The Great Houses
Italian Cycling Brands
Six families. Hundreds of victories. A legacy forged in steel, sweat, and the mountain roads of Italy.
Est. 1954 — Cambiago, Milan
Colnago
The most decorated name in professional cycling history.
Founded by Ernesto Colnago in 1954, the marque from Cambiago near Milan became synonymous with victory at the highest levels of the sport. Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Giuseppe Saronni all won world titles aboard Colnago frames. The Master, C35, and Super remain the most sought-after vintage Italian steel frames.
Shop ColnagoEst. 1885 — Milan
Bianchi
The oldest bicycle manufacturer in continuous production.
Edoardo Bianchi founded his workshop in Milan in 1885, making Bianchi the oldest bicycle brand still in production. The iconic celeste paint — a pale blue-green unique to the brand — has appeared on frames ridden by Fausto Coppi, Marco Pantani, and Jan Ullrich. The Specialissima and Superleggera are the prized vintage models.
Shop BianchiEst. 1948 — Milan
Cinelli
Where cycling meets Italian industrial design.
Cino Cinelli founded his company in 1948 after a career as a professional rider. Cinelli brought a designer’s eye to cycling components, creating the iconic 1A stem and M71 handlebars that became standard equipment on professional bikes throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The Supercorsa frameset remains a masterwork of Italian craftsmanship.
Shop CinelliEst. 1953 — Milan
De Rosa
The framebuilder who built bikes for Eddy Merckx.
Ugo De Rosa opened his Milan workshop in 1953. His relationship with Eddy Merckx — for whom he built custom frames during the Belgian’s years of near-total dominance — made De Rosa’s name famous throughout the professional peloton. The Primato and Nuovo Primato are revered vintage examples.
Shop De RosaEst. 1957 — Grosseto, Tuscany
Tommasini
Tuscany’s finest handbuilt steel frames.
Irio Tommasini established his workshop in Grosseto, Tuscany in 1957. A favourite among connoisseurs for the quality of their lugged construction and the artistry of their paint work, Tommasini frames occupied a space between handbuilt artisan quality and professional race specification. Rarely seen outside Italy, they are among the most collectible vintage Italian frames.
Shop TommasiniEst. 1948 — Turin
Gios
Turin’s racing heritage in a frame.
Tolmino Gios founded his bicycle company in Turin in 1948, building a reputation through the professional peloton of the 1970s. The Gios Torino — with its brilliant electric blue paint — became one of the most recognisable professional racing bicycles of the era, ridden by Roger De Vlaeminck and the Brooklyn team to multiple Paris-Roubaix victories.
Shop Gios