Speed and style are two things that Italians do do better, and this Stelbel SB/03 is one instance where that point is perfectly exemplified. It also reignited Melbournian Aaron DeBono’s passion for cycling.
Aaron spent his formative years tearing around on motocross bikes but transferred his love for riding onto bicycles. He started cycling seriously about eight years ago and has since explored a fair portion of the world by pedal power.
A bike has accompanied him on every overseas journey, even traveling to Bali — a cyclists’ heaven, he declares — and completing Rapha’s Festive 500 there, when anyone else would be barely leaving the side of the pool and a Bintang.
Aaron has raced extensively on the road and in the mud as a member of the Rapha Cycle Club, so he’s not unfamiliar with high-end bikes although, after a series of carbon and alloy frames, he had eyes on a higher level of ride quality.
Over the years, he’d been approached by several independent fabricators to bring exposure to their brands by riding and racing them, but his focus was on the Stelbel brand and story, with good reason.
While not one of the most well-known, the Stelbel legend is a significant chapter of the Italian racing and engineering tradition. Stelio Belletti had built aeroplane and motorcycle frames before branching into bicycles in 1973.
Stelio and his father Antenore’s workshop was one of the first in Italy to own and operate a TIG welding machine, and today the Stelbel brand manufacture some of the world’s finest frames using that method.
Stelebl has close ties with the Columbus Bicycle Tubing concern and has access to proprietary tubing designs. The mammoth chainstays are another of Stelio’s innovations, which are connected to a T47 bottom bracket.
Melbourne mechanic Dan Hale, who performed the build, was most impressed with the quality of construction. It was assembled with a Dura-Ace group, a Zipp404 wheelset, matching 3T ARX II stem and Deda Superleggero RS, and an 89g Berk saddle. Bellissima!
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Big thanks to Aaron for the photography — see more of it on his Instagram feed.
