The Cinelli Laser, together with the Supercorsa, is the most legendary racing bike Cinelli has ever produced and is still custom made, however in carbon. The name of this carbon version is Laser Mia.
The Cinelli Laser time trial bicycle in Columbus steel from the 1980s
1981 Laser originated
The first Cinelli Laser was created in 1981 from a sketch by Antonio Colombo and inspired by the first French aerodynamic bikes that Antonio had seen at a fair in Japan. The complex construction of the frame was made possible by the collaboration between Cinelli and Columbus, the most famous steeltube manufacturer, which was taken over by Colombo 2 years earlier.
For the first prototype, pieces of the chassis of a Fiat cinquecento were used to fill in the corners that give the Laser aero aspect. Colombo and his team were looking for a thin but sturdy steel plate.
The first Cinelli Laser Strada from 1981
It was not until the end of 1982, when four Laser frames were commissioned by Cinelli for the Italian Junior National Team, the success story of the Laser that became a real icon in the 80s and 90s began thanks to a full team (formed by the frame builder Andrea Pesenti, the Columbus engineer Paolo Erzegovesi, Antonio Colombo and other collaborators).
The innovative use of TIG welds (until then unknown in the racing bike industry), along with the use of reinforcements welded to the frame junctions (lugs), made the Laser more aerodynamic and also allowed for radical repositioning of the bracket.
position bottom bracket Laser relative to a traditional racing bicycle (red dotted line)
The repositioning of the bracket also allowed Cinelli to create a significantly stiffer and shorter frame, with obvious benefits including shortening the train in a team time trial. This production innovation strongly anticipated one of the most important features of modern carbon bikes and remains the basis of the Laser Mia design today.
Below an advertisement from the 80s for the Cinelli Laser
Regarded as the best of Italian custom frames, the Laser Cinelli has won more Olympic and gold medals in time trial on the track and on the road than any other bike in cycling history.
Variants Cinelli Laser
Over the years, different variants have come onto the market, including Columbus Max and Columbus Air tubes
- Laser Air Pursuit
- Laser Evoluzione
- Laser Nuova Evoluzione
- Laser America
- Laser America Max
- Laser Crono Squadra
- Laser Rivoluzione Pista
- Laser Max
- Laser Track Tandem
- Laser Stayer
- Laser Ammortizzata
- Laser Hyperian
- Laser Nostra
Cinelli Laser Air Pursuit 1983
The Cinelli Laser America from 1986
Cinelli Laser Crono Strada – foto Vintage.Space
Cinelli Laser Evoluzione 1984
Cinelli Laser Evoluzione 1984
Cinelli Nuova Evoluzione 1989
Cinelli Laser Max
Cinelli Laser Stayer
Cinelli Laser Tandem
Cinelli Laser Ammortizzata 1986
Cinelli Experimentele Laser Track 1985
The collaboration with Keith Haring
In 1986 Antonio Colombo meets a young Keith Haring in Milan who is working on the new Fiorucci store. The two become friends and Colombo gives the artist an orange mountain bike that Haring uses in Manhattan traffic.
Colombo also gives Haring a Laser bicycle as a gift and when Colombo is in New York four years later, Haring invites him to his studio to pick up the Laser back. On the full wheels, Haring painted his famous figures, together with a little boy crawling on the left side of the horizontal tube. From then on, this bicycle will become the symbol of all the values that the Cinelli company represents, namely innovation and art.
De Cinelli Laser restyled by Keith Haring
Awards for Cinelli Laser
Even years after the first production of the Laser, this revolutionary bicycle still wins prizes: in 1991 the Laser Evoluzione wins the Compasso d'Oro, the most prestigious recognition in the world of design.
A Cinelli Laser is even exposed in the Museum of Modern Art in Chicago.
In 2013, a 2011 Cinelli Laser Nostra has been sold for $ 47,500 at the auction of Red, a nonprofit of Sir Jonathan Ive, Marc Newson and Bono, from Sotheby's in New York.
The carbon version Laser Mia
The new Laser Mia is the first Cinelli Laser made from carbon. It is the result of a collaboration of the original Team from 1981, is 100% Made in Italy and combines the technology of avant-garde materials and craftsmanship that cannot be imitated by mass production. The weight of the frame is only 980 grams
The Cinelli Laser Mia in carbon version
