Rossin by Habaneros

ROSSIN

A STAR IS BORN

MAKING IT BIG

LEADING THE PACK

GOING FOR GOLD

THE TIME THEY ARE A-CHANGIN

A NEW ERA A NEW FUTURE

ROSSIN

PIONEERING THE FUTURE: 45 YEARS OF INNOVATION IN BICYCLE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING. Rossin have always been different. From the moment when Colnago robbed the team of their champion, they went about doing things their way, to become one of the most successful and best-selling professional racing bicycle brands in the world.

They set new rules, new standards, and left others to follow. The craftsmanship and history that comes with Rossin bicycles makes it by far one of the finest Italian manufacturers and forty-five years later, their legacy is one of invention, innovation and creativity.

A STAR

“It all started in 1973, the year when a promising amateur, Gibi Baronchelli, won the Giro d’Italia baby and the amateur Tour de France...” After his success, the team manager and sports director wanted to go professional, but came up against Colnago. The bicycle manufacturing company saw its chance to upgrade and facilitated the champion’s move from his team Itla to Scic,

thus gaining sponsorship of the professional team. Bereft of its champion and on new Bianchi bikes – the previous collaboration with Colnago having come to an abrupt end – the team’s future was on stake.

But the team manager Vittorio Ghezzi and his staff took on the challenge, the first of many to come. With the typical spirit that characterizes the inhabitants of Brianza, this hilly area on the outskirts of Milan, Domenico Garbelli, the sports director, proposed they launch the gauntlet to Colnago and start designing and producing their own bikes. Garbelli knew exactly the man for the job: Mario Rossin, an expert at welding and creating frames-to-measure, previously employed by Colnago. In honor of his talent, the new company that launched on September 14, 1974 was named Rossin. The logo, bearing an R inscribed in a pentagon, celebrates its five founding fathers: Ghezzi father and son, Garbelli, Inzaghi and Rossin. In the next two decades, the newly-founded Rossin brand was to become a leader in innovation and technology, going from success to success and earning worldwide brand reputation.

Mario Rossin

MAKING IT BIG

INITIALLY, ROSSIN COMPETED IN AMATEUR RACES AND MADE A REPUTATION FOR THEMSELVES FROM THE GROUND UP. Every detail was designed, produced and assembled with great craftsmanship inside the Rossin Lab by Mario Rossin, an expert at finding the perfect angles for maximum efficiency, and Domenico Garbelli who took care of the aesthetics.

The result was custom-made unique models that from day 1 set a new standard in design and functionality. 1975 saw the first successes of Itla athletes on Rossin bikes. Perfectly balanced and made-to-measure,

the bikes were characterized by the beautiful minimalist fork and by the quality of the junctures, as well as the brilliant colors and precious finishes, something never seen before – or after. And at the end of that same year, Rossin made their first appearance of many to come at the Milan Cycle Fair and were greatly acclaimed by public and experts who declared their frames to be real gems. But Rossin bikes weren’t only beautiful. They were fast. The following season, a young Vittorio Algeri of Itla won the Italian Championship “first and second series” and the Settimana Lombarda (for amateurs) on a Rossin bike. In 1977, just two years after its establishment, Rossin signed an agreement with GBC, a professional racing team and made their debut in the professional circuit at the Laigueglia Trophy.

LEADING THE PACK 1986 Viatcheslav Ekimov broke the world indoor hour record riding Rossin bike

IN THE MID 1980s, ROSSIN WERE AT THE FOREFRONT OF ENGINEERING. They pioneered many of the innovations which characterized the decade and the following years: disc wheels, cycle computers and aerodynamic frames, among other technological advances. Their lab was a hotbed of ideas and

nurtured many new talents, like Claudio Marra, now Managing Director of FSA Europe (bicycle components). In 1980, Rossin installed the first ever cyclocomputer on the bike on which amateur Alessandro Paganessi of

Novartiplast came in third at the Settimana Ciclistica Longobarda won by the great Polish rider, Czeslang. At the Milan Fair of 1981, Rossin launched what would be later known as the Futura CX. A bike so unlike anything else out there to earn the nickname “space bike”. Its purpose was to improve aerodynamics and it saved riders at least one second every kilometer in time trials. In order to do so, the bike had ox horn-shaped handlebars, a smaller front wheel and sloped top to head tube. The groundbreaking design was first inspired by the bikes used by the East-German team in the pursuit race and perfected by Rossin for time trials: Belgians racers Nico Edmonds and Rudy Rogiers used the “space bikes” to win major amateur time trial events throughout Europe.

IN 1983, ROSSIN INVENTED AND TESTED THE Instead of having spokes, they were full and comprised two cover disc parts, each made from carbon fiber. Disc wheels were lighter, stronger, more resistant to thermal shock and more aerodynamic, improving airflow around the rear end of the bike and reducing drag to the

advantage of time trial athletes. Rejected at first by the UCI, they were later liberalized. Both the Russian and American national time trial and track teams used Rossin bikes throughout 1983. The bikes were the first models ever to be equipped with disc wheels, horned handlebars and sloped upper-tube frames.

IN 1984 FRANCESCO MOSER USED THEM TO TWICE SET THE HOUR RECORD IN MEXICO. THE ITALIAN NATIONAL CYCLING TEAM, ONE OF THE FIRST TEAMS TO USE MODERN CARBON-FIBRE DISC WHEELS, WON A GOLD MEDAL AT THE 1984 LOS ANGELES OLYMPICS, AND THEIR TIME WAS THE FASTEST EVER RECORDED FOR THE 100 KM EVENT.

E DISC WHEELS.

Well ahead of the times, Rossin was the first brand to pursue an innovative and scientific approach to cycling, but also to understand the power of designing for emotion. Rossin bikes were a work of art in which finishes and color paint/chrome/decals played a fundamental part. They sported innovative frame designs, such as the frame Prestige made with Japanese Tange steel tubes with hexagonal section

(customized by Tange for Rossin). Decked in brilliant DuPont color paints, they stood out in the midst of anonymous greys, pale blues, reds and whites favored by other bike manufacturers.

GOING FOR

OLYMPIC TEAMS CHOSE ROSSIN BIKES TO ACHIEVE THEIR BEST PERFORMANCES. The Soviet track squad raced on Rossin bikes at 1980 Moscow’s Olympic Games. And won. Four years later the American team did the same at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. At the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics, the Russian Olympic cycling team was coached by Alexander Kuznetsov. With

the USSR national team in the ‘80s/’90s, he coached many world and Olympic champions in track cycling, including Vyacheslav Ekimov, who can be seen in many historical photos riding or standing next to Rossin frames. The 1988 team rode bikes that were proudly supplied by Rossin.

Russian team Olympic Games

Hennie Kuiper - campione olimpico e del mondo su Rossin

Rossin grew in size, experience and reputation and started sponsoring international professional racing teams and supplying track bikes to national teams.

1983 (Team Aernoudt - Rossin) won the prologue of the Tour de France

In the Eighties, many great teams were riding Rossin bikes: Daf Trucks, Splendor, Jacki Aernaudt, Gis captained by Johan Van Der Velde, Murella, 7-Eleven and Hitachi with its captain Claude Criquielion, winner of a World Championship and classic races.

Gibi Baronchelli, whose destiny was still linked to the Rossin brand, came close to winning the Giro d’Italia time trial, using disc wheels and the Rossin Futura Cx. Dutchman Hennie Kuiper rode Rossin bikes to victory in the Paris-Roubaix (1983) and Milan-San Remo (1985) classics.

Hennie Kuiper on Rossin bike in 1985 Milan San Remo

Other Flemish and Dutch riders won the Belgian classics with and without cobblestones. In 1987 Franco Ballerini won his first victory amongst professionals riding a Rossin bike at the Tre Valli Varesine and amateur Russian rider Viatcheslav Ekimov broke the world indoor hour record by riding 49.672 kilometers on a Rossin bike.

THE TIME THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ THROUGHOUT THE PREVIOUS DECADE, ROSSIN HAD FIRMLY MAINTAINED THE LEADERSHIP IN TECHNOLOGY AND BUILDING METHODS. After the race towards aerodynamics, in the ‘90 it pursued a stronger interest towards materials due to the need to build lighter, more resistant frame. New materials where being tested by Rossin engineers. As the cycling industry moved to new building materials that could not be brazed with the same techniques used for steel, it required new welding methods.

Frames had been brazed from the bicycle’s invention up until the early 1990s. Mountain Bikes changed all that and welded frames substituted lugged frames. The first experimental Italian mountain bike was designed by Rossin in the early Eighties, before Cinelli’s “Rampichino”. Inspired by the new American bikes which Garbelli had seen at Los Angeles Interbike with Antonio Colombo of

Columbus tubes and later Cinelli, it had wide rims and tires, sturdy forks and triple gears. Rossin as usual were at the forefront of innovation and when they were not the first to invent, more often than not they were the first to perfect the invention.

When everyone else, following the example of American manufacturers... ...made a beeline to the Far East in searchof cheaper labor, TIG welding expertise and looser regulations, Rossin stayed in Italy and continued to invest in research and technology, becoming market leader in heat-treated ultralight aluminum frames. vious decade, Rossin had firmly maintained the leadership in technology and building methods.

Vittorio Ghezzi left and the company was transferred to Gruppo Bici, which re-launched the Rossin brand on the market with iconic models such as Ghibli. In 1993, Rossin was the bike of the new Mecair - Ballan professional team captained by Moreno Argentin. At the Giro d’Italia, Moreno won two stages, including the first at the Isle of Elba.

For 9 days, Argentin on a Rossin white bike donned the pink jersey. It took a great Miguel Indurain to take it off Moreno’s back. The same year Moreno won another stage of the Giro 1993 and said thanks to Rossin and its world-beating technology. Rossin was also the brand of choice of the Spanish team Artiach, the American Spago, the French Festina Watches. Rossin bikes were successful at the French, Belgian and Italian classics: Paris Roubaix, Liegi - Bastogne – Liegi and Milano-Sanremo.

1993, Moreno Argentin, Giro d’Italia

A NEW ERA

THE NEW MILLENNIUM WAS SALUTED BY A NEW GENERATION OF FRAMES. Combinations of steel and aluminum, aluminum and carbon and all-carbon. Rossin experimented new materials and tested the first ever carbon fibre monocoque frame. In 2000, Rossin was sponsor to the Mobilvetta racing team. One of its squad, Ivan Quaranta, surprised the world by sprinting home to win the 5 th stage of the 2001 Giro d’Italia in front of a bewildered Mario Cipollini. 26

Thanks to his riding characteristics, Quaranta, a sprinter and pistard, was the ideal athlete for testing Rossin’s new frames’ resistance to traction. Rossin’s ongoing research and tests into the behavior of frames under duress helped Italian companies gain precious knowledge, which they employed in the creation of the best frames in terms of design and materials.

Throughout the 2000s the new management by Gruppo Bici leveraged the priceless expertise and knowledge gained from three decades of competitive racing to revive legendary frames and create new models that combined the racing heritage with new technical solutions, both in terms of materials and of aerodynamics. The times are ready for Rossin to take on a new challenge and amaze the world once more with a new generation of bikes that will open the way to the future.

Ivan Quaranta

Photo credits p. 5

http://ciclicorsaclassico.com/gallery/rossin-1975/ http://ciclicorsaclassico.com/rossin/rossin-pursuit/

p. 9

http://ciclicorsaclassico.com/gallery/rossin-futura-cx/

p. 11

http://www.vintageluxurybicycles.com/ http://ciclicorsaclassico.com/

p. 15

http://ciclicorsaclassico.com/gallery/rossin-futura-cx/ http://ciclicorsaclassico.com/gallery/rossin-pursuit-frame-restoration/

p. 23

http://2velo.com/rossin-columbus-matrix-frame/rossin-columbus-matrix-frame-2velo-5/ https://www.steel-vintage.com/rossin-marathon-classic-mtb-detail/

p. 24

http://www.milanofixed.com/bassin/

p. 27

http://ciclicorsaclassico.com/gallery/rossin-futura-cx/ http://ciclicorsaclassico.com/gallery/rossi-record-1980/