Legnano Bicycles 2: la vendetta

Legal battle over Bianchi’s rights to continue using the famous brand

An example of Bianchi's Legnano production

According to the Italian press, the Bozzi family is attempting to revoke Bianchi’s right to use the famous Legnano brand name and reassign to the new company Bicitaliana srl. The Eco di Bergamo reports that the family believes that their inheritance has been devalued under Bianchi’s use. Bianchi is fighting the attempt and has obtained an injunction from the Tribunale di Milano.

The injunction has stalled Bicitaliana’s plans to introduce a new line of Italian made Legnano bikes this week.

Free Legnano / Liberate Legnano

However, there are completely different new Legnano bikes on display this week at Bianchi’s stand at the Salone del Ciclo 2008 in Milan. In practice, although Legnano became famous for its use in road racing by the great Fausto Coppi, the current management of Bianchi has been using it for their cheapest models. Compare, for example, the low end specification of the only Legnano road bike currently available with the long list of Bianchi models. Even the cheapest Bianchi model is significantly more sophisticated.