Universal
Italian bicycle brake manufacturer. The firm began in 1919 as the Fratelli Pietra machine shop, founded by brothers Eugenio and Carlo Pietra on the outskirts of Milan; from about 1922 it stamped bicycle brakes as a subcontractor. In 1931 it launched its first in-house brake, the Model 31, and took the Universal (Freni Universal) name. Universal became the dominant brake supplier to the professional peloton through the 1950s and 1960s, equipping champions such as Coppi, Bartali, Bobet, Nencini, Gimondi and Motta. Its range centred on side-pull calipers (Mod. 51 of 1951, Mod./Super 68 of 1968) and the companys single centre-pull design, the Mod. 61 of 1961. Displaced by Campagnolos complete gruppo and by Japanese makers, it ceased operations in 1994.