Tullio Campagnolo

Campagnolo was born in Vicenza, Italy in 1901 to a middle-class family, and began his tinkering of inventions at his father's hardware store. In 1922 Campagnolo began his amateur cycling career. He was an avid cyclist riding many races, such as the Giro di Lombardia, Milan–San Remo, and several Olympic heats.

While racing through the Italian Dolomites on 11 November 1927, in freezing weather and snow, Campagnolo lost the race due to a wingnut he could not remove to change gears. The title that was lost at the Croce d'Aune pass encouraged Campagnolo to develop the quick release wheel locking mechanism. This quick release skewer, which is in use today, enables a bicycle wheel to be removed and reattached quickly, and was the first of his many inventions from his father's Vicenza workshop for which he is known.