.
"This is the bike that belonged to Firoenzo Magni on
which he won the 1955 Giro, as we have verified all
the codes and details on it."
"Has been found all messed up, but we brought it back
to life ready to win another Giro!"
"Yes, the bike has the bar end shifters, as Magni
loved those. Yep, in the back we have an old freewheel,
and back then nothing bigger than a 25 was available.
We also put new cotton bar tape on, and if you see the
bulge, Fiorenzo used to put some sort of foamy rubber
underneath for extra comfort.. He probably was the
first one to do that."
Then the interviewer asks Masi, if it is true that
Magni almost went to tears when he saw the bike.
"Oh yes it's true! He almost went to tears, because
that bike brought him back to his days when he won
the Giro, as you can see him in the photo that
portrays him on the Trento-San Pellegrino stage."
"How did you bring it back to life?"
"Man, we went through hell, mostly the guy that
now owns it. He had to look for Mafac levers, that
are no longer available, even in France. The other
parts were scored here and there or simply removed
cleaned, polished, etc, like the hubs."
2 comments:
I hadn't considered it before reading your post, but it is neater to think about a faithfully restored machine being presented to an old champion and seeing him touched to tears, than it would be to go to Europe and tour some NFL-style Hall of Fame to view "the actual cycle ridden by Eddie Mercks when he won his third TdF."
Hello! I also have a Fuchs and I was wondering how you were able to get information on that bike by the codes and details of the bike. I got mine at a yard sale and was told that it was made in 1959, but I want to know more about it. You can find me at the Facebook group called "Fuchs Bicycles" -- thanks!
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