1955 Legnano
 

I know we still have a few Legnano enthusiasts on C&V so I wanted to post some pictures of my 1955 Legnano won recently on Ebay. The seller's pictures were not very good and it was obvious the bike was in poor condition. Since he was local I decided to bid on it and ended up top bidder. Seller even delivered the Legnano to me, making the 90 mile drive! :thumb:

Surprisingly this old warrior has survived 55 years with all of its original components excluding saddle and tires. What really amazed me was despite the cosmetic issues there wasn't a single ding or dent to be found. I'm assuming this Legnano spent many years in storage.

Anyway, here are the pics.



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It's a diamond in the rough for sure, but a diamond nonetheless. Should make an awesome project!

Nice pick up. A worthy project for sure.

Oh, you won that! I was all set to start a bidding war and then I got stuck away from my computer and missed out. I've been kicking myself since. I even made arrangements for my brother to pick it up for me if I won. Seller was in Simi Valley, CA, right? Did you see the similar minty Legnano that sold for $3K the week before? Should be a fun project!

Looks like enough left for a "conservation rebuild", personally I would not want to see that one re-finished. Amazing how many original parts are left.

What a sweetheart.

Can't wait to see it completed. Looks quite delightful!

Very nice! I have a 1954 Tipo Roma which is original except for a replacement fork. However most of the other components appear to be the same as this - I'll take a closer look at your pics tonight and look for any differences. I may trouble you at some point for closeups of your fork so I can keep my eyes open for an original replacement.

I've got a vintage Legnano Super Sport from the early 1960's with similar components but thankfully not as much rust on the frame. I paid a bit less for it though. Still waiting to restore it but time is scarce. Here is a link to the Catch of the Day thread I posted about it.

Such a pretty bike!

Any idea which way you're going with it yet?

Neat. Love the seat post bolt design. My buddy has one.

What a great find. Perhaps it's a "Tipo Roma" model? Should clean-up very nicely. I have always admired the Legnano paint scheme as it simply reeks of 50's style with a proud racing history. I can only imagine the bike when it was new and how the original owner would have been so proud of his new bike. He would feel like Gino Bartali on his new bike.

I bet you have many years of proud ownership.

Thanks for the photos,

Gary.

Another nice one to add to the collection , nice / rare open C skewers too.

Very nice! Yeah, I think that's a good clean it up, wax the heck out of it and leave it original candidate!

Nice. It should clean up nice.

What kind of rims? Fiamme? Nisi? Ambrosio?

Stem and bars? Brakes?

Here's a good example of a "restored" Legnano gone wrong:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1960s-legnano-ca...item1c1885f449

Looks like the brake bridge was swapped at some point, dropped for sidepulls, and an interesting mod to the BB shell. The less said about the repaint the better.

Can;t say about the rims, stem or bars, but those brakes look like they are probably Universal 51s. The lengths are certainly right, and it looks like the Universal side-pull quick-release mechanism, but it is not 100% certain from the pics.

Thanks for all the great posts. Good to hear from everyone. :)

Answering some questions...

It is a Tipo Roma
Brakes are Universal Extra, also marked Brev. 453949
Pedals, stem, handlebars are marked 'Legnano'
Rims are Ambrosio

My plans for this Legnano don't extend beyond a good cleaning and an original saddle plus brake cables. Existing paint and chrome will remain. Rims are heavily oxidized but spokes and three piece Campy hubs are in good condition.

Here are a few more pics.

Be sure to check out Ebay listing http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT


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On the underside of the stem, is there a Cinelli mark? On the bar ends, is there a number? It is not unprecedented for Cinelli to act as an OEM.

Love the Ambrosio rims - rare to see. Very interesting to see that decal shape in 1955. I have a pair of Ambrosio rims from I think 1948 with an oval shape and no serrations on the sides of the rims.

I also saw Alessandro's Legnano, except I can't get his Photobucket link to work. I'd like to take a close look at it.