1994 Wilier Triestina
Wilier Triestina road bike
The mid ’90’s was an interesting time to be a racing bike.
You could be built up in the traditional ways, just like countless racing bikes before you. Assembled with shiny metal parts like your predecessors, but with rounded edges and aerodynamic shapes. You got unusual finishes, paint jobs that suggested you had the power of flight, patterns that tricked people into believing you made of different materials than you actually were. Just a decade previous you could have counted on the the same saddles, pedals or handlebars as your neighbors. In the 1990’s a racing bike never knew what to expect.
Wilier detail
Campagnolo Shamals
Record derailleur
This Wilier Triestina is from 1994. The frame was probably hanging on a hook as it was getting its colored-chrome finish just wondering what to expect.
What it got was a Campagnolo Record component group, just like hundreds of its ancestors. The difference was that these Campagnolo parts had no hard edges or corners, just smoothed and rounded aerodynamic shapes. The brakes didn’t actually stop the bike but at least the model was called the “Delta” which is usually used in scientific terms to at least suggest a change in speed.
“1994” frame tubing
Etched head tube “badge”
Wilier aero fork crown
The fork was made from steel (going the traditional route) but the fork crown was shaped like something made from carbon fiber. It seemed like old-fashioned materials in new-fangled shapes was the route the bike was taking.
An aerodynamic water bottle in an aluminum cage.
Campagnolo Shamal aluminum rims polished like old touring wheels but with a futuristic deep aerodynamic shape.
Then came the saddle. A throwback to the 1960’s, a hard leather Brooks seat.
Next up was a full-length Silca frame pump (not one of those new mini-pumps).
Would toe clips and straps be another retro choice? Nope.
Look ski-binding style pedals in white and red.
Some of the ’90’s era racing bikes out there probably needed therapy.