Borrowing the title from a famous film of the Sixties ("Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines", which also featured Alberto Sordi), the AcdB museum presents an exhibition - "Those Daredevils on Two-Wheeled Machines: The Age of the Bicycle" - dedicated to the early history of the European bicycle. The 1870s and 1880s indeed coincide with what we can call the brief season of the bicycle.

After the introduction of the first pedal models - such as the Michaudine brought to Alessandria by Carlo Michel - the search for increasing speed quickly led to the creation of larger front drive wheels, reaching bicycles as tall as a man.

The maximum size was achieved by the so-called Grand-Bi, like those designed and built in the workshop of Parisian mechanic Victor Renard, or the High wheelers produced in Anglo-Saxon countries from around 1868: in 1870, British inventor James Starley patented the first bicycle, called "Ariel", which he created in partnership with William Hillman. To impart the greatest possible speed to the vehicle, the dimensions of the front wheel were progressively increased - between 90 and 150 cm in diameter - to cover a greater distance with each pedal rotation. The rear wheel retained only the function of balancing the entire structure.

The English name, penny-farthing, recalls the dimension of old coins: the penny, with a larger diameter, next to the farthing, which is smaller. It is on these bicycles that the first competitions take place, with the first national championship winners emerging, particularly in the 1880s.

Such is the case of Milan native Giuseppe Loretz (1860-1944), winner of the Italian speed championships held in Turin in 1884. Loretz is the first Italian champion in cycling history, but also the first winner of a national championship in Italian sports history. He wins the national title again in 1885 in the "endurance" category, and in 1886 in the "tricycle" category. During his career, he participates in 53 races, winning 31 and finishing second 11 times.

This exhibition, dedicated to the bicycle and its daring protagonists, was made possible by the generosity and availability of several people to whom we are grateful: Marco and Lorenzo Albera, passionate Turin collectors and descendants of Giuseppe Loretz, as well as the family of Giovanni Gerbi (Giovanni Barbero, Michela Barbero, and Davide Maddaleno), who loaned the bicycle previously owned by the Asti champion.

At the beginning of the museum path, an American-made Grand-Bi model is displayed, a gift from Anna and Nicoletta Vogogna. That bicycle was consistently used by the Vogogna family throughout the first half of the 20th century.

Opening - Friday, January 31, 2025 - 6 PM

Conference Room of Palazzo Monferrato

Via San Lorenzo, 21 - Alessandria

Free entry