DISRAELI DOCUMENTS

French Patent # 1,277,691 - Magistroni

French Patent 1,277,691 - Magistroni main image

This is the second of two patents for derailleurs held by Luigi Magistroni - the famous manufacturer of high quality chainsets.

It shows a rack and pinion type derailleur with a slant action.

I think the story of these two patents may go something like this:

  • Tullio Campagnolo, had started out by making quick releases and gear systems. These were complementary to, and often used along with, Magistroni chainsets.
  • But by 1961, Campagnolo was making big inroads into the chainset market and was now a major competitor for Magistroni.
  • In particular, 1960 saw the introduction of the iconic aluminium, cotterless, Campagnolo Record chainset - which defined the quality chainset market for the next two decades.
  • Even more of a danger was Tullio Campagnolo's concept of the 'groupset' - that all the components on a bike should come from one manufacturer. This was a mortal threat to Magistroni.
  • Caught in the headlights of this speeding locomotive, perhaps Luigi Magistroni thought that he had to strike back - by manufacturing gear systems and creating a groupset of his own.
  • Unfortunately I don't believe that Luigi ever put either of his designs into production.