Cilo was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

manufacturer of

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

s that filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 2002. The bicycles were produced on the shores of

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lak ...

in Romanel-sur-Lausanne in the

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...

canton.

''Cilo'' is an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for Charles Jean Lausanne-Oron. The abbreviation from the manufacturer's name ''Jean'' was changed to an ''i'' for ease of pronunciation in French. "Lausanne-Oron" refers to a holding in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, associated with the industrialisation of the city at the turn of the 20th century.

Hans Knecht Hans Knecht (26 September 1913 in Albisrieden – 8 March 1986 in Zürich) was a Swiss professional road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the mos ...

became world champion in 1946 riding a Cilo bicycle; other notable riders include

Beat Breu Beat Breu (born 23 October 1957, in St. Gallen) is a Swiss former road bicycle racer. In 1982 Tour de France he won the prestigious stage on Alpe d'Huez, as well as another mountain stage finishing in Saint-Lary-Soulan, and finished sixth ove ...

Daniel Gisiger Daniel Gisiger (born 9 October 1954, in Baccarat) is a retired Swiss road and track cyclist. He grew up in Bienne, in RC Olympia Biel-Bienne. One of his strongest disciplines was the road time trial where he twice won the prestigious Grand Pri ...

and

Tony Rominger Tony Rominger (born 27 March 1961 in Vejle, Denmark) is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won the Vuelta a España in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the Giro d'Italia in 1995. He began cycling late, allegedly spurred by competition wi ...

. Cilo co-sponsored the cycling team Cilo–Aufina with Aufina from 1980 to 1986, and then

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

and Ciclolinea in 1992. The Cilo of the mid-1970s was a racing bicycle made of

Reynolds 531 Reynolds 531 (pronounced 'five-three-one') is a brand name, registered to Reynolds Technology of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, for a manganese–molybdenum, medium-carbon steel tubing that was used in many quality applications, including r ...

with the typical Swiss attention to detail. It had chromed forks, drop-outs and rear stays. All lugs were chromed and polished. The components included full 'top-of-the-line'

Campagnolo Campagnolo is an Italian manufacturer of high-end bicycle components with headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. The components are organised as groupsets (gruppi), and are a near-complete collection of a bicycle's mechanical parts. Campagnolo's flagsh ...

, although Campy brakes were an option. Brooks saddle,

Cinelli Cinelli () is an Italian bicycle manufacturing company based in Milan, producing mostly road bicycles and components; production is estimated to consist of 80 per cent components and 20 per cent bicycles. History Cinelli was founded in 194 ...

road bars and stem, Christophe clips and straps were provided. Silk tubulars mounted on Cerchio Fiamme rims were standard.

References

Cycle manufacturers of Switzerland Companies based in the canton of Vaud Companies disestablished in 2002 {{cycle-manufacturer-stub