Who/Where/Why

Alberto De Gioannini

Materials Engineer at Politecnico di Torino (Italy), Alberto has been Product Manager and designer for Vittoria & Geax tyres for several years. From January 1st 2007 he is fully dedicated to his own Effetto Mariposa project.
Long-time cycling aficionado, he loves all aspects of cycling, including maintenance and cycling-related technical and material innovations. Getting lost while exploring new trails on long winter rides and post-ride meals are the activities he really excels at.
Considering the fact he can ride just one at the time, he owns too many bicycles.
Consistently ranking in the second-half of the arrival list, he competes in road/off-road cycling, triathlon and running.

Bra (CN), Piemonte, Italia

Effetto Mariposa’s headquarter is in a 30.000 people town called Bra. Bra is in Piemonte (a region in the north-west of Italy), south of Torino and north of Cuneo. It finds itself between the Langhe and Roero hills, surrounded by wineyards and agricoltural excellences. It’s not by chance that SlowFood was born here.
Mountains are close by, as is the Mediterranean sea (at around 50 and 100 kilometers respectively), both within pedaling distance for a trained cyclist.
Also those who prefer cycling closer to town can have fun, though: off-road trails are just a few kilometers from downtown, an intricated web of unpaved paths on argyle ground, stretching from America dei Boschi over to Asti.

See Effetto Mariposa on a bigger map

On the road, so many quiet roads going through little towns and beautiful scenaries prevent any risk of boredom… with climbs for all tastes.
Typical ‘Piemontese’ food, with home-made pasta, meats, cakes and season’s gourmet specialties, is ideal for recovery after long rides. Or to simply enjoy oneself!

Effetto Mariposa
“Effetto Mariposa” name homages the fascinating Chaos Science. Following what has been verified for the so called ‘nonlinear dynamic systems’ (showing sensitive dependence on initial conditions, more details here), and taking a giant leap from physics to the more familiar bicycle world, we believe that small changes can lead to major differences. This drives us to refine each new product so that it gives our customers (at least) a tiny yet clear advantage.
We still produce in Italy as we believe, constantly verifying it, in the excellence of our suppliers and in the importance of direct contact with our roots.