How We First Met: Josh and His 1952 Cinelli Supercorsa
When vintage cycling fanatic and Milano local Josh told us he was restoring his 1952 Supercorsa, we knew we had to see it. We welcomed him to the Cinelli headquarters to witness this incredible piece of cycling history. You may have seen his Instagram, @biciclette_d_epoca, where he shares informative and fun posts all about vintage bicycles—here’s your chance to learn more about him.
Read on to discover more.
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"I'm Josh and I run a popular Instagram channel for vintage bike enthusiasts called @biciclette_d_epoca. I launched it over 3 years ago and it's a mix of jokes, skits, vintage bike reviews, insights on parts, riders, frame builders and an overall deep dive into all things cycling prior to the 1990's.
I've been riding, buying and selling vintage bikes for almost 20 years and now I want to share what I've learned with the world through short form online videos.
The first Cinelli I ever owned was a Proxima made of Columbus Thron tubing. It had a full Dura-Ace 7200 groupset and I basically bought it to restore and resell. It was such a cool bike that resulted in me getting bit by the Cinelli bug.
For years, I wanted a Supercorsa in my size. I've had several Supercorsa's over the years in larger sizes, which I would restore and resell, always being jealous of the new owner.
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While many cyclists dream of one day owning a Cinelli Laser, I've always dreamed of owning a Supercorsa. I finally bought and restored one in my size that was built in 1991, during the years that Mario Camilotto was a frame builder at Cinelli. It's my go-to when riding in Milan. It's my forever bike, I love it.
My genuine love for the Supercorsa and its enduring legacy is partly why it took me nearly 2 years to restore this 1952 Cinelli Supercorsa. I had to make sure every nut, bolt, and screw was correct. Not just for me, but for Cino, for the community that follows me online and for its one day future caretaker.
I'm very lucky, because I've had the unique privilege of riding a lot of different vintage bikes over the years. You can imagine, after 20+ years of buying and selling vintage bikes, many bikes have gone through my hands and I've tried to ride them all. They each have their own unique personality, despite having been built with similar materials. Stiffness, geometry, handling, weight, style, etc. all vary greatly.
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The Cinelli Supercorsa for me has always been the perfect intersection of aesthetics, comfort and performance. Equally at home on an Olympic velodrome or grand tour, as it is on a leisurely Sunday ride.
I was never really into bikes when I was younger. In fact, it wasn't until I was a graduate school student in Chicago that I started biking to class.
First, I started riding a modern fixed gear, which then led me to a vintage fixed gear, which eventually led to a vintage road bike and my obsession blossomed from there. I turned buying, restoring and selling vintage bikes as a method to help pay my way through graduate school.
After graduation, my focus on vintage bikes just became more intense. Most days, it's all I can think about. Years, riders, groupsets, framebuilders, etc. My brain is really good at remembering a large amount of random facts and the vintage bike world is perfectly built for that.
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I've done a ton of organised vintage rides over the years. While they were all fun, none was as memorable as the 2016 Eroica California. I got to meet the late Luciano Berruti for the first time. I have fond memories of us chit-chatting in Italian.
I never did finish it though. Half way through I had a catastrophic rear derailleur explosion leaving bits of Campagnolo all over the road. I had to get a lift from the wagon back to the starting line. Fortunately, there was a bottle of local wine from Paso Robles waiting there to help cheer me up. It worked…
I'm always looking forward to the next vintage organised ride. There are a ton of small organised rides all over Italy and they never disappoint. The camaraderie amongst other passionate vintage bike enthusiasts is heartwarming, the bikes are incredible and you get to try a lot of local delicacies at the rest stops that are unique to that part of Italy."
