June 19, 2006
Stradale Nuevo

First GMC, then Cadillac, now Alfa Romeo:

The Alfa Romeo Stradale bicycle was designed in collaboration with Milan-based Compagnia Ducale srl, represented by Veber Ferrari. Veber Ferrari created the design with Wolfgang Egger, chief designer at Centro Stile Alfa Romeo. The shape of the Stradale’s frame has been inspired by the dynamic arrow-shaped Alfa Romeo grille, a feature which has always been a prominent and important feature on Alfa Romeo models ever since the 1946 6C 2500 Freccia d’Oro.

From the pictures it appears to be a "hybrid" bike. These bikes tend to have dirt bike geometry, handle bars, brakes, and shifters while the rest is straight road. Tends to give a more comfortable ride while still providing many of the benefits of a road bike.

This one has pretty odd geometry... that's a really weird head tube angle there (the bit that holds the handle bars to the frame). At 1690 euros (2100 US) it's pretty damned pricey; that kind of money will buy you a very nice full-carbon road bike over here. Of course, with this thing you're not really buying a bike, but exclusivity. Some people will pay more.

The race bike referred to in the article sounds more my speed, but at ~ $5,000 US it's well out of my reach. Ah well. If nothing else, these should be a lot easier to get past customs than the four-wheeled variety.

Posted by scott at June 19, 2006 10:07 AM

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