Italians are known for their seductively smooth style and full-of-life mentality; they always seem to be walking around in a bubble of perpetual coolness. It only makes sense that they would create beautiful luxury bicycles, but Scatto Italiano goes past that and creates handcrafted bikes that you customize through their site — choosing everything from the color and the saddle to the handlebar and controls. Plus, the bike builder they've created makes you think you really know a thing or two about bikes, putting you in the designer chair.
Created by designers Giuseppe Gurrado and Pietro Nicola Coletta, Scatto Italiano's goal is to reinvent the traditional craftsmanship of Italian cycling by establishing connections with local craftsman who have knowledge passed down through the generations. They're concerned more with quality than they are with sale numbers and prices, searching for the perfect iconic look and promising that every element is the best it can be.
Customers have 25 different frame color combinations to choose from when building their bike, specifically chosen to testify to the value of Italian culture. We love the bright pairing of narcissus with turquoise, but if you want something subtler we also love cane with pearl accents — though you can get a solid color frame too. Their company uses leather saddles from Brooks England and gives you four different types in several colors (the B15 in black or brown, the B17 in brown, the Concor in black, and the Regal Copper in white or brown).
The handlebars are really cool, because the company hand carves them from American walnut. You can get a sporty straight Bar (which they say is great for commuters who have to wiggle through traffic), the Café Racer (perfect for easy riders), or the aluminum Nitto b125 (for racers). You have several wheel options, from the type of rim to the wheel color, and finally you get to choose what type of controls you want. Offering a front and rear brake, Coaster Brake, Classic Ride, or a Fixed Shutter, you can decide how you want your bike to brake based on the type of riding you do — if you don't frequently race at a nearby velodrome, you certainly don't need the Fixed Shutter. The company also has many frame size options, so if you're super tall (or really short) they have you taken care of.
Once we were done building our bike, the price ended up being €2,637 (around $3,614), which really isn't that bad for the type of cycle Scatto Italiano builds. We really love that every single step and product is explained (along with pricing), so you really feel like you're part of the creation process and have made a bicycle all your own.
