Magistroni - knurled headsets

This particular headset shows up quite commonly on bikes from the 50s and 60s. Its base version is shown above, but is even more widely seen in embossed versions, such as those shown below:

It seems to have been a generic pattern available to manufacturers from Magistroni, as I've seen far more versions than just the Olmo and Atala versions shown above. Only the top threaded cup is embossed - the lower press-fit cup is simply knurled like the background of the top cup. Two versions of this headset were available - with the toothed lock washer seen on the "Atala" headset below, and without, as seen on the rest of the headsets on this page, including the uninstalled "Frejus" version at the top. Versions embossed with makes such as Legnano, Ideor and Lygie have also been seen, and these headsets were likely produced in some form for almost every major Italian builder of the period. There are some minor differences in some of the embossings - a finer grain knurling, or a diamond in between words rather than a dash - but the lettering is always the same.






back to the main magistroni headsets page

home