Chris Bishop recently assembled a rare set of tubes by Italy’s Gilco Design, creating a cyclocross frame for an LA customer. The unusual profile lends a distinctive touch to the frame, to which Chris has also applied his individual style.

There’s a fascinating DNA woven into the molecules of those tubes, inextricably tied to the Italian passion for design and a dynasty of high quality bicycle frames. Angelo Columbo formed Columbus Tubi in 1919, focusing on the burgeoning bicycle sector. However, during the 1920s and 30s, Columbus was also a leading manufacturer of furniture in the ‘rationalist’ style, creating pieces by luminaries such as Breuer, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe.

While Columbus continued to prosper, their reputation borne upon the successes of the racing bicycles built with their tubes, Angelo’s son, Gilberto, increasingly began to concentrate on the technical aspects of the industry. The combination of his first and last names produced the label Gilco, and the new company collaborated with boat and coach builders, including projects with Maserati and Enzo Ferrari. Gilco Design was incorporated in 1966 as Trafiltubi, as it exists today, specializing in the custom tubes that gave us the famous Colnago Master and Cinelli Laser.

Jinbok’s Cyclocross is the latest bicycle to continue the Gilco legacy, and the fine details that Chris has implemented, such as cut-out lugs and dropouts, has produced a completely original result. While the current component list is not it’s final guise, the frame will always be the star of the show. Fresh Frame is to be thanked for the stellar paint job, and photographer John Fabrizio has captured it perfectly.

John Fabrizio’s exceptional photography of another Bishop Bike is featured in the 2012 Cycle EXIF Custom Bicycle Calendar. Click here to preview and purchase.





















