This well maintained Frejus Professional has joined the collection with my thanks to Craig Smith of Casper, Wyoming. Craig is the original owner of this bike and he told me it was purchased from Oscar Waystyn Cycles in Chicago that remains in operation on Fullerton Avenue after four generations. Oscar Sr. was the son of Emil, a […]
This original and ‘unmolested’ Frejus ‘Sport Lusso’ model (luxury sport in English) has just recently arrived courtesy of her former owner Mario Erlotti of Milan. The production year of this Frejus has been dated to 1951/52 and is fitted with all of its original components with the exception perhaps of the saddle and the tires […]
Frejus is one of the big historic Italian brands that was founded by Emmo Gelfi in 1896 and acquired by Emilio Bozzi S.p.A. in 1946, joining the Legnano and Wolsit brands and production. The Professional ‘Corsa Speciale” Campione del Mondo was the top road model for Frejus having won 11 World Championships and counting by […]
Updated: February 20, 2022 In putting this collection of bikes together, there are several names that continue to resurface with the Legnano and Frejus brands. These were the guys that first brought these wonderful Italian ‘superbikes’ as they were called to America. Most of this history and what I am about to post pre-dates my […]
Frejus is one of the big historic Italian brands that was founded by Emmo Gelfi in 1896 and acquired by Emilio Bozzi S.p.A. in 1946, joining the Legnano and Wolsit brands and production. The Campione del Mondo was the top road model for Frejus having won 11 World Championships and counting by 1958. This 1972 […]
A lot was changing at Emilio Bozzi S.p.A. along with many of the other traditional Italian brands in the early 1970’s as the Japanese invasion hit full stride in response to a burgeoning North American ‘bike boom’ that exceeded the production capacity of European manufacturers. Along with Cinelli, Bottechia, Olmo and Bianchi, the top models […]
Frejus of Torino was founded by Emmo Gelfi in 1896, the same year that Maino and Umberto Dei were founded, two other historic Italian marques, and a decade before the Legnano brand was established. The Gelfi brothers continued to build Frejus bicycles until 1946 when it was purchased by Emilio Bozzi S.p.A. adding the Frejus […]
It is June 2016 and this wonderful 1950 Frejus Superleggera has just arrived in Toronto from Milan, Italy with the help of her former owner, Mario Erlotti.
Updated July 11, 2020 The first part of this article relied primarily on the 335 page parts catalog published by Emilio Bozzi SpA in 1950. As discussed, there was a remarkable similarity in the overall design of steel cranksets for several decades and most people would require a brand engraving to tell one from the […]
There is a section of Legnano Component Suppliers in the main site index (to the right) that includes some information on the rim manufacturer ‘Cerchi Nisi’. I included this manufacturer because I have come across several Legnano road models fitted with Nisi rims. Some Legnano bikes with Nisi rims are said to be unmodified examples […]
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