In the past months, lots of people and friends have asked me or Andrea about our bike, or I should say "bici".
Words by velocitizen
The history of Milani:
The origin of Milani Cycles Factory dates way back to 1927, when
three brothers began making bikes for themselves. All were top-quality racers in
their own right at the time the company was formed. Giuseppe Milani was racing
in the Bianchi team with the likes of Michele Mara, Domenico Piemontesi,
Fiorenzo Crippae Ambrogio Morelli. Natale Milani, meanwhile, was racing with the
Viscontea team and riding alongside Cino Cinelli - another great rider of the
time who later went on to also found his own bicycle company.
As well as being a racer, Natale was already an accomplished
craftsman. During World War II, he’d served with the Italian Air Force as a
flight engineer. He regularly manufactured parts when spares weren’t available
or made changes purely to improve upon existing designs. This ability to make
things with hands, along with his understanding of engineering, led to Milani
Cycles being among the first companies to make bicycle frames using aluminium
alloy. As a result, Milani Cycles quickly became known as the best that money
could buy.
The brothers’ first workshop, based in Gallarate, was in an excellent
position too. It was surrounded by several giants of engineering, such as MV
Agusta Aviation - later to became MV Agusta motorcycles and AgustaWestland
helicopters - Caproni aviation, Macchi aviation, Frera motorcycles and Ganna
Cycles. With this concentration of expertise to hand, it should be no real
surprise that Milani Cycles quickly became one of the best manufacturers of
bicycles in Italy. Yet Milani didn’t only construct bikes for themselves, they also
produced some of the best bikes in the world for the biggest names in cycling.
Their craftsmanship and attention to detail quite rightly made Natale Milani one
of the most widely respected Italian frame builders. That dedication to detail
is something that can equally be seen in the Milani products of
today.
But a modern Milani was very nearly not to be. When Natale died in
1996, the brand lay dormant until Celeste Milani and his wife Paola Di Domenico
resurrected the business. Today, they apply the same core values that Natale
applied to his range of bikes - quality and performance. They also continue to
offer the option to have any Milani frame custom-built. Their current range of
bikes runs to a replica steel frame that recaptures one Natale’s original
designs.
Milani today:
After many years of professional experience as manager for
multinationals such as Nestlé, Virgin, McDonald's and Bulgari, Celeste Milani
establishes a light, efficient and modern company. He creates the new center for
Design and Production, where exclusive and tailor made frames are brought to
life; puts the design into the hands of experts draftsmen; commits the frame’s
production to skilled craftsmen; entrusts research development and product’s
test to aeronautical engineers. Communication marketing and brand awareness
are promoted through national and international sponsorships and prestigious
partnerships with world famous brands.
Faithful to its history, Milani still produces frames designed and
created entirely in Italy, by hand, with the same fine craftsmanship which characterized the
firm’s origins, but also paying great attention to the ongoing evolution of
materials, from steel to steel-inox, aluminium alloy and carbon fibre. Thanks to
new technologies and new innovative workmanship, Milani Cycles preserves a
perfect balance between tradition and progress to develop his philosophy: to
realize high range and high quality frames.
Today, as in the past, the distinctive features to realize Milani’s
frames are highest quality and technical standards, details, design and
performance. Products range from classic road, cyclo-cross and track frames to
triathlon and vintage frames.
These company’s features are the reasons for the successful and
lasting partnership with the world known italian automobile company Maserati for
the production of a Milani for Maserati range of bikes.
Besides, the excellence and high performance of
products have persuaded athletes like Andrea and I, to race with a
MILANI N109 & N111, full carbon custom wrapped frames.
