Grandis

I run after a Grandis for more than twenty years...And I mean it literally... My brother in law comes from Verona and he is in stronger shape than I am, So when we go for a ride in summer I have plenty of time to admire his beloved bicycle that I know he will never get rid of.
When you get to Verona, besides its famous Arena and the beauty of the city itself, Those of us who are allways staring at bicicles become aware of an obvious rivalry... Grandis or Chesini? Of course it is plenty of Botechias, Bianchis, Legnanos etc... But the two firsts seem to dominate the local market... Why?

Well Grandis and Chesini where brothers in low and from Verona. It was Chesini who started the bussines back in the thirties toghether with grandfather Grandis. When, allready in the sixties Chesini went broke, Grandis found a way to continue the bussines and, make it grow. Actually his son Ezio is a well appreciated "constructeur", especially in northern Italy and also in Germany.

Ezio Grandis gets up every morning at four o'clock and after one hour ciclyng he heads to work. It takes a huge passion for what you do to keep that rhythm.
I was lucky enough to visit him and his factory where they still make frames the old way.
One of the jewells of the late nineties was the Grandis Overmax.
My pictures taken with the cell phone didn't went out very well, so I've asked to Ángel who very kindly gave me permission to use his  blog pictures.

Ezio told us that only two brands are legally authorized to link its name to Columbus... one is Grandis the other one Colnago.

Signature in silver to avoid oxidation ...

An italian jewell!