Monday Blues: More Gios...

"Like Henry Ford, I will sell you a bike in any color you like... as long as it's blue!" - Alfredo Gios

I mentioned a little about the famous Gios blue in an earlier post. Like the bikes, the color is a classic of the peloton. This Torino frame, which has been hanging on the wall at the Velo, is such a nice one. My, my, my. Though not fully built, you will never the less notice some very nice touches, including the Campagnolo seat post and headset, Gios waterbottle cage, and the original Gios "coins" set into the fork crown. Most manufacturers would stamp a logo or initial into the steel fork crown. Though I am far from an expert, Gios is the only company I know of that inset a "coin". Very unique.

The Gios company was founded in 1948 by Tolmino Gios, a former professional racer and member of the 1936 Italian National Team. Though ridden by many pro riders, the Gios name is likely most indelibly linked to one of the legends of the sport - Roger De Vlaeminck, who went on a tear through the 1970s, winning virtually everything at one point or another. He is one of only three riders to have won all five of the classic "monuments" (Milan-San Remo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and the Giro di Lombardia). Following the career of De Vlaeminck, the Gios presence in the peloton continued through the 1980s, 90s, and into the new century - Stephen Roche, the Kelme squad, Ivan Quaranta, who won two stages of the 2001 Giro d'Italia, Oscar Sevilla, Francisco Mancebo, Xavier Tondo, and many others have ridden Gios bikes at one point or another.