1992 Tomassini Diamante
Tomassini Diamante
Perhaps no other company epitomizes Italian bicycles like Tomassini. Tomassini is made in Italy with 100% production coming from the small shop in Grosseto. Here in 1957, Irio Tomassini began his commercial endeavor building exquisite steel road bikes known for exceptional quality, performance, and beautiful paint and finish. Today, Tomassini Bicycles still produces artisan quality steel road bikes but has expanded to high tech materials like carbon, titanium, aluminum, and state of the art stainless steel.
Clearly the folks at Tomassini have thought about their legacy more than I have, so the preceding paragraph is lifted directly from their current website.
Like a lot of avid cyclists of the era, I was introduced to Tomassini in the 1980’s by way of their head-turning paint jobs featured in the “Italian Issue” of various cycling magazines. Unlike Italian compatriots Bianchi, DeRosa or Colnago, Tomassini wasn’t the direct supplier to any big-budget racing team. As a racing fan you rarely saw a Tommasini on television or in an action shot of racing coverage. But it wasn’t as if Tomassini frames weren’t there…
Columbus multi-shape steel
Dura-Ace 7403
Shimano’s dual-pivot brake design
Flite saddle
Tomassini lugs
There were plenty of amateur and lower-level pro teams whose riders raced aboard a Tomassini. Our friend Gavin raced for one such team in the late ‘80’s, and he tells a story of having to race aboard a year-old model as the team director had sold the team’s new and beautiful frames to cover salaries and expenses.
Sometimes Tomassinis were covered in paint that hid the true origin of the bike, with a loyal racer bringing their trusted builder along with them through the pro ranks.
This particular Tomassini is from the early 1990’s. The Dura-Ace 7403 component group, Mavic clincher rims and Selle Italia Flite saddle pegs this bike as an enthusiast’s amateur racing rig. The Columbus Multi-Shape tubing is obscured somewhat by the fanciful paint job but the ride specific customization that the various tube shapes and wall thicknesses produced made for excellent ride performance.