I was in Tuscany recently , and for my birthday , a good friend arranged for me to visit the Tommasini factory .

I had met Mr Irio Tommasini previously , and we talked about his builds , the type of steels he used and who in the current sphere of artisan frame builders he liked …

On this occasion I was unable to see him as he was attending matters on his olive farm , instead , I was fortunate to meet his two daughters , Roberta and Barbara …

The bike in hand is the iconic ‘Diamanté model , named by Roberta on the right , because that is what she saw in the multi shape tubes ..

I was given a tour of the factory very kindly by Barbara , a lady of in-depth knowledge of the science of frame building , fascinating to talk to , aware of geometry , physics and able to predict a frames performance from it’s movement , like a professor ….the gentleman bellow is involved in the iconic frame painting process …

Forks and frames , Tommasini provides restoration services to older frames ..

As well as tailor made frames , a prime example of serendipity striking , at that moment one of Tommasini’s highly skilled in-house frame builders was actually working on Barbara’s personal gravel bike frame ….

Barbara also explained the Tommasini ethos to me .

Irio Tommasini has selected the best of the best to work in the in house production process , all are long serving staff , numbers have applied to work within , but only those that reached Mr T ‘ s exacting standards got accepted .

Only the highest grades of Italian steels , aluminium and titanium are used to produce the frames , no carbon ones are produced as Tommasini are unable to source Italian material .

The lugs are produced in house … one of the latest model , steel framed gravel bike , the , the ‘ fire ‘..

This an anniversary edition Super Prestige made from Columbus SLX steel , only 10 more will be made

It was an unforgettable birthday experience , a chance to see behind the scenes of an iconic artisan’s factory , and learn so much about what it takes to understand the true art of fine frame building , many , many thanks again.