This article was produced in collaboration with Drali and was first published in Rouleur Issue 139
As soon as I step into the Drali Milano store, my eyes are drawn to an ice-white bicycle with the Drali branding gleaming like metal on the frame. A little further on, to the right, there’s a corner steeped in memory: a metal cabinet topped with a leather helmet, handcrafted shoes, and vintage jerseys.
In just a few steps, I take in the story of a Milanese brand who, in 2025, celebrated its hundredth anniversary. The brand’s newly-released, aerodynamic Iridio bike is the most contemporary expression of this heritage, which is shown by the photographs and newspaper clippings hanging on the walls.
Between the two shop windows, a black-and-white photograph portrays Fausto Coppi and shows the deep connection between the great champion and the Drali workshop. In 1946, Coppi won his first Milano– Sanremo on a bicycle built by Carlo Drali, the founder of the brand who had joined Bianchi’s racing department back in 1914, and his son Giuseppe. Carlo had opened the “Bicicletteria Drali” in 1925, a bicycle workshop that marked the official beginning of the brand, and Giuseppe, born in 1928, would go on to play a central role in its history. At that time, in 1946, the Drali shop was located near the Navigli, a lively working-class district of artisans and small workshops. There, Carlo, drawing on his racing experience with Bianchi, kept close ties with the company, collaborating with it and eventually becoming a dealer himself.
In the 1980s, Giuseppe moved the shop just a few blocks away. By then, his workshop had become a point of reference and a meeting place for cyclists and enthusiasts. Among them was Angelo Mantovani, a surgeon at the nearby hospital, who spent much of his free time helping him keep the storeroom in order. From that friendship grew the foundations of the bridge that still connects the brand to the present.
“The last eight years in Drali’s history are divided into two phases: five spent with Giuseppe and three without him,” says Gianluca Pozzi, current CEO of Drali Milano. After the passing of his wife Marisa in 2014,Giuseppe – ‘il Drali – decided to close the workshop. It seemed like the end of a story that had begun decades earlier, but two years later came the meeting with Gianluca Pozzi, Andrea Camerana, and Robert Carrara.
“Andrea, Robert and I met him almost by chance, driven by our shared passion for steel bicycles and thanks to Angelo Mantovani – now our collaborator – who used to spend time at his workshop. Giuseppe didn’t want to carry on with the business, saying it was his wife who ‘did things with the pencil,’ meaning she kept the accounts. Our wish was simple: to rekindle that tradition. We took over the brand and decided to start again with the historic suppliers, to continue building frames in the same spirit that had made them unique.”
From that meeting came a new beginning: in 2017 Cicli Drali Milano was born, with a larger store still just a few steps from the historic location. From there began a path of growth that would transform the brand in the years to come.
That growth led to a profound transformation, not only in the physical space but also in its identity. In 2020 the brand officially became Drali Milano, following a rebranding process that refreshed its image. Today the space extends over 1,000 square metres and, since 2021, has also boasted a flagship store with windows facing the street. It is not just a showroom, but a place designed as a meeting space: armchairs and shelves filled with books and magazines, workstations for co-working, an area dedicated to training and bike fitting.
“For us, it has always been important to find a way to bring people here. We’re not on what you would call a high-traffic street, so we told ourselves we had to be able to attract enthusiasts,” explains Pozzi, seated in front of a display set up after the centenary celebration in June, with photographs from that day.
“Co-working was born during Covid, when there was a real need for alternative spaces. It still happens that someone stops by, maybe trains and then stays to work for a couple of hours. The idea has always been this: to transform the store into a destination.”
Two years ago the brand made the leap into the professional ranks, becoming a sponsor of Team Continental Sias Rime Drali. The first victory among the pros came on the Ametista, a high-modulus carbon bike. Drali’s racing spirit, however, is not expressed only in professional competitions: it also finds a place in ASD Amatori Drali Milano, a team that takes part in amateur races while also organising rides designed for community and sharing.
“We have a community that includes former competitive riders and under-23s, but also cyclists of every level,” continues Pozzi. “Some of them have become friends and collaborate with us, taking part in trade shows and events wearing our jerseys. For three years we also sponsored a national granfondo series, the Coppa Piemonte. Today we focus on group rides designed for 20–25 cyclists: occasions that also serve to bring in new enthusiasts, often young people between 20 and 30 years old. Every ride always brings someone new: proof that this formula works.”
While still a small-scale company, Drali Milano is gradually expanding its international horizons. Thanks to agreements with selected distributors, today its bicycles are available in multi-brand stores across several countries. “These stores often organise group rides and foster cycling communities,” explains Pozzi. “So an enthusiast who walks in finds a Drali bicycle, along with an approach similar to ours and comparable services.”
Today Drali’s range spans from road bikes to gravel, including special editions and limited series. The goal is to preserve a part of the past while giving the brand new life and new prospects. “When we decided to work with carbon, it didn’t feel like stepping off our track,” explains Pozzi. “We tried to approach it with the same philosophy: at first even the carbon frame was entirely handcrafted, made in Italy. Today we also produce in Asia, with standard sizes and models comparable to those of larger manufacturers, but anyone who comes here can still request a completely tailor-made bike.”
For Pozzi, introducing carbon was not a break but a way to give continuity to the brand’s history: “The risk would have been to remain isolated. The world changes. The first carbon bikes we built had traditional brakes and mechanical groupsets; today those have disappeared, and the range includes only models with disc brakes and electronic groupsets. It wasn’t about erasing the past, but about following its evolution, responding to current demands.”
Whether steel, aluminum, or carbon, every bike can be customised thanks to direct control over production. Orders are made to measure, while the store still carries a ready-to-ride selection. “Anyone who walks in finds models available in different colour and size combinations,” adds Pozzi. “Within a few days we can build the bike exactly as they want it, thanks to our collaboration with all the leading component brands.”
The rebirth of Drali was not just a simple exercise in continuity, but a dialogue between generations capable of opening new paths: in 2023 a time trial bike was created for Emporio Armani and two models were presented in collaboration with former world champion Gianni Bugno. “We started a new story, but together we shaped what we are now. Giuseppe was not jealous of our work, and he wasn’t bothered that we put the brand to the test with new colours or with carbon; on the contrary, he supported us. At over eighty years old, we didn’t expect such curiosity and involvement. You could see it in everyday gestures, like staying in the workshop until evening to change a tyre while sitting on his chair. It was a reciprocal exchange.”
The Milanese brand also explored the world of e-bikes, but chose not to pursue it. Gravel, on the other hand, proved to be an opportunity. “We like it because it changed the world of cycling and helped all brands get through a difficult period after Covid,” says Pozzi. “First there was a lack of production, then it shifted to an excess of supply. Gravel created a new wave, embraced even by cyclists who already owned a road bike and who usually remain very loyal to their brand.”
“We chose to offer three models to interpret the gravel world, which in a short time has already diversified. There’s the touring cyclist, those looking for speed and those focused on pure performance. That’s why we have three solutions: aluminum, practical and accessible, also suited to commuting; steel, the most classic and versatile material, comfortable and forgiving; and carbon, lightweight and performance-oriented.”
Zenith, the newest addition to the range, sits on the stand in the spacious workshop. At work is Alessandro Merli, who for years was Giuseppe’s technician and assistant.
“This area represents our current state of order,” explains Pozzi. “Today we have complete control over production. In the past we relied on frame builders who proposed the models to us; now we start from scratch: we design the bicycle, choose suppliers of raw carbon, steel, or aluminum tubes, which the frame builders then turn into complete frames. Once they come back, we inspect them, send them for painting, and finally they return here for assembly. The workshop is the nerve centre.”
Among the frames hanging in a row, a Trinity 100 in steel stands out, with the number 10 on the seat tube. Only ten examples were produced to celebrate the Centenary. On the head tube, a silver diamond-shaped emblem shines against the golden finish, achieved with hand-applied gold leaf. “We are a small but ambitious company, and we aim for reasonable growth,” notes Pozzi. “Celebrating the anniversary was a tribute owed to Giuseppe Drali and to everything that had been created.”
In the road range, there is the ‘sister’ Trinity, in oversized steel with a horizontally tapered top tube.
“The Miraggio and the Trinity are steel frames with TIG welding: they preserve the charm of the traditional material, but with an evolved production method. They are designed for experienced cyclists looking for something special – a sign of how much sense it still makes to work with steel today,” explains Pozzi.
The frame-building tradition is expressed in two ‘special’ models. Morpheus combines lugs with modern components, and Pokerissima highlights the iconic Drali lugs, emblem of an origin story that is still alive: “Giuseppe worked on and decorated the lugs, which today are increasingly rare because they are seldom used. A distinctive mark we wanted to preserve.
Pokerissima is super classic, with external cables and down-tube shifters. Morpheus, on the other hand, brings together the tradition of lugs with the modernity of components.”
The story of the brand concludes with Iridio which has its aerodynamic profiles inspired by the NACA principle (originally developed for aircraft wings and designed to reduce air resistance). The carbon bike stands out for its slim lugs, oversized head tube, ultra-thin seatpost, and clearance for tyres up to 34 mm.
“This is the first model designed and developed entirely by us,” explains Pozzi. “From the initial sketch to the prototypes, through testing and engineering, just as a much larger manufacturer would do. Some may say that aero bikes all look the same, but only from a distance: the details make the difference. The screws are engraved with Drali, the three brand colours appear behind the fork and rear stays, and even the seal you lift to adjust the saddle height is engraved with the name. The seatpost is secured with a screw that pushes the tube into place. As with a tailored suit, we have enriched it in the details.”
In Iridio, two worlds coexist: the lugs on carbon which recall Drali’s tradition, and the 3D printing, used for prototypes and details, which marks modernity. Two sides of the same identity.
