A Bixxis Visit

On December the 14th I had the absolute pleasure of visiting Doriano and Martina De Rosa at Bixxis.

I first met Doriano when I was around 11 years old at De Rosa, and being at his workshop brought back fond memories of travelling down to Italy with my Dad, Mike to pick up frames. I left today feeling the same excitement and passion about bikes as I did that first time 27 years ago.

To be able to speak with Doriano and ask him some questions on frame building was like being let in on a secret encyclopaedia of knowledge, a rarity these days. Why do different bikes of the same material ride so differently? His preference over steel or titanium, the unique challenges in building titanium frames, should sloping vs traditional geometry frames feel different to ride? (They shouldn’t but often do) And which champions had he personally made frames for, badged up with their sponsors names. To name a few. Over his career that started around 12 years old under the watchful (and I imagine proud) eyes of Ugo De Rosa, Doriano through trial and error and countless hours building frames has honed his skills to a unique level, something he humbly admits is an ongoing endeavour.

My own feelings of riding one of his frames for the last 10 months were backed up when a new customer came in after picking up his bike and riding around Lake Como, wanting to understand how it’s possible one of his frames could ride so perfectly on the road, making all his other carbon bikes seem dead, soulless. There is something special in every Bixxis frame, uncompromising in his pursuit of perfection, balance and elegance. And what an honour it is to be able to sell them to our customers.