Italvega
Encyclopedia
Italvega is a brand of road bicycle
s designed, specified, imported and marketed by the California
-based bicycle distributor, Lawee, Inc., founded by Ben Lawee, who also created the Univega
and Bertoni bicycle brands.
Italvega bikes were designed and hand-built within the noted Torresini workshop at the Torpado factory in Padua, Italy
. They were built beginning in 1970 and continuing through the mid- to late-70s before manufacturing was moved to Japan
under the name Univega. All Italvega bicycles were made in the Torpado factory, but not all were high-end bicycles. Torpado made a broad variety of bicycles for different uses (including worker, comfort, BMT, ATB, and even motorized).
and purchased Jones Bicycles in 1959 — growing the single store into a multi-store chain. He sold the retail chain in 1965 and began importing Bianchi
and Legnano
bikes, as well as becoming the national distributor for Raleigh and Motobecane. Lawee, who had two children, David and Monique, with his wife Ariela, died November 8, 2002.
The top-end models were built with double-butted Columbus tubing
and Campagnolo
Record and Nuovo Record components. The low-mid level framesets have the inverted triangle Columbus foil decal, while the better models have the rectangle Columbus foil decal. The lowest models have no Columbus decal.
Road bicycle
The term road bicycle is used to describe bicycles built for traveling at speed on paved roads. Some sources use the term to mean racing bicycle...
s designed, specified, imported and marketed by the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-based bicycle distributor, Lawee, Inc., founded by Ben Lawee, who also created the Univega
Univega
Univega is a brand of bicycles, created during the bike boom of the 1970s by Ben Lawee , who founded Lawee Inc. to design, specify, and import bicycles initially manufactured in Italy by Italvega, and subsequently in Japan by Miyata....
and Bertoni bicycle brands.
Italvega bikes were designed and hand-built within the noted Torresini workshop at the Torpado factory in Padua, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. They were built beginning in 1970 and continuing through the mid- to late-70s before manufacturing was moved to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
under the name Univega. All Italvega bicycles were made in the Torpado factory, but not all were high-end bicycles. Torpado made a broad variety of bicycles for different uses (including worker, comfort, BMT, ATB, and even motorized).
Ben Lawee
Ben Lawee, who had been born in Baghdad, Iraq and emigrated to the U.S. at age 19. Lawee had attended business school at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and purchased Jones Bicycles in 1959 — growing the single store into a multi-store chain. He sold the retail chain in 1965 and began importing Bianchi
Bianchi
Bianchi, a plural of bianco , is a frequent proper name; notable people with that surname include:*Andrea Bianchi, an Italian film director*Bianca Bianchi , stage name of Bertha Schwarz, German/Austrian opera soprano...
and Legnano
Legnano
Legnano is an Italian town and comune with 59.147 inhabitants in the province of Milan, about from Milan.It's crossed by the river Olona, and it's the 13th town for inhabitants in Lombardy....
bikes, as well as becoming the national distributor for Raleigh and Motobecane. Lawee, who had two children, David and Monique, with his wife Ariela, died November 8, 2002.
Models
Models manufactured under the Italvega marque include (in order of increasing quality):- Viva Sport
- Nuovo Sport
- Nuovo Record
- Super Record
- Super Speciale
- Super Light
The top-end models were built with double-butted Columbus tubing
Columbus Tubing
Columbus is a manufacturer of steel tubing used in bicycle frames, located in Settala, in the Province of Milan. The company was founded in 1919 by A.L. Columbo and was taken over by Columbo's youngest son, Antonio, in 1977...
and Campagnolo
Campagnolo
Campagnolo is an Italian manufacturer of high-end bicycle components with headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. The components are organised as groupsets and are a near-complete collection of a bicycle's mechanical parts. Campagnolo's flagship components are the Super Record, Record, and Chorus...
Record and Nuovo Record components. The low-mid level framesets have the inverted triangle Columbus foil decal, while the better models have the rectangle Columbus foil decal. The lowest models have no Columbus decal.