So it says Juventus in a few places, and on the headbadge it also says Bergamo. Where there should be a tubing decal it just says "Made in Italy". The downtube shifters and FD are Simplex, and the RD is a Shimano Skylark, which I'm assuming is a replacement for the plastic Simplex. The brake levers are DiaCompe, but the brakes say "Balilla" on them where the DiaCompe label would be. The cranks are cottered and neither they, nor the chainrings, nor the pedals have any identifying marks. The steel rims only say "Milano Sport", and the hubs are unmarked. There are wingnuts on both axles. The stem says ITM on one side, and on the other it says "Italy", except the Y is upside down. And I can't find a serial number anywhere. But the rainbow sticker on the top tube says: "Giro D'Italia 1965" and "Tour De France 1965". The big black decal on the seat tube says "Giro D'Italia 1965-67-69", "Tour De France 1965", "Campione Del Mondo 1964-65-67", "Milano (unreadable word)", and "Paris Roubaix"

It seems to be a lower end bike, with steel rims, safety levers, and cheap stamped pieces for the kickstand and brake bridge. But it's really light for having steel rims + cranks. I have a Univega Nuovo sport with steel rims but alloy cranks, and the Univega is far heavier than the Juventus. It weighs about the same as my Motobecane Grand Touring, which has alloy cranks and rims.

Here are the pictures:

I don't know the bike, but I would concur with your initial impressions. Probably a relatively low end bike. The lugs also are a little thick, but I like their interesting shape.

It sound like it would be a nice rider, and a reasonable weight if you switch to alloy rims and cranks.

Did you manage to get a deal at less than the $50 posted?

Yup

Any idea why an Italian bike would have a bunch of Simplex stuff on it?

Looks like the standard-issue cheap gaspipe Italian bike-boom bike, so similar to the cheap Bianchis, Chiordas and others that occupied the same timeframe and pricepoint. The bullet-pointed seatstay caps are one of the hallmarks. I'd strip it and make a utility bike or fixie/SS...you might actually get a few bucks for the Simplex shifters and hard plastic saddle (some people actually want those), but I doubt if anything else is worth preserving. Used Italian BBs are not that hard to find, especially if you settle for a conventional unsealed type. I guess that Simplex was available at the right price when they built this one, and might have been a step up from Campy Valentino.

Simplex were the cheapest and lighteset derailleurs on the market by virtue of thier injection molded plastic constructiom. They were the most effective way to keep the cost and weight of your bicycle down. I believe they also had a factory in Italy.

As for the Juventus brand, intitially I thought it may be Carnielli, who made Bottechia, as there is a big C on the headbadge and they had a habit of putting their big race victories on the decals. However, those dates on the stickers correspond to victories for Magni, LeJeune and Peugeot. Now Magni were manufactured by Chiorda, so I suspect this is the source of the brand. It also explains the C on the headbadge. I'm not sure what the tie with LeJeune and Peugeot is.

F.Y.I. Juventus is a top soccer team based in Torino if im not mistaken.

Recently relegated for corruption, unless I'm very much mistaken! What a thing, Juve playing in Serie B.

yikes...well my bicycle is most certainly not corrupt.

I'm rebuilding one of these old beasts myself— this seems to be the only other one on the internet. It has the same decals, but the color is a variety of metallic avocado. The rear wheel was something German, rather than the Milano Sport front wheel, but all of the other parts were the same. The freewheel was something English.

Nice...take some pics when you can and post them, the color sounds interesting. Mine's down to the frame right now, but it will be built back up soon with some different parts. I'm going to get new decals made at one point because I really like them, especially the big black panel, but mine's pretty beat up.

Here she is:

I've removed the smaller chainring and all of the shifters needed for it, and the rear tire is unfortunately blown right now.

Oops, reviving old thread. I've got metallic avocado color too, same brakes, original Pirelli tires (deteriorating), some rust which I brushed off with PB Blaster. too late in the day to take pictures, please let know if anyone is interested

concur completely with T-Mar. looks to be a Chiorda product. constructed with Agrati bulge-formed head, seat lug, crown, shell, bridges, ends, chainset & headset. a rock bottom model.

had another Juventus come through my workshop which was about five to eight years earlier. it was flambouyant red with creme panels and was built with the Agrati "comma" lugs (model "AM"). its transfers were decalcomania rather than stickers and it had an actual headplate. it was also a base model but a bit nicer than the present machine. wonder if perhaps the name belongs to an importer. my example was purchased at a discount house in California about 1965.