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Bike factory assembly lines come in all different shapes and sizes, from the high-volume non-stop lines like those James saw on his recent visit to Giant to the single-mechanic, artisanal workshops of the custom space. Most brands sit somewhere in between, as I learned on a recent visit to Wilier Triestina’s headquarters in Rossano Veneto, near Venice, Italy.
On the one hand, Wilier is a household name and a WorldTour-sponsoring bike brand, providing bikes to both Astana and Groupama-FDJ this season. On the other, its assembly line lives and breathes Italian character. There’s no clinical efficiency or lab-like spotless workshop, but a blend of modern and tradition. The assembly line is almost quintessentially Italian: traditional and stylish (oh my, those Wilier paint jobs), relaxed and slow but steady moving but with a certainty of a job well done … “Tranquilo.”
I visited Wilier recently for a separate story but I was intrigued when I spotted the assembly line during a tour of the brand’s headquarters and snapped some quick pictures to share here. Wilier builds its medium-range and high-end bikes on this assembly line at its longtime home. Frame production and assembly of entry-level bikes, on the other hand, are handled at Wilier’s own Taiwanese manufacturing facility.
This assembly line, with six to eight staff on at any one time, can build up to 40-60 bikes per day. It’s not a constantly moving production line, but the mechanics aren’t waiting about either; here’s how they do it.
On first inspection, “This could be Rotterdam or anywhere,” but a closer look offers clues: This isn’t Rotterdam, Liverpool or Rome. Although Rome is close … Wilier’s assembly line is definitely Italian and definitely Wilier. Frames arrive from Wilier’s production facility, unboxed and hung on trolleys.Each frame is tagged with a barcode and details of the build spec assigned to that frame. Wilier obviously offers a range of stock builds, but it also offers custom builds of varying degree. Some of the frames we saw were ordered from a bike holiday rental company which had a specific build request. From there the bikes are moved to the assembly line room on these simple racks carrying some 50 frames or in other words: an average day’s build list. These drilling machines are located just to the side of the assembly line. Frames are first treated to an initial inspection where things like disc brake mount facing are checked. That’s where the milling machine (the tallest with the green base) comes in. This is used to face the mounts on a bare frame and fork before any parts are added.Then it’s on to the assembly line. The mechanics mount the frame to one of these adjustable bike stands that roll around the central island, usually with a dummy metal seat post specific to each frame attached to the bike stand. The stand is rolled around to the first stop on the assembly line: cranks, front derailleur, and hardware.Each frame has a list of specific hardware and small parts the mechanic collects from dedicated boxes near the first station.Each build also has a list of specific parts and accessories for that build as per the bar code build list. These essentials are pulled together into a single box the mechanic can identify with a bar code matching the frame they are working on.From there, those build parts accompany the frame on its journey around the assembly line.Each station point has a variety of tools required for the jobs completed at that stop on the tour, plus a computer to view and update a frame’s build list and progress.All within easy reachThen it’s on to headsets and other hardware.Step three is hose routing and fork installation.It takes a lot of foam liners to build 50 frames a day without hose rattle.The mechanical, rim-brake Ultegra and Dura-Ace cables presumably don’t come out too often these days.The forks lie in wait next to the assembly line. But their steerers still need to be cut to length. Wilier has a neat solution for accurately and quickly cutting steerers for each frame.Step one: Select the relevant steerer off-cut guide for the frame. These boxes contain an off-cut guide from a steerer specific to each frame and each size of said frame.Step 2: line up the off-cut guide, align this saw blade and cut. The old adage of “measure twice, cut once” doesn’t apply here. It’s more like measure once, cut countless times as the mechanic simply has to line up the blade with the end of the guide to cut the steerer tube to the exact length required.So much want. But at close to £1,000, I probably can’t justify this FEMI NG120 XL portable bandsaw for the few steerers I cut each year. Clearly I just need to find more steerers to cut. In the meantime, I’ll revert back to Dave Rome’s guide on how to cut carbon components.After the cut, the steerer end is sanded to reduce the risk of any delamination. Next stop … brake bleeds. Then it’s around the corner and onto the next stop.But first, the bike will need wheels. Two staff work full time mounting tyres, rotors, and cassettes to wheels at this end of the assembly line. With no end in sight. Next step sees the wheels fitted to the bike, ready for another mechanic to align callipers, add the chain, and tune the shifting. The other side of the assembly line sees the partially built frames become complete bikes. One up, one down lets the mechanic work on one build while keeping the next in line out of the way.It takes a lot of chains to keep this line moving smoothly; there were other boxes with SRAM and Campagnolo chains.There’s also a disc brake mount-facing tool here just in case it is needed, but given the dust on this one, it seemingly isn’t required that often. Again, Wilier checks facing before the frames get onto the assembly line.Bar tape is not usually applied on the assembly line, but these bikes were being fully assembled in preparation for a show Wilier was hosting the following day.Final stop includes a complete checkover and addition of the seat post, saddle, and any bits and bobs included with each bike. Size stickers are also added here. Then it’s over to join the rest of the bikes built that day and await ….Boxing up for shipping on to the distributor, retailer, bike rental shop, consumer, or whomever. It doesn’t usually require five people to box a single bike, but Wiier was experimenting with new recyclable packaging when I visited, and the team was assessing various options and getting to know the new boxes here.
