It’s a real disadvantage not being able to speak Italian. Actually, it’s a real disadvantage not living in Italy. How I’ve gone this long without coming across Bressan Bikes is an utter conundrum. Yet there they are, one of Italy’s most popular marques, sporting a range of completely authentic, innovative and original bicycles.
This is one of many models in the Bressan range, cunningly called the ‘Vintage’. Unlike most modern re-interpretations of classic items, it retains the quirks of original technology such as down tube shifters, quill stem, cut away leather saddle and cloth bar tape. So you get all the elegant emotion of riding a classic, combined with modern reliability. Like if BMW recreated the MINI in exact accordance to the original blueprint.
The frame is something else — and that’s the selling point of the Vintage: the joy of discovering a classic Italian frame in a shed and restoring it to its original glory with period correct parts. I love the gussets and the cable routing underneath the bottom bracket, and there’s even some delightful pantography thrown in with typical Italian exuberance. Everywhere you look there’s more details to be discovered.
For those of you lucky enough to have a grasp of the Italian language, take a browse through the Bressan website. And when you do, be kind enough to send us through a translation of the Bressan history. Dating back to 1972, it looks like there is a real story there…
