How A Ducatista Makes His Two-Wheel Non-Motor Toy

on December 12, 2014 at 10:10 am

For some there’s bicycles. For the rest of us there’s therapy.

Between motorcycles and bicycles, there’s only an engine separating the freedom of their two wheels and the wind in your hair. Riding a motorcycle will make you a Better Man because you get that adventurous side back in you.

But sometimes, you just want to slow down and enjoy the life. It’s time to leave the engine at home, and go riding with the spirit in your heart. Because a great adventure can be had by simply seeking out a city’s bike paths.

Peter Laibacher, a Ducatista, has taken for inspiration the Capagnolo-equipped factory Ducatis of the model 80s to produce his trellis-framed mountain bikes and commuters. He called it: Superleggera.

In Italian, “superleggera” means super light. It’s also a licensed trademark of Carrozzeria Touring, an automobile coachbuilder established in 1926 who pioneered the method of bodywork construction using small-diameter tubes to form the frame.

The frame is an improved designed which is 1.1 pounds lighter than the earlier iterations, the Pelagro PB1, and has a new, lightweight rear triangle. The head and down tubes have also been redesigned to shave weight. It was built as a race machine, and performed successfully in its maiden voyage, a local German hill-climbing event.

Thanks to a selection of top shelf parts such as the tubular carbon DT Swiss wheelset, which is shod with a pair of the Dutch handmade Dugast tyres, the bike achieved the low weight of 2.5 pounds.

Here are some pictures for you to compare between the Pelagro PB1 (left side) and the Superleggera (right side).