Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

Concorde Aquila

Concorde Aquila

I have a soft spot for Giovanni Pellizoli’s frames—Concorde, Paganini and especially Conti. I have a rosso corsa Conti in my garage, which was my first experience with quality Italian steel. The logo on the down tube is the same as the Ciocc font, the factory from whence these frames were borne. But my chipped and spotty frame is the cosmetic Yang to this immaculate Concorde Aquila’s Yin.

Concorde Aquila
The family resemblances, however, are numerous. The Conti also features the trademark branding over the top of the bottom bracket shell and the fork crowns. A brazed-on Italian flag adorns the top tube in same location, and the graphics are exactly the same as those on the stock Concorde. The model name is the similarity that I found most significant: The Concorde’s ‘Aquila’ is Italian for ‘Eagle’, while my Conti is an ‘Astore’: Goshawk. Giovanni obviously had an affinity with birds of prey.

Concorde Aquila
This is the ‘standard’ you can expect of Andy White of Fyxomatosis, tailored according to the client’s desire. An emphasis is always placed on correct size, proportion and riding position. This Aquila is a classic build throughout with Team PDM influences, consisting of a complete Campagnolo 8-speed Chorus gruppo (the exception being 1st generation Record ErgoPower levers), an original holier-than-thou Rolls saddle, Cinelli cockpit and an Alpina bladed-spoke wheel set by Dan Hale of ShifterBikes. If you like the look of the Fyxomatosis ‘standard’, contact Andy through his website.

PS: There’s more detail images of the Concorde Aquila on the Fyxomatosis flickr stream.

Concorde Aquila
Concorde Aquila
Concorde Aquila
Concorde Aquila
Concorde Aquila
Concorde Aquila
Concorde Aquila