain bike made in Italy

• Cork Ribbon (1987) More comfortable handlebar tape

External links

• The Cinelli corporation