Milan is best known for fashion, espressos and its two football teams. More to the point, it was once the location for the oldest racing bike brand in the world, Bianchi. The factory has since moved to Bergamo but more about that in the next few days (that’s why we’re here in the first place). It should be noted that Milan also boasts what is believed to be one of the oldest shopping malls in the world, the Piazza Duomo.
Even with so many gems to discover in this magnificent city, it was a treat to find Gio Pozzo’s shop, Orco Cicli. He’s a custom frame-builder who uses good old steel to make “bikes that last”. He sells them from a small shop in via Pastrengo, which stands in an old terraced row under the ultra-modern glass skyscrapers in Isola, in the northern part of the city.
Gio Pozzo is relatively new to the artisan craft of making bikes by hand, but not to the world of the aficionado. He is a former food and wine critic, writing for some of the most high-brow publications in Italy (where good food is a matter of national importance). Poking around his shop I notice some old boxes containing tools and spares, bearing the names of famous estates.
Pozzo was mentored by Sr Pegoretti, who is regarded as the finest frame-builder of his generation. “He’s my master,” Pozzo says while gazing up at the hanging Pegoretti bike. He doesn’t dabble much in the racing market, making mostly very special and individual commuter bikes (he scoffed in distaste when asked about the hipster-style fixie). After trying out one of his latest versions, I was reminded of the tactile ‘springiness’ of steel. I started to imagine how I’d like mine built, from the angles to the lug style and of course the paint colour (it has to be deep red, with white lettering). If I asked him nicely, I’m certain he’d make me a very lively road machine that I’d treasure forever.
It’s then that I notice the 1960s Rolex Explorer on his wrist. “I got it for my 18th birthday and I wear it everyday.” It’s a watch that would fetch upwards of R60,000 even in its current condition. Not that Pozzo should care, it’s his watch and he’s keeping it forever.
This is what he writes on his website orcocicli.com
«Well made things are not just for the rich. They last a long time and when they get old you repair them. The art of the craftsman is not threatened by impoverishment but by the vulgarity that criminalises its culture. Purchasing something is an individual necessity, sometimes a sacrifice, not a casualness caused by imitative neurosis. We are exhausted survivors of the scrapping and disposability of products»
Thanks Neil!
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