Mystery item

I'd guess it's a mini tire pump? What else would make sense to carry around? Maybe it's mounted low on the frame like that vs. someplace off the top tube to help keep center of gravity low?
 
It's a "gonfleur" (literally "inflator") - a canister of compressed gas. I think I read that nitrogen was more commonly used in those days, but don't quote me on that.

They were commonly seen on Tour bikes in the late forties and through the fifties when mechanical support was restricted, and riders often had to deal with their own punctures - replacing the punctured tubular with the spare they carried wrapped around their shoulders, and inflating it quickly with the gonfleur to get back in the race.

Check out the scans from newspapers of the period on Aldo Ross's Wool Jersey gallery:

http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/ald ... x.jpg.html

It's interesting to follow the changing fashions of bottle, pump, and gonfleur location.
 
Thanks ! A lot of shots show riders with no tub so I couldn't figure out the pump/no tub bit. I suppose you'd have trouble wearing a tub with 120 psi inside it. :LOL:
 
Well, sometimes they're tucked away under the seat:

http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/ald ... a.jpg.html

but there, Bevilacqua's pump seems to be missing. Maybe he was hoping to borrow one from a passing team-mate...

Here's Hugo Koblet with a full complement of spare tubs (one worn around his shoulders and a second under the saddle), pump (in front of the seat tube), gonfleur (behind), and two bottle cages:

http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/ald ... ewsIndex=1

http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/ald ... ewsIndex=1

and here's a novel combination of gonfleur on the downtube and chain oiler on the seat tube. No spare tub in sight - perhaps it's under the saddle.

http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/ald ... ewsIndex=1
 
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