Pinarello Titanio Concept Bike 1982

Giovanni 'Nani' Pinarello, born in 1922, was one of a whole generation of athletes from child-rich families who chose a career in cycling. In the era of Coppi, Bartali and Bobet, he was quite a successful amateur rider with loads of won races. This eventually earned him a contract as professional rider.
The year of 1953 then saw him making his dream come true by using money, which he got as a compensation for handing over his starting place in the Giro, for the setup of a bicycle shop and manufacture in his hometown Treviso.

From then on Pinarello bikes became more and more famous, more and more refined.
In 1975 the company finally achieved its first Giro d'Italia victory. And today there are not many brands with a similar number of triumphs in big races.

And so we present a very rear, probably unique piece: A Pinarello Titanio from 1982.

This bike was made as a concept piece for an IFMA exhibition. The IFMA was the predecessor of the Euro-Bike and was taking part every two years in Cologne, Germany. There it was purchased by an avid collector who owned a couple of extremely nice bikes which he rode rarely. After his passing, the bike was handed to a former professional rider who took good care of the bike for some years.

There is something strange and fascinating about this bike since to our knowledge, Pinarello did not build titanium bikes. As Pinarello confirmed to us, the frame had definitely not been built in Treviso. But where then? Nobody seemed to know. But then we remembered some similar bikes from the 1970s which share many details with this slightly more elaborate piece from the 1980s.

The company Comepre from Milan was one of less than a handful of Italian companies which pioneered titanium road bike frames. Unlike other specialists, they used these typical elegant and slim dropouts and an oversized, almost lug-like fork crown and the exact same cable routing. That memory was a jackpot. We contacted the company, which still exists and still possesses the massive vacuum chamber and a sortiment of titanium parts for frame building. With some extra time they might find something on this very bike in their archive (they are checking) but as nice as that would be, it is not really guaranteed.

But the bike itself is magnificent enough with its smooth lines, the frame with a polished surface, which was a costly and time-consuming extra back then. And then of course, there are the parts: A full Campagnolo Super Record groupset, including such fine pieces as a titanium bottom bracket spindle, titanium pedal axles, aluminium brake bolts and an aluminium freewheel. Other stunning components include a leather cover for the handlebar and rare Mavic Special Service Course rims in great condition.

Wit such a nice setup, it is no miracle that the bike weighs a mere 8.45kg.

This is a rare, possibly unique piece with the best you could get around 1982: the classiest parts and a stunning titanium frameset.