Tag: Basso Bicycles

If you’re looking to buy a new bike, sure, you could walk into your local bike shop or go online and choose a bike that looks good and that may or may not work well with your body and the type of rider you are. Unfortunately, that is probably the way most cyclists approach the bike-buying process, through a lot of guesswork.

But what if you could buy a bike that worked seamlessly as an extension of your body? In other words, if a bike was built to accommodate the reach of your arms, the arch of your back, and the reach and pedal stroke from your legs? That is exactly what Basso Bicycles sets out to achieve with every bike it builds, thanks to its innovative frame design.

The Basso Bicycles Story

Alcide Basso comes from a small Italian town close to Vincenza, Italy. It was here he saw his brother race bikes and where he got inspired to understand what made a bicycle perform the way it does. Then in 1977, he built his first bike for a man who walked in off the street who asked for a bike to fit his body.

That was the seed that allowed Basso’s vision about bike building to take root, a philosophy he is still motivated by today. With each bike he builds, Basso states that the “shape of its construction, every angle of its geometry and every single tube that makes up the frame are the result of research and development together with highly specialized technicians. It’s not about producing the lightest or most aerodynamic bike but about combining these characteristics to create an inspiring high-performance riding experience.”

And Basso has not only studied every aspect of a bicycle build but also the bodies of cyclists. He says, “Thousands of anthropometric measurements on cyclists’ bodies [have been done] to study their posture, weight distribution, the dynamic balance on which cycling is based.” That means every bicycle Basso builds is unique and customized to every cyclist who buys one.

Innovation Used For Every Part of a Basso Bicycle

When Alcide Basso says that every part of the bicycle is approached from the standpoint of a craftsman, he’s not just making a flippant remark. He sees his technicians as more than engineers or bike builders but as modern artisans. That is also because he sees each person who works for him as an extension of his creative vision.

That vision extends to areas of a bicycle like the 3B clamp system used to connect the seat post to the seat post, or the integration system of the stem, headset, and spacers, which he calls the Paradigma. That allows for easier customization of his bikes. Additionally, because of these design improvements, it makes the disassembly of a Basso bike for packing into a travel case faster and easier.

Basso has even thought about something as simple as the paint scheme that is used on his bicycles. He claims the paint is aerodynamically resistant to contamination and increases the ability for water to be repelled. In fact, Basso states that he “bases geometry on the idea that the frame must be the extension of a body, that mechanics must adapt to biology to enhance it...”

Basso’s Bikes, Components, and More

Other than the drivetrain, pedals, and wheels, every other aspect of a Basso bike is built by hand to conform to a cyclist’s body geometry. And Basso’s frames, while using the modern materials of today, are unique in another aspect. It is probably one of the few builders that will still build steel bike frames.

Although it focuses on its road bikes as its flagship products, Basso also builds gravel, E-Bikes, commuter, and as already mentioned, steel bikes. The same level of innovation and dedication goes into these builds as with Basso’s road bikes. That also extends to the company’s parts and branded apparel.

Last Thoughts

For almost 50 years, Alcide Basso and his company have built, innovated, and engineered bicycles that fit a cyclist’s riding geometry. Every part of a Basso bike is built by hand and is an extension of its creator’s vision of what a bicycle and its main parts should and can be.

That vision is that a bicycle should be “a ride, perfected.” Basso continues by stating that the main mission of Basso bikes has always been about “creating the best riding experience for passionate cyclists like you and us.” With that kind of singular passion behind a product, how can a cyclist in search of a new bike not buy a Basso?