Throughout its modern era, Bianchi has been associated with the Italian Giro d'Italia and Tour de France winners, Fausto Coppi,[2] Marco Pantani and Felice Gimondi.

Edoardo Bianchi, a 21-year-old medical instrument maker, started his bicycle-manufacturing business in a small shop at 7 Via Nirone, Milan in 1885.

One of his first developments was to make the front wheel smaller and use the chain invented by Frenchman Vincent to reduce pedal height.

[3] Due to the increasing outflow figures, especially for bicycles, construction of a new plant on Via Nino Bixio began in 1900, which was occupied in 1902.

Manufactured according to a configuration and with materials common in the late 20th century In 1899, Giovanni Tommaselli won the first international cycling victory for Bianchi at the world championship of track racing: the Grand Prix of Paris.

[11] The Bianchi reputation began when the company sponsored Giovanni Tommasello, the winner of the Grand Prix de Paris sprint competition in 1899.

In 1935, Bianchi sponsored Costante Girardengo, one of the first Italian stars on the road, and its bicycle sales rose to 70,000 a year.

He won the race by two and a half minutes on a bicycle equipped with Universal brakes, Bianchi steel handlebars and stem, a Regina chain and a four-speed freewheel with shaped teeth.

[12] Recent riders include Danilo Di Luca, Mario Cipollini, Gianni Bugno, Laurent Fignon, Marco Pantani, Moreno Argentin and Jan Ullrich.

Sara Mercante, head of Bianchi's research and development, said: "Pantani had very specific ideas about what he wanted.

[17] Coast had recently signed Jan Ullrich following his departure from Team Telekom after his drunk driving and amphetamine use.

In October 2011, for the 2012 season, it was announced that Bianchi had been signed to a two-year deal to co-sponsor and supply bikes to the UCI ProTeams Vacansoleil–DCM[19] and Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela.

These sponsorships continued in 2013 and for 2014, with Vacansoleil–DCM ceasing to exist, Bianchi again supplied Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela for a further year, and the then new Belkin Pro Cycling team.

[23] From 2000 to 2006, the Bianchi MTB (Bianchi-Motorex and Bianchi-Agos) team dominated the sport with José Antonio Hermida and multiple World Champion Julien Absalon.

Bianchi also took part in motorcycle races, where one of its first riders was Tazio Nuvolari, whom Ferdinand Porsche called "the greatest driver of the past, the present, and the future.

"[28] The company began making trucks in the 1930s and supplied the Italian army during World War II .

It was that that brought the end of production shortly after peace returned because the factory had been so heavily bombed.

Fiat used Autobianchi to test new production concepts such as glass fibre and front-wheel drive.