De geschiedenis van Ciöcc fietsen

A name that does not sound as familiar as Colnago, De Rosa, Bianchi or Pinarello, but which is certainly an important name in the list of Italian frame builders is Ciöcc (pronounced tsjeuch).

Famous riders such as Lucien Van Impe and Freddy Maertens once rode a Ciöcc, but the company also exported a huge number of racing bikes to the Netherlands, among others, for the defunct Concorde (More info about Concorde) Many steel frames were purchased by Concorde in Italy from Ciöcc and then further fine-tuned and finished in the Netherlands. The same happened in Belgium by Plum Vainqueur (more info about Plum Vainqueur).

The beginning of Ciöcc

Ciöcc was founded in 1969 by Giovanni Pelizzoli who worked as a bicycle repairman from an early age. First in his father's shop and then as an apprentice in Ugo De Rosa's studio. In the early 1970s, Pelizzoli also worked as a mechanic for the Zonca cycling team, which included Gianni Motta.

Early racing bike of Ciöcc

The name Ciöcc refers to Giovanni's nickname given to him by his father and refers to poker face. Hence the 4 aces that are in a cross shape on the Ciöcc logo.

the 4 aces in Ciöcc's logo

Giovanni's bikes stood for quality and it didn't take long before the better riders became his customers. His first successes were with a world amateur title in 1977 at the World Championships in San Cristobal in Venezuela, a 2nd place at the World Championships at the Nurburgring in 1978 and a 2nd place at the 1978 Olympic Games in Moscow. This can be found on most bicycles on 1 of the decals.

In 1980, Giovanni Pelizzoli sold his company to Luigi Conti, so that from now on both bicycles with Conti and Ciöcc decals could be seen. The new name was Nuova Cicli Conti & Ciöcc. It was also the starting signal for the new owner to sponsor several cycling teams.

The following teams rode on a Ciöcc bike:

Elro snacks – Rogelli – Assos in 1980
Termolan – Galli in 1983
Maestro – Ciöcc in 2005

The first teams to ride a Conti bike were initially still in the UCI category 2, but from 1984 also in the UCI category 1, namely: Santini – Conti – Galli with, among others, the Italian national coach Davide Cassani.

The following year none other than Lucien Van Impe joined the team, the 1976 Tour winner was already on the decline. Freddy Maertens also rode a Conti bike in 1987 with the Robland – Isoglass – Austin – Rover team. This too was in its twilight years.

Lucien Van Impe in 1985 with the cycling team Santini Krups Conti Galli

Freddy Maertens in 1987 with the team Robland – Isoglass – Austin – Rover

Conti's sponsorship continued until 1991 when the company was sold again, this time to former employee and outstanding frame builder Stefano Bonati. The name was changed back to Cicli Ciöcc.

However, Giovanni Pelizzoli continued after the sale to Conti with the production of frames under his own name Cicli Pelizzoli. Both Cicli Ciöcc and Cicli Pelizzoli still exist and, in addition to mainly carbon frames, still make steel and aluminum frames.
Recently, Ciöcc has sold 3 models of vintage steel racing bikes: the San Cristobal 77, the Replica and the Mockba 80 (refers to Moscow 1980).

The Ciöcc Replica still available

Giovanni also helped design and develop the Masciaghi-made Fausto Coppi frames made by the newly founded company at the time.

Finally: a Ciöcc frame can be recognized by the ash engraved in the lugs and the logo in the bottom bracket. Also on some models the name is engraved on the lugs of the frame.

Hopefully they will continue to make beautiful bikes for a long time to come. Below you will find some beautiful copies and details of the implementation