Torpado Corsa Classic Road Bicycle 1950s

Fouded in 1895, Torpado is one of the oldest bicycle makers in the world. The name of this Italian brand derives from the name of it's founder Carlo Torresini and the city of Padua. Apart of bicycle production Torpado is also famous for their motorcycles. Clearly obsessed with 2 wheeled transport, the family owned company went through many iterations after the golden era of cycling in the 1960s. They were the second largest manufacturers of bicycles in Italy before being acquired in the 1980s which finally saw their frames reach abroad.

Our Torpado stems from later 1950s and it sports light blue colour which wasn't a random choice. It is called "celeste", but unlike the green one known from Bianchi it is rather more blue and nearer to the original meaning "sky blue". Torpado has a reputation of beautifully crafted bicycles with fine details and this one illustrates it well. The chromed lugs with large cutouts or the precisely shaped oil ports for the headset and the bottom bracket are just some to mention. It is equipped with Campagnolo Gran Sport shifting, Universal Extra brakes, Nisi rims, Sheffield pedals, Iris chain and a beautiful Cinelli cockpit, but it features even more special and exotic parts. The crank arms for a start are from Torpado and the Ideale Type Record 57 racing saddle is highly sought after. Superior for example to Brooks Team Professional saddles of that era, it is lighter thanks to the under-construction of light duraluminium alloy. This superbe saddle is then clamped by one of the rarest seatposts out there. This narrow Campagnolo Record seatpost has the rails just 20mm apart and was produced for a brief period between 1958 and 1961.
A bicycle which certainly is an enrichment of any classic bicycle collection.