Giovanni Pelizzoli‘s Ciöcc marque is an exceptionally enigmatic Italian brand, typical of many from that period and location. Accurate information on the history, timeline and genealogy is mercurial — indeed, the one person who knows the true story may well be Giovanni himself. Although I’d like to hear what Mr Ciöcc would say about this stupendous 24 kt gold-plated San Cristobal.

Remember the Colnagold posted here a while ago, dripping with gold plated first generation C-Record components? It was assembled by Javier Jubete and his Vintage Luxury Bicycles shop in Spain. Javier specialises in exclusive customisations of frames and components, in the spirit of Italcicli Cycle Systems. This San Cristobal is the latest wonder to roll out of the VLB workshop.

It’s made from the same stuff dreams are: Javier found the frame at a flea market, which was reinvigorated by Lana’s Paintshop in León, Spain. Amazingly, a mate who runs Pau Speedshop, also in León, chanced upon another bike that had been stored for around 30 years, built up with a perfect Campgnolo 50th Anniversary gruppo — which Javier disassembled and had gold plated.

The inspiration for the abyssinian black and gold scheme was a couple of San Cristobals seen in the Pelizzoli workshop. Naturally, with a build like this, Cinelli wouldn’t be too far away, making an appearance with limited edition leather handlebar wrap, bidon cover and tyre roll under the saddle. For me, however, the icing on the cake is Giovanni’s autograph on the top tube.

The San Cristobal is currently for sale on the Vintage Luxury Bicycles website, and Javier is already looking for the next project.













