Story of a bike shop: Max Brusa at Bike Empire (Bologna, Italy) – unique cycling exotica

Take a look inside Bike Empire in Bologna. This is far from a typical Local Bike Shop. Max Brusa and his crew showed me around their ‘LBS’ on the day the Tour de France was in town… I met Max the evening before the TDF arrived in Bologna. The bike he was riding served as the catalyst for an introduction. Less than a minute after crossing the road to take a closer look at what I would later learn was originally a track frame that had been converted to a road bike, I’m pleased to say, a friendship born. He spoke a little bit of broken English. I knew only a few words of Italian but my poor language skills were no barrier. Within minutes we were sharing stories and showing photos of bikes we liked and talking about why something from yesteryear is still highly relevant today. “My shop is just around the corner from where the stage finishes tomorrow.” “Righto, I’m going to swing by and find out more.” “Buono.” This is the story of my all-too-brief visit to Bike Empire in Bologna. In less than an hour, we talked and laughed and realised how a bike is about much more than transport or sport. – Rob _____ This is part of a series of videos filmed while in Italy for a month in June / July 2024. Previous episodes: Bike Gallery #TDF2024 – Colnago ‘Fleur-de-Lys’ Interview: Michael Rogers – from the pro peloton to UCI administration… a life of cycling #TDF2024 _____ Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:29 Meet Max Brusa 00:44 How this story started… 01:23 Inside Bike Empire 02:02 Some of Max’s collectables 04:31 Faggin track bike converted to road bike (with prototype Campagnolo Delta brakes) 07:58 Colnago Carbitubo dual down tube track bike (ridden at the worlds in Palermo, Sicily) 10:07 Gianluca Colombo’s De Rosa time trial bike _____ Music: Gonna Love On You Fillmore NY3TC5VVYQCJ0W5E The Very Best Kit Keenlyside ZYKQMWWBJEF6QVP5 Gotta Get It Famous Cats YFLRTLEMWNH5A7UP Hover Wayfair QYJXFQRSUSQL6PIG