Bike Check: Vitali

Eiry's elegant Vitali defines the unique approach to riding bikes shared by all of us here at Stuckylife HQ. It's a little bit old fashioned, with some home-made flourishes, tied together by local businesses and the finest in contemporary cycling tech.

Equally at home on commuter duty, racing alley cats, or collecting KMs between here and Sooke, this teal Vitali has got a long summer in store.

Vitali was the house brand for Vancouver's La Bicicletta during the 1990s. Italian-made from Columbus tubing, these frames epitomize the last gasp of high-quality steel racing frames before oversized aluminum came to rule the market. 

Eiry has a meticulous approach to building a bike. She spent months collecting bits and pieces, ideas and preferences that have resulted in the following build.

Frame: Mid 90s Vitali. Columbus Minimal 1" carbon fork

Bars & Stem: Debadged Zipp Service Course CSL, 38cm. Zipp stem pending

Seatpost & Saddle: Polished Campy Chorus, Selle Italia SLR

Wheels: Handbuilt Stan's 340 rims laced w/ Sapim Laser spokes to White Industries hubs. 18h F, 24h R.

Tires: Maxxis Padrone 700x23c tubeless w/ Stan's sealant

Shifters & Derailleurs: Campy Chorus 11spd

Crankset: Campy Record 165mm, 53/39t

Chain: Campy Record 11spd

Brakes: Campy Record D

Pedals: Look Keo Max.

Total weight sits somewhere around 17.5lbs with cages and pedals.

Short 165mm cranks ensure high cadence climbing through the Highlands.

The Wheels are ninja-built. Superlight Stan's Alpha 340 rims to gleaming White Industries hubs. These are set up tubeless with Stan's sealant & Maxxis Padrone tires.

Arundel cages, and their tacky Gecko tape have made their way on to the Vitali.

"London, Paris, Tokyo, Burnley."