Fiets in de kijker: Welker uit Italië

At first sight, Welker is a strange name for an Italian bicycle brand and indeed sounds rather German or Swiss, but Cicli Welker is indeed 100% Italian.

The Welker after restauration

I bought this bike from an Italian from Arezzo in 2015 when I was still living in Italy and to be honest the bike didn't look good at all but it had something special and I could see some potential in it. The frame, including the chrome lugs, was once completely repainted in military green, but you could already see pieces of the chrome here and there.

The fact that the previous owner once had a serious frontal collision can clearly be seen from the frame and the handlebars that have been bent.

There were some beautiful components on it that immediately captivated me and caught my attention, such as the engraved crankset of the French Simplex, the Universal Mignon brakes but especially the Campagnolo hubs with the inscription F.B. which refers to Fratelli Brivio.

Long before Campagnolo, this company of the Brivio brothers already made hubs. Over the years, a collaboration has developed between the two companies and that is why you see both Campagnolo and F.B. stand on the hubs. The hubs are made of steel while the flanges are made of duraluminum.

Also striking is the quick release on which Gnutti is mentioned. This company also collaborated with Campagnolo for the production of quick releases, among other things.

After some research it became clear to me that the bicycle dates from the 1950s. This can be seen in the components as well as in the frame where traces of the brass alloy used in soldering the tubes and lugs together by a technique called brazing can still be seen everywhere.

A few days after the purchase I thoroughly cleaned the bike and started removing the green paint and discovered that the frame was chromed, so I decided not to repaint the frame.

Then the bike has been boxed for 5 years until now when I have found the time to remove the rest of the paint (with some effort).

It was my intention to keep the bike in its original condition as much as possible and except for the saddle (was completely worn out), the front derailleur and the gear levers, everything is still original from the 50s. I opted for a striking orange cotton bar tape which was sometimes used in that period.

Under the green paint were small pieces of orange paint, so maybe the bike was original orange. On the internet I found a Welker in this color. Maybe the bike once looked like this.