"Created by an Italian engineer named Cristoforo Gazzoni in 1950 at a time when every bike was made of lugged steel, he had to think outside the box. He knew what he wanted, and to get aerodynamic shapes, Gazzoni carved lightweight balsa wood cowls that fit over almost every tube on the bike, as well as the bar, stem & cranks. Then he wrapped his creation like a mummy in fabric tape to smooth airflow over the complete bike."
"The steel cottered cranks not only got aero wood arms, but also a pair of aerodynamic covers that sandwiched the chainring. For the wheels, they stuck with low-profile steel tubular rims and 36 spokes, but Gazzoni stretched canvas covers over top, with sewn-in zippers to access their valves. Even the bar and stem got the balsa wood aero treatment. And when he wrapped it all in fabric tape, Gazzoni effectively created the world's first aerodynamic 1-piece integrated cockpit"
The Ghisallo Cycling Museum contains hundreds of bicycles spanning the earliest designs to modern machines, including pioneering technological examples. Fiorenzo Magni founded the museum in 2006; Magni earned the Lion of Flanders nickname after consecutive 1949–1951 Ronde van Vlaanderen wins in cold, wet conditions. A 1950 aero prototype by engineer Cristoforo Gazzoni demonstrates early aerodynamic thinking: balsa wood cowls covered nearly every tube, plus bar, stem, and cranks, with fabric tape smoothing airflow. The design included aero-covered cottered cranks, canvas-covered wheels with zippers for valve access, and effectively created a one-piece integrated aerodynamic cockpit decades before similar modern designs.
Read at Bikerumor
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]