Which criterion strongly supports Bianchi's claim as the first bicycle brand?
Answer
Being founded explicitly for bicycle manufacturing
The claim for Bianchi rests heavily on the definition of a bicycle brand starting date. If the requirement is that the company must have been founded specifically with the intent of making bicycles, Bianchi, established in 1885 for this purpose, holds a very strong case. This contrasts with entities like Orbea, whose overall manufacturing history stretches further back due to unrelated product lines, but whose dedicated cycle production commenced later. Bianchi represents focused specialization from day one in the nascent technology of the bicycle.

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