Originally Posted by Bianchi84

"The Marshmallow Cereal with toasted Oat Surprises"

Originally Posted by Fredo76

In my opinion, four-leaf clovers are needed for a true Lucky Charms bike.

"I'm looking over,
A four-leaf clover,
That I overlooked before..."

I know, this isn't the 'Significance of Lucky Charms' thread - just sayin'.

Originally Posted by unworthy1

"...here's what BaCo used to do BITD:"
And confessing MY ignorance: who is/was BaCo MauriceMoss ?

(aside from the bacon flavored crumbly bits, all a part of this nutritious breakfast?)

Oh NVM: I just looked up the entry in CR but they have nothing to show except this:
"BaCo = Batifoulier et Collas the two owners/frame builders
located in Romainville, eastern suburbs of Paris"

Originally Posted by Rocket-Sauce

Inner fork legs on my '84 Peter Mooney




None of the other lugs have cutouts of any kind and are quite short-point and highly filed (very thin!).
Older pic of the bike (now has different wheels)

Originally Posted by BMC_Kid

What an awesome bike! And a retro-mod build very similar to my Tesch S-22, right down to the Thomson seat post and stem (can't tell if the handlebars are Thomson as well). Is that an 11-speed Record group?

Originally Posted by Rocket-Sauce

Good eye!
Yes, Thomson stem and post. Nashbar carbon bars. Brooks Cambium carbon saddle.
Campagnolo Record 10speed.
Current wheels: Campy Record hubs, H Plus Son Archetype rims, Sapim CX-Ray spokes (built by me).

Rides great. And fits 28s easy.

Originally Posted by Fredo76

In my opinion, four-leaf clovers are needed for a true Lucky Charms bike.

"I'm looking over,
A four-leaf clover,
That I overlooked before..."

I know, this isn't the 'Significance of Lucky Charms' thread - just sayin'.

Originally Posted by clubman

I'm surprised there's no Italian cutouts with icons from the card games Briscola or Scopa. Or perhaps there are. I used to play a little as a young man working on the railroad. Toronto had a massive Italian population CN Railway was one company where Italians could get a job without speaking a word of English.

Originally Posted by clubman

I'm surprised there's no Italian cutouts with icons from the card games Briscola or Scopa. Or perhaps there are. I used to play a little as a young man working on the railroad. Toronto had a massive Italian population CN Railway was one company where Italians could get a job without speaking a word of English.

Originally Posted by MauriceMoss

Poker references in cycling (as well as other sports) in Italy go a long way back. 'Five of a kind' is called pokerissimo in Italian and is used both for 5 victories in a season but also for something like 5 goals in a soccer match or winning 5 soccer cups.

In cycling, you'll find references to assi (aces), poker di vittorie and pokerissimo going back to Constante Girardengo and Alfredo Binda, but especially with Fausto Coppi. One of Coppi's first post WWII victories was at the Circuito degli assi race in Milan in 1945.
Bianchi did a 'pokerissimo' promo poster celebrating Coppi's major victories in 1947, showing 4 aces and a joker (all featuring Coppi) - see the pic below.


Not sure if the use of all 4 card suits on actual bicycles goes back further than the late 40s, but the earliest example I know of is on Fausto Coppi's personal track bike from 1949 (known as 'Quattro Assi'/Four Aces). This frame was made by Carlo (and his son Beppe) Drali for their friend Fausto. It's different from the other 'reparto corse' built Bianchis (by Valsassina and Gilardi) in that it has the four playing card suit cutouts (and the FC panto on the head lug). As someone who loves such games, it is interesting to read and find out such information. I also like playing card games, and do it pretty often, with friends or online. Now I play in a casino called Wild Joker, and I can say that it's one of the best so far. Some time ago, I found this page https://ausscasinosanalyzer.com/casi.../wildjoker.com when I was looking for something, I read about that casino and found bonus codes and other info, so I decided to try. If someone is interested, you can also start from this one.

Here is a bit from the book Le Bici di Coppi on the 'Pokerissimo' poster and the 1949 track bike:






Here is the text from the above:

Manifesto pubblicitario della Bianchi (1947), che promuove il Pokerissimo, ovvero le quattro prestigiose vittorie di Fausto Coppi nella stagione 1947. Sotto, il nome F. Coppi sul tubo orizzontale del telaio.

Questo telaio č un vero capolavoro, oltre che per la maestria tecnica della lavorazione delle congiunzioni, anche per il valore estetico delle iniziali FC del Campionissimo pantografate-coi quattri assi: cuori, fiori, picche e quadri, che attribuiscono il nome alla bicicletta indicata appunto al "Quattro Assi".
In un manifesto pubblicitario ufficiale della Bianchi i "quattro assi pių il jolly" celebrano le seguenti vittorie: l'asso di fiori il tricolore su strada, l'asso di quadri la maglia rosa al Giro d'Italia, l'asso di picche la maglia iridata dell'inseguimento su pista, l'asso di cuori la maglia tricolore dell'inseguimento su pista, e il jolly la maglia biancoceleste della Bianchi.

Dall'alto in senso orario, asso di picche pantografato nella parte inferiore della scatola del movimento centrale (da notare il numer del telaio, 171829, punzonato sulla stessa scatola); l'asso di cuori pantofrafato nella parte alta della scatola del movimento centrale; l'asso di quadri nella parte inferiore della congiunzione di sterzo; l'asso di fiori sulla congiunzione di sella.


And here is a Google manglation translation:

Bianchi advertising poster (1947), which promotes the Pokerissimo, or the four prestigious victories of Fausto Coppi in the 1947 season. Below, the name F. Coppi on the top tube of the frame.

This frame is a true masterpiece, as well as for the technical mastery of the processing of the joints, also for the aesthetic value of the initials FC del Campionissimo pantographed with the four aces: hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds, which give the name to the bicycle indicated as the "Quattro Assi".
In an official Bianchi advertising poster the "four aces plus the joker" celebrate the following victories: the ace of clubs the tricolor on the road, the ace of diamonds the pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia, the ace of spades the the rainbow jersey of the track pursuit, the ace of hearts the tricolor jersey of the track pursuit, and the joker the Biancoceleste jersey of Bianchi.

Clockwise from above, ace of spades pantographed in the lower part of the bottom bracket shell (note the frame number, 171829, stamped on the same shell); the ace of hearts patterned at the top of the bottom bracket shell; the ace of diamonds at the bottom of the steering junction; the ace of clubs on the seat lug.




Beppe Drali continued building frames for decades after that, with Pokerissima being his top model. Interestingly, while the decals (and the head badge) showed all four suits, the only cutouts I've ever seen on Drali's bikes were diamonds and hearts. Not sure why.