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Bike at Bedtime: An Italian beauty from 1949, the Frejus Campionissimo

Currently Bike of the Month at the Upcycle bike cafe in the northern Italian city

Forget for a moment, if you can, the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Here’s a bike we spotted in Milan last week that dates from three years before Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne, and when the Italian Republic was celebrating its first birthday.

Yup, we are talking about 1949, and what we have here is a bike from the Italian brand Frejus and moreover one equipped with one of the earliest Campagnolo rear mechs – four gears, switched not by downtube shifters, which would come much later, but by levers located to the right of and behind the saddle.

It’s the current Bici del Mese – Bike of the Month – at the wonderful Upcycle bike café in the east of the city, close to the Politecnico, the city’s science and technology focused university.

Should you find yourself in Milan, we’d thoroughly recommend paying a visit – it’s a couple of stops on the Metropolitana from the central station, and not that much further from the heart of the city.

Safe to say, this bike would pass the scrutineers at L’Eroica, the vintage bike festival founded in Tuscany but which now has editions worldwide.

The Frejus brand, by the way, was acquired by Legnano during the 1930s – and pre-war, the great Gino Bartali rode their bikes.

Here’s the tech spec:

Frejus Campionissimo (1949) from the Collezione Ciclico (Instagram link here)
Frame entirely nickel-plated, chrome forks.
Drivetrain – Campagnolo Corsa.
Handlebars and stem – Ambrosio Champion.
Brakes – Universal model 50.
Other components – all made for Frejus.

Enjoy.

Frejus 02

 

Frejus 03
Frejus 04
Frejus 05
Frejus 06

 

Frejus 07
Frejus 08
Frejus 09
Frejus 10

 

 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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5 comments

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geomannie 531 | 1 year ago
1 like

Mudguards! Proper bike 😉

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OldRidgeback | 1 year ago
0 likes

That's a lovely bike but the gear system is a bit odd. I can see why the derailleur proved more popuar.

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IanMSpencer replied to OldRidgeback | 1 year ago
2 likes

This was an upgrade on hoping off and turning your wheel round though  1

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ktache | 1 year ago
0 likes

Nice bike at bedtime.

I had to look up how the gearchange worked.

YouTube.

The lever moves the chain and the wheel moves to maintain tension.

Avatar
ktache | 1 year ago
1 like

First double post for a while...

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