Where have all the cotters gone?

What is it with cotter pins?

I went to my local bike shop to get a pair for my Cinzia folding bike, only to be told that they are out of stock,

Fixing a broken spoke

The picture tutorial below covers the "non-drive" side on a hub gear.
As most folks seem to ride derailleur-equipped bikes, and apparently like to break spokes on the "drive" side, the additional step of removing the set of rear gears will usually be required.
I have covered selecting the right tool for YOUR gearset elsewhere.
You may also have trouble finding short enough spokes for a little folder like my Cinzi shown here.
I got the new spoke shown in the pictures from SJS.

Oh dear. A broken spoke.

How I know my bike is really Italian

I have a Cinzia folding bike ...
How do I know it is really an Italian bike, not just a badge-engineered mass-manufactured Far Eastern bike?
Because I took the bottom bracket apart today ...