Every few years, the Cermenati’s travel to a favored grove of old beech trees in Slovenia. One is felled, milled, and the planks are taken back to Italy for aging.

Read more →

Tying and soldering spokes at the last cross was once a common procedure, the mark of a well made wheel. Why has it disappeared? The conditions that made it so useful are gone:

(1) Rims of variable quality, often wood, that flexed and made noise, especially at spoke crossing contacts.
(2) Unpaved roads in every direction.
(3) Spokes that often broke and tried to become tangled in the drivetrain.
(4) A time when the cost of labor was low and craftsmanship was more highly valued.

OK, so it’s gone. No need to mourn. Let’s celebrate this old tradition by doing it in style. Make sure your ties are fit for the most immaculate restoration. Each of your ties should look like jewelry, not like crude electrical soldering. Here’s your guide: Read more →

Ghisallo Wood Rims boasts more than 60 years experience begun in the legendary Milan workshop of D’Alessandro. Following the retirement of D’Allesandro himself, his partner, Antonio Cermenati, transported the tooling to Magreglio; high above Lake Como in the Italian Alps. The Cermenati family has, for three generations, preserved the passion for this gem of creative craftsmanship, the only living example of its kind. The rims are constructed in a workshop only a few hundred meters from the Chapel of the Madonna del Ghisallo, famous to all the World’s cyclists, and the brand new cycling museum of Ghisallo.

Antonio’s son, Giovanni, has mastered and continued this craft in Magreglio. It’s with great pride that he is now turning the business over to his son, Antonio. The continuity within this artisan family guarantees the highest quality of workmanship.

Our friend Giovanni has not only continued a beautiful tradition, but a cyclist who likes these rims now has a way to find them. On wood rims I three times won the Tour of Flanders.” –Fiorenzo Magni

Ghisallo rims are made entirely of aged beech wood from Slovenia, laminated in multiple layers with special marine adhesives and varnish – carefully finished for a perfect appearance and function – hand made in the artisan tradition. The rims are very elastic and rugged. They are not easily deformed and absorb road and trail vibration providing comfort to the cyclist.

Even today wood rims are a viable alternative because they do not overheat like aluminum alloys. They are popular with amateur riders and used throughout the world in both tubular and clincher models.

Update: As of March 2013, we no longer represent Ghisallo. To purchase rims, visit their online store.