Some say the heart and sole of cycling is in Italy, but we think the head might be in America, and more precisely in Portland. With so many great frame builders and interesting companies coming out of there it is no surprise.

During a visit to Rapha in London we were surprised by how many Portland based companies were being represented there. So much so that it got us thinking about where the spiritual ‘head’ of cycling might be.

Few people realise that it is possible to purchase your own version of a bike featured in the Rapha Continental program; but that is exactly what a client of Tom Donhou wanted.

This is the second time the Festka Pablo has featured on the pages of Podia after we took it for a test ride in Prague last summer.

This is Leon Cerrone’s Condor Leggero with custom khakis paintwork inspired by his love of all things World War 2.

This is the Legend Sella Ronda, named after a famous route around the Dolomite mountains with beautifully smooth roads weaving around a number of stunning peaks; the bike is almost as pretty to look at as the scenery it is named after.

Passoni are introducing a new finish to all their titanium models. The Italian premium frame maker decided to omit the numerous man-hours required to get silky smooth joints on their bikes and as a result offer a reduced price option.

Podia recently made the journey to the East of Poland to ride around the Bieszczady National Park. For the trip we took a titanium Legend IL RE to ride and test.

This is Francesco’s Passoni Top Force Wired that was completed the day Podia visited the Passoni workshop. We managed to take it outside and get some photographs for the Podia Machines gallery.

This is the Eros, a titanium road bike from Denver based frame makers, Alchemy.