Zullo Inqubo handmade steel bike

Tiziano Zullo has been making handbuilt steel frames in northern Italy since the Seventies, and during the Eighties and early Nineties, when every pro rode a made-to-measure bike, he supplied frames to the Dutch TVM team.

When aluminium and then carbon arrived, and steel was dismissed as yesterday's material, Zullo scaled back his business, moved to smaller premises and produced fewer frames, but never stopped building in steel for enthusiasts mostly from the Far East and USA.

His persistence paid off, because with the revival of interest in handmade steel bikes, Zullo is now regarded as the genuine article.

Last year London's Mosquito bikes sealed the deal with Zullo to make bikes for import to the UK, and is offering six models, including the 1991 TVM Tour de France replica.

The top race frame is the Inqubo, made from Dedacciai EOM 16.5 heat-treated oversized steel tubing.

As with all Zullos, each is individually built and custom fitting is included in the cost of £2,100 for frame and fork. Zullo frames are also painted by hand at the workshop in Castelnuovo del Garda and there's a variety of schemes.

Contact: www.mosquito-bikes.co.uk