Gianni disagreed and the two friends soon found themselves in a heated argument. They decided to settle it by laying a bet. Gianni had one year to make a fully functional wooden bicycle. The stakes were high: the loser would invite all their common friends out for dinner.

Gianni set to work with a collection of broom handles, curtain rails and billets. Within eight months he had built a prototype that not only could support a grown man's weight but which ran as smoothly as any bicycle you could buy.

In the space of a few years the bet had become an EC patent and a small cottage industry with an increasing turnover. It now takes a mere 30 days to produce a custom-built wooden bicycle, although the waiting list is somewhat longer. Prices are from 4 to 5 million LIT.

Specifications: Frame, handlebars, saddle and carter in solid oak or ash. Wheels in waterproofed multilayer mahogany. Mudguards in thin linear compressed multilayer oak. Components by Shimano and Campagnolo Traditional or disc brakes. Weighs less than 20 kilos.	For information and sales: Gianni Mazza Via Dante Alighieri 6 37068 Vigasio (Verona) Tel fax: 00-39-045-736.3001