Bianchi is the oldest bicycle manufacturer in the world. They just celebrated 130 years last year, so I thought it would be a good idea to look back at what Bianchi has achieved and done over the years.
In 1885 Edoardo Bianchi at the age of 21, started a small bicycle company in Milan. In 1895, Bianchi was invited to court in Villa Reale in Monza. Queen Margaret wanted to ride one of his bicycles. After this experience Mr. Bianchi went to make the first lady's bike. He also watched very closely the sport side of bicycle. He realized that it would be perfect for his company to test new bicycle technology. From that point on the bicycle industry would keep growing.
Bianchi from that point on started building some technical first for bicycles. In 1913, he invented the front brake system. In 1915 Bianchi made bikes for the military equipped with wide tires, folding frame, and suspension on both wheels. It was designed to get to the Alps through the African deserts. It was the first mountain bike ever made. There also have been many suggestions of why Mr. Bianchi choosed the color celeste for his bikes. Was it because when the queen requested a bike, he painted it to match the color of her eyes, or because of the color of the sky over Milan. No one will ever know the real reason why. Although the color celeste in italian symbolizes a romantic combination of craftsmanship and cycling lore.
On the sporting side of things, Bianchi have had amazing riders racing for them. Riders like Fausto Coppi, Jan Ullrich, Marco Pantani, and Julien Absalon. Rider's of the modern era are guys like Steven Kruijswijk, Sep Vanmarcke and Robert Gesink. With the help of all these riders, this will help Bianchi continue to grow and innovate new technology. Long live Bianchi, hopefully you will be around for another 100 years to come.