09 November 2009

An interview with Francesco Bertelli

Francesco Bertelli is the guy behind the beautiful bicycles on bertellibici.com. Matt sent me his site a couple of months ago. Wow, we were impressed, not only by the bicycles but by his choice of locations to photograph them - backgrounds that match the colours of the bikes perfectly. Francesco submitted a couple of his builds to the site, Performa Brakeless and Domenica. We wanted to know more, so we asked Francesco some questions.

You mentioned you are Italian. Are you from a family of cyclists, bike builders or riders?

Yes, I’m Italian and I moved only few years ago to NYC, job related reasons. In my family no one is a real fan of the bicycle but everyone has his own. The bicycle is a natural tool that we use everyday. Actually this question recalls me that, when I was a kid, my father used to participate some races that he always lose, but I remember he used to have a beautiful bike with all Campagnolo groupset that I was never able to use - too tall for me at that time…anyway I can say my passion for bikes exploded here in NYC…I never thought about the bike as a design object before and I can’t say that I’m passionate about the sport itself but more about the design and the fact that you can compose it like a piece of art.

I read that you have been cycling for life. What made you start cycling and why do you keep riding?

My hometown is a small town, very safe - or it used to be - and I remember I (actually all kids at that time) used to go to junior school at 6 years on my own with my bike (a cross bicycle with banana saddle). Ever since I used the bike everyday (almost…when possible) to commute…school, work and so on. As I said I’m not a real sport guy.  I simple like designing and on the other hand I really love to ride in NYC with the bike. The city fells so small and you can reach and streets in minutes. You fell free form subways cars and buses. You can visit New York one day if you had a bike.

How many bicycles do you personally own?

I used to have three but now just one because I sold them… my apartment is small so I would need a big garage if I wanted to keep em all!

What is your favourite bicycle to ride? Can you tell us about the components which make it?

The bike I’m using now is this one:
Sentinella - Francesco’s current ride

But I cant say which one is the best…initially my dream bike was the Performa Brakeless but I ended up selling it…I’m entering the tunnel of the market haha ...now I feel like I have to build for others not for me..you know…I will ended up riding a junk bike soon, kidding.

This bike is kinda good example of what I like: Nitto steams, seat posts and bars, MKS pedals and toe clips + toe straps, clean frame, clean rims (Alien in this case but I love Velocity as well and DODICI that I would love to try soon), a leather or suede saddle the important is that it has to be monochrome not funky…a clean handlebars…that’s it.

I might sound like an idiot but I don’t like lights or funny accessories. If it is to dark to ride I don’t ride. If is to slick and rainy to ride I don’t ride, period. My bike is not meant as a workhorse like it has to be for a messenger guy.

What are your favourite places to ride?

Where I live, i.e. Manhattan. I love the city, the streets more than Central Park or the riverside…there is a messanger soul in me! But actually I would love to experience San Francisco with a bike.

Mocciosa - 53cm Black Alien Frame

What made you start building bikes?

It all started because I couldn’t find the design I had in mind. It seems that a lot of manufacturers have not enough taste and they need to put big logos and ugly colors for their bikes (how cheesy is the Derosa logo?).  So basically I wanted to create a “MUJI” philosophy for bikes. With a designer point of view, but wait, not as designer superstar that have to push their own style (what about the not so good MOTO by Stark, what about the Marc Newson Biomega and for Lance? me not likey those, at all). I also don’t like chefs that try to push “deconstructed” recipes. I just like tagliatelle col ragu, so please do it as my granny knows to do it. So the bike has to be “The bike” and its design has to live within its own “natural” primitive details and limits.

So you are a graphic designer. How do you balance building bikes and full time work?

Building bikes to me is fun, and it doesn’t take lot of time assembling one. The time the I really spend the most is on the web, in order to find the right components.. and since I spend already all my day on internet for my job it was easy to me to stay a little longer.

I see you have a brushed frame finish. I imagine this takes a long time. How do you prepare the frame?

It takes one/two days. It could be done in less but I don’t have the industrial tools or facilities right? So it is wire brushed. In the future I hope to find a more practical, clean and fast way to do it though…!

What tool do you use to brush the frame and do you clear coat afterwards?

I don’t clear coat because I would need a real paint booth and now I don’t have it. Besides the coat can darken the metal in some ways. So in the end I just cover the frame with wax (Johnson wax from home depot) in order to protect the frame from humidity and in case I remove soem rust spot with steel wool…that’s it. This kind of frame obviously requires a little bit more maintance than a regular one but the result is definitely different from what other people have.

Stoica - Brakeless track bike

The bikes you build are subtle in colour. What influences your colour palettes?

Army vehicles/airplanes and sports car from the ‘60-‘70.

What is your process when you build up a bike? Do you have a vision already set out or do you collect parts slowly during the build?

I collect parts based on any good deal I can find. I try to never lose a good item on sale espacially if it rare and nice as I have in mind… and then when is time to create a new build I make a rough sketch in Illustrator based on the parts I already have, just ot have an idea and then I buy the remaining parts that I need…but sometimes happens that the final result is not as expected so I start form scratch or change some components…is not easy to find the same shades of color and texture though…the industry runs against designers…and you have to spend hours to find the right part and sometimes you discover that no one produce the components in the color or shape that you have in mind (and for a reasonable price)...disappointing..

Do you build multiple bikes at a time or just focus on one?

One at time…I’m just starting so I don’t have the queue, yet.

Will you ever make a bike with gears and machined rims?

...I don’t know. I don’t see the real need to have machined rims, and for gears maybe. I saw a new hub 3 speed designed for fixie bikes…but I never thought about it, but I think the answer is no, for now.

Are there any other bike builders/designers doing what your doing? If so do you have any web site links.

The guy who inspired me is defintely My Old Bicycle...the only difference is that I don’t use old frames, I don’t restore or reclaim bikes. 

Why did you choose to use Viking frames?

Because Joseph (the owner) is a great guy, and I fell in love with his frames because after a real extensive research on the internet his frames where the ONLY lugged/old school/threaded fork/track frames with no logos/no holes at all (bottle cage or crakes) and for a good price, the best I could find. The only competitor was Sparton but the price was higher for the same frame/same tubing. So aftersome time we got in touch and we collaborated on building his new brand; I helped him out on choosing the colors for his collection and that’s it…everything happened on the internet.

I read that you will collaborate with Viking frames to sell a Bertelli frame. Can you tell us anything about this? Will you sell a Bertelli frameset or only complete bikes?

We will sell the frameset only based on Viking but with different colors and for now I can build bikes only for the NYC area. Maybe in future, depending on shipping methods etc I may start to sell complete bikes outside my city.

I see you don’t like logos. Will a Bertelli/Viking frame have a logo on it?

About my frame it will be the same as Viking but it will come in different colors we still have to decide and with my name stamped very small on the droputs only. As I said I like the MUJI philosohpy and the brand is in the design not in the logos. I’m not saying I don’t like logos at all but I don’t like em big on the bike. Would you really ride in a Porsche with a big logo on the hood? not me.

Have you sold a bike and regretted the sale?

Not yet. Even though I’m really sad selling bikes because I love em all and I would use a different one for ever day of the week…but my apartment is too small to store them all!

What would your dream bike be and what components would it have?

I don’t have a dream bike in mind but my dream about bikes is to have the possibility to have all the components I want with the colors or finish I have in mind. Unfortunately the supply itself has limits, obviously due to the market demand. Simple example: recently I was looking for some bars tape. I research all the kind I could but I couldn’t find the color I wanted. Brooks, fizik, velo Orange. none of them had the right one. and sometimes happen that if you fin the right color or shape from a very small manufacturer in the middle of nowhere it produce his components with an ugly logo, just to ruin the good work done. So that’s it, my dream is one day to have control on components, as now I’m trying to have control on frame set design and colors.

Anything else you want to tell us?

I think I talked a lot but for anyone who has question I can answer anytime at my email you’ll find on my website.
ciao!

Francesco’s site: www.bertellibici.com. The frames he uses: www.vikingcycles.com