Are you searching for actual handmade Italian made tires? You'll be hard pressed to find any nowadays. Believe it or not, since the Vittoria plant in Italy closed and began making all their tires overseas, there are only five individuals who produce tubular tires and clincher tires in the entire country of Italy. The company is called Veloflex.

Even with worldwide distribution, Veloflex still makes all their tires by hand. One by one, Veloflex tires are made to be the best tires money can buy.

Founded in 1981, Veloflex started their company by manufacturing rubber and plastic pieces for printers. But the two founders had a true passion for cycling so they took their rubber and plastic knowledge and transferred it from printers to peletons.

To this day, all the Veloflex tires are handmade by a small group of select people. At a tiny workshop in northern Italy, five skilled craftsmen (and women) work day in and day out to create the most amazing tires on the market today. Machines, sure, they have their merit, and there are a few on the premises for different applications, but nothing beats skilled and loving hands.

Using only the most technologically advanced raw materials available, Veloflex has a patented procedure for making tires by hand that only these five people know.

If you've never ridden on a Veloflex handmade Italian tire, you are seriously missing out! Veloflex uses old world ingenuity combined with the most technologically advance raw materials available to produce the smoothest, most durable tires available.

We believe the secret to the smooth, supple ride is the cotton base. Yeah, we know, cotton isn't very "technologically advanced", let us explain. Veloflex's design is both uncomplicated and graceful. They start with a cotton base for a more robust casing. The cotton is formed fiber by fiber until it creates a thick, durable cloth. After the cloth is finished being woven, it is doused with latex which forms it into a thick casing. The casing is then biased at a 45 degree angle for strength while still allowing the necessary flexibility. In our opinion, it's the cotton casing that makes you feel like you're floating on a cloud.

After the casing is cured, they have to decide whether they will be making a tubular or a clincher. There may be a time where the decision to make a tubular or clincher will be a mute point. There is a great demand for these handmade Italian tires, such a demand that one of the owners, Gabrielle Colleoni has long considered stopping production on the tubular tires so they can concentrate their efforts on clinchers alone. Its not that the tubulars aren't doing well, quite the contrary, they too have a great demand. But most of the demand comes from professional cycling teams, whereas the purchasing public are buying up the clinchers faster than their small production team can make them. Turns out the clinchers come off the line faster too, so it seems economically viable to stop production on the tubular all together.

We say, train more people and make more tires! Tubular and Clinchers alike. While we hint to our readers to get your Veloflex tubular tires before it's too late.