My “H. Hagiwara” Erba was made sometime in the late 70s/early 80s as a purpose built racing bike. Nothing says this better than the hanger under the top tube for the race number card.

But who was Mr. H. Hagiwara, and what is an “Erba”? I am still working on the former, but on the latter I think the better question is: Where is Erba?

There were many clues on the frame/fork.The components were either Campagnolo Record or Super Record, due to the shadow of a Campagnolo derailleur clamp on the down tube, the “Erba” pantographed Campagnolo down tube shifters and Cenilli R1 stem. Then there was the use of Italian on all the decals. When I worked through the online translations I came up with:

Cicli corsa erba giappone – Erba racing cycles Japan
Cicli corsa - racing cycles
Erba corsa – Erba race
Eloaborated da erba Hagiwara Giappone – Erba made by Hagiwara Japan

But then there was one clue that had always been staring me in the face, the word “Erba”.

One day when I had run out of leads and sources I did a final thing, I Googled “Erba” and got a hit.

Erba exists, it is a town in the foothills of the Lombardy Alps, in the Lake Cuomo region, and there is a bike race held near Erba, the Giro di Lombardia or Il Lombardi the “Classic of the Falling Leaves”. This bike race originated in 1905 and has the fewest interruptions of any bike race. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycling, and one of the last events on the UCI World Tour calendar. Fausto Coppi won this race 5 times and its race winners reads like a list of the legends of cycle racing. Leaving Erba you can ride to the spiritual center of bike racing the Chapel of Madonna del Ghisallo, dedicated to Bike Racers and then climb to the summit where there is a new Museum dedicated to Bike Racing. To me there are too many co-incidences, Mr. H. Hagiwara built a race bike styled after the great Italian race bikes, with Italian components, Italian language decals whose name is a city in the foothills of the Lombardy Alps roadway to the Chapel of Madonna del Ghisallo. Mr. H. Hagiwara would have known all this when he built this race bike.

So here is my final homage to this bike, the double lucky number 13, for all the enjoyment of this journey, and after spinal surgery in the next two weeks, a grail ride on this bike awaits in three years when I turn 70. To climb to the summit past the Chapel of Madonna del Ghisallo as the Giro di Lombardia does each year, perhaps with a grandchild or two.

Someday.....

You'll post a full ride report, surely. I also will celebrate 70 in three years. I hadn't thought about a grail ride. Until now.

That's a great story. Hopefully, we find out who Mr. Hag is.

I'd also like to find out who Fabio Barecci is as well, but it has been a fruitless search.

My guess is there are more obscure frame builders out there than we suspect.

Pretty bike by-the -way!

I'm going to put a number boss on my next few frames. I was thinking about just using a water bottle boss

huh, last time I looked, I found a number plate holder that would work for a top tube. Now I only see the seat post number holders

So what happened to them?

Great story, can't wait to hear the next chapter.

Thanks all, the pantographed Campagnolo down tube shifters are saved in my Erba box. I had hoped to attend the California Eroica this year, but with a surgery date of mid-march there was no way I could attend. I was going to display the down tube shifters on a stand as one of the three original parts, pantographed big chain ring and stem, that were later found which were originally on this frame. I had hoped to show this bike and see if anyone knew of Mr. H. Hagiwara or could shed any light on history/back ground, but now hope to get back on a stationary trainer maybe by the 1st week of April.

I do plan to attend the California Eroica next year and bring this bike with me. If only bikes could talk....

From Classic Rendezvous: "Associated with the Uchikanda bicycle shop, established in 1918 and closed in 2007. Alps was well respected for made-to-order touring or randonneur bicycles and specialized in touring bicycles & equipment.
Frames were built Mr. Hiroshi Hagiwara."

Perhaps this is the one?

Can you take better pictures of the seat cluster? That's a really neat bike.

Unterhausen, the progress of finding and restoring this $25.00 frame and fork has been one of several posts, from beginning they include:

Help any information on "Erba" bicycle signed by "H. Hagiwara"?
Help, Any information on this H. Hagiwara Frame/Fork?(1 2 3)
Restoration: H. Hagiwara "Erba" getting ready for the painter/decals.
"H. Hagiwara" Erba-back from the paint shop(.1 2)
H. Hagiwara-"erba", the restoration is done.
“H. Hagiwara”-Erba-final changes.

There are many pictures in these posts of the found frame/fork, through several stages of restoration and component selection to this final addition of a mock race number card. The only last last thing I might do is to have a pair of period correct (mid-70s) vintage Mavic tubular rims and SunShine Pro-Am hubs built with the selection of a 23mm tubular tire, which would have been the choice of a racer during this period. Hope this helps, if you can't find the picture you would like to see I can always take a close up of the seat cluster, just let me know.

I have also wondered if Mr. Hagiwara of Alps fame could have been the builder, efforts to reach him in Japan after contacting the Japanese consolate office sadly failed.

Thanks, it's a neat frame.

Looks like he used a "divers helmet" cable stop for the number hanger. Does that seem right?

Yes, pretty sure that was what was used for the cable hanger.

This is where the color scheme for the racing card came from:

3 years & 5 months for me. 70 Grail ride with my daughter grand daughter and maybe my youngest son who is liking to ride a little. Sounds like a great idea but where? I guess we have 3 years to figure that out.

Yes, the more you share the more you receive. Hope to give all my vintage rides to a grandchild someday, or, to a deserving child that will ride them. But not quite yet.

That is a gorgeous bike. I too have idle thoughts of one day riding around the lakes, including a pilgrimage ride to the Madonna di Ghisallo Chapel.

We need a thread of " Who was this person?"

Beautiful bike Spaghetti Legs! The curved striping, was that custom, for this model/brand?

Yes, if only bikes could talk. I have a couple I would enjoy a conversation with.

And thanks I enjoy just walking into my office / man cave and seeing it on the wall rack.

That's always the hard part, finding the history, but there's a lot of collective wisdom/knowledge here on this forum. Then there are bike gatherings and shows where you can take your bike in hopes of the magic words "Oh, I had one of those...." Always ends with some new information.