Why are these bicycles different?
A true sense of heritage and identity: Le Beau Velo promotes the artisan frame building culture that exists in Italy. Formigli, Legend, and Fondriest all have made to measure bicycles in their range that are hand built in Italy. These bicycles carry the weight of history and heritage as the family generations developed and grew their frame engineering knowledge. These hand built bicycles are not mass produced and each one is distinct with a true sense of identity.
Can I visit the factory in Italy and see how a bicycle is built?
Yes you can. Contact us and we can arrange a visit.
Why made to measure?
The benefits of a made to measure bicycle is that the bicycle fits your individual physiology – a perfect fit! You can achieve a ‘no compromise’ fit where parts have to be ‘tweaked’ as generally happens on a standard ‘off the peg’ bicycle.
What’s the benefit of hand made bicycles?
Hand made gives you control over the construction process. You can dictate the desired engineering outcome at an individual level which isn’t feasible compared to a mass produced item.
Why haven’t I heard of these brands before?
These are relatively small family businesses – rather than investing in sponsorship, advertising and marketing, funds are spent on materials and construction processes.
Why should I believe that a hand made, made to measure bicycle is better?
Read the reviews or talk to someone who has owned one of these bicycles – the proof is in the results. They stand up for themselves.
Hand made and made to measure – these bicycles must be more expensive than an ‘off the peg’ bicycle?
No, they have equivalent price points as compared to a regular off the peg bicycle. As mentioned earlier, there is no costly sponsorship or advertising that needs to be recovered through the bicycle. Instead, a higher percentage of the bicycle cost is attributed to the engineering.
How long does it take?
Allow 8 weeks (excluding Italian holiday periods)
What is the process and how do I start?
Book in for an appointment to see us – we need to discover ‘you’ – your aspirations, your tastes, how much you’d like to allocate out of your budget on the purchase. We can then start the process of showing you the options to create your bicycle.
Once you are comfortable on a decision to proceed, we commence the bike fitting stage. From this we will develop the frame design.
When the design has been approved from the factory and you have confirmed your bicycle choice, we request a payment deposit from you to proceed to the construction phase.
From this point onwards it is in our hands – we will have the bicycle built and shipped to the UK and built to your specification. Your next point of contact will be to collect your bicycle from ourselves and complete the purchase.
