Bianchi Tour de France Collectible Road Bike 1953

After a personally difficult time in the aftermath of his brother's death, in 1952, the Heron unfolded his wings again and soared to timeless victories. In this year, Fausto Coppi achieved his second double of winning the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in his own matchless style. And of course on a celeste coloured Bianchi machine!

In 1952-53, to celebrate the victory in the French race, Bianchi produced a top model called Bianchi Tour de France. It was a prestigious model that, however, did not stay long in the catalog of the Milanese house (it only appears in the 1953 catalog). Coppi's Victories overcame all doubts and the model and its name was changed to an even more prestigious sounding one. In 1953 Fausto won the World Championships in Lugano and Bianchi's top of the range model for the next years was accordingly named the "Campione del Mondo".

The Tour de France is a key model in the history of Bianchi but also, more generally, in the history of racing bikes. It is one of the first bikes that were built to fit the standard chainset and the first cable operated parallelogram Campagnolo derailleur, which from then on became the norm. Before the Tour de France model, most racing bikes were operated by stick-like levers and a quick release.

The main characters, which identify the Bianchi Tour de France, are:

- The adjustment screw of the rear dropouts has a 4 mm diameter. Later, for the whole production, Bianchi switched to a diameter of 3 mm.
- The shifting cables run inside sheaths, attached on the frame with clamps. In later models, the cables are bare, without sheaths.
- Campagnolo Gran Sport derailleurs and shifters. And we are happy to present a model with bar-end shifters.
- Bianchi cranks, usually 49-46 teeth models. On our bike is running a strong 50t/48t combination
- Hubs with a Bianchi branding. 40h in the rear and 36h in the front.
- Universal Brakes and brake levers.
- Nisi rims.


All its characteristics form a highly collectible super bike of its time. A model that is so rare because it was only produced for one year and a milestone because it changed the way we thought about shifting for good.
As is evident by the pictures, our Bianchi has been carefully refurbished, with an additional emphasize on the 'fully'. Riding a 1950s professional level bike which feels like new is not impossible anymore whith this machine.

The chances to get hold of one of these beauties are numbered. This opportunity is yours.