COMFORTABLE CUSTOM STEEL BIKES, CREATED BY A CYCLING LEGEND
Officina Battaglin is an Italian brand of custom steel bikes. Founded by Giovanni Battaglin, the legendary cyclist capable of winning the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana in just 48 days, Officina Battaglin is dedicated to ensuring that every creation is truly bespoke. In their workshop in Marostica, Italy, they build custom steel bikes to the owner’s specifications, with comfort as the constant, primary consideration. Each frame they make bears the founder’s signature, thanks to exclusive Italian finishes and custom geometries designed by Giovanni Battaglin in person.
But, why steel?
In the era of bicycle technology's obsession with lightness and stiffness, carbon seems to be the only choice when it comes to finding a new bike to explore new road feels.
But is shaving weight the only thing that matters?
Giovanni Battaglin asked himself this question in 2014, after 12 years of professional bike racing and more than 30 as a bicycle manufacturer.
In 1981, right after the Giro-Vuelta double, he launched the first racing bicycle models built in a small workshop in his hometown of Marostica, in the North-East of Italy, and bearing his name on the down tube.
In the following years: Stephen Roche's Triple Crown and all the victories of the Carrera riders atop frames built by the Battaglin steel bikes made the brand world-famous.
*Officina Battaglin
The bike industry is always hungry for new technologies, and the company started experimenting with lighter materials like aluminium and carbon.
The factory finally made the decision to put steel aside. But after a few years, Giovanni Battaglin felt that his expertise and legacy were being lost.
So, in 2014 he decided to go back to brazing custom custom steel frames, dusting off the old machinery that was still in the workshop.
With the new Officina Battaglin brand, he returned to his roots. He returned to the exceptional craftsmanship that had made his name known all around the world.
*"Officina" is Italian for "workshop", it's the place where Giovanni Battaglin is reviving his legacy as the only Italian steel maker who is also a Grand-Tour winner.
