# Gios Compact Pro



## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

Hey guys is this frame nervous riding with the compact rear triangle. How would it make a difference by moving the dropouts forward or back? Interested. This thing is sweet. Anyone have one?


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## Dajianshan (Jul 15, 2007)

My builder sells quite a few of those as his low-end Italian steel bike. They dress up real nice and look like a much more expensive frame, but I didn't like the ride all that much when I took one as a loaner while I had some repairs done.


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

Voodoochile said:


> Hey guys is this frame nervous riding with the compact rear triangle. How would it make a difference by moving the dropouts forward or back? Interested. This thing is sweet. Anyone have one?


Rode the original. As a junior rider in early 80's it was my sponsor. The bicycle was kept aside for several years while riding for Peugeot. In the late 80's the Gios was dusted off and I started riding it again until 1996-ish. I crashed it bad into the back side of someone cutting me off on a June 20th evening after exiting Nation on the way to Bastille coming from Marne-la-Vallee on the way to Porte Maillot where I lived. My commute.

Loved the tightness and responsive lite nature of how the rear triangle caught pedal inputs. You could out steer the bike, hop curbs, jump over downed riders in front of you and *almost* avoid hitting a side street car blowing his red light in front of your bars. It's classic GIOS. It's not comfortable on long riding ...but it's comfortable to some who sprints around obstacles and likes speed. It's good for 4-5 hours every day. Rain or shine. The compact rear stays have been around forever.

It's a keeper frame.:thumbsup: 


















-
p.s. I'm buying one next year.


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## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

I took a look at my Tecno and it doesn't seem like the tire could be much closer to the seat tube. I can see that the seat tube angle on the Gios is about 3/4 degrees steeper than my Tecno though. I can't see how this makes the rear triangle on the compact pro any tighter. There's about 7mm clearance between the seat tube and size 23 tire on my Tecno so personally I can't see the Gios being any tighter than that unless there's something I'm not seeing. Hmmm


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## vandalbob (Dec 13, 2001)

*It's awesome.*

My son has a Gios compact pro that is probably older than he is and the bike is a fantastic ride. A co-worker is currently borrowing it as a long term test ride to see if he's going to get one. It's responsive in steering and in forward motion (great sprinter), very comfortable and it has that nice steel snappiness. It's an old classic design but it performs as well as any modern frame. IMO.


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## Guest (Aug 28, 2009)

I've never ridden one but always loved the look of the gios.

Those stays are shorter than average but there are plenty of frames in that measure 405 in the stays nowadays. Being a shorter guy I'm not sure how it would work with the larger sizes, some makers use longer ones as they frame gets bigger.


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## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

There's an older one on ebay right now in my size that the guy said he will sell for $510 shipped through his website with fork. It still seems like it may be better to try and get a new one for frame only price of $1000 without fork.


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## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

Here's a pic of the stays that shows the clearence on my Tecno. Am I not seeing something other than the 3/4 degree steeper ST angle here.


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

*The out of the saddle experience*



vandalbob said:


> It's an old classic design but it performs as well as any modern frame. IMO.


It's made for Italians. 

The main benefit of a GIOS is the short top tube. You need a moderate length leg inseam but long arms with long stem. The top tube in my opinion was a very comfortable tight length for someone who liked to be very low on the drops. GIOS was always known as a great criterium frame by the novices. It's really a road bike made for climbing, sprinting and points. I put something like 16,000 kilometres a year on the bike. It was SLX Columbus tubing. The bike was never felt underneath you at accelerated speeds or sharp lane changes. Like I wrote ealier, it is a "road" bike 100%. It's not a road bike that you sit and pedal 5-7 hours on an easy ride. It's made for exactly what has been outlined. Out of saddle, jumps and sprints. It's the ultimate bridging gap machine.


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## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

EverydayRide said:


> It's made for Italians.
> 
> The main benefit of a GIOS is the short top tube.


I was seeing that also but I figured that with the seat tube angle being steeper that the set back would decrease by about 7.5mm (at leaste) thus alowing for a shorter TT. In reality I would choose a 54 TT when I would normaly use a 55. It would even out because of the steeper STA and also tighten up the rear that way (I think??):idea:


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

Voodoochile said:


> In reality I would choose a 54 TT when I would normaly use a 55.


On the Old Skool you're aiming for maximum adjustment from components and keep it small on the pipes.:thumbsup: 

If you ever have the opportunity to buy one of these frames, seriously consider the crank arm and stem lengths. This all does not correspond to previous built bikes you may have owned in the past.


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## T-shirt (Aug 15, 2004)

I've been riding a Compact Pro for a few years now, and I love it. But I think that you should buy this one from his web site.

The Gios drop-outs have about 8mm of available adjustment by the way.
.....


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

T-shirt said:


> I've been riding a Compact Pro for a few years now, and I love it. But I think that you should buy this one from his web site.



You De Rosa dudes. We know your frames are of higher quality. The GIOS was a mass produced frame in its day, even now. ....But you can't compare the De Rosa to the GIOS. It's not fair. The De Rosa's were always dialed in for longer comfort.

Yep. If you had the bucks then go De Rossa.


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## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

I do love that De Rosa. My friend Ralph used to ride one just like that forever until he got his C-40 and moved to Oregon. As a matter of fact I was at a training crit last Tuesday and heard he was hit by a car and left for dead. An old lady stopped to see if he was okay and called an ambulance. He was hit by a rearview mirror on a pickup truck. It knocked his eye out of the socket and he's in a back brace. He was a great rider. Damn. 

Like I said though that for those prices used, I would rather save a bit more and get a new one. I love the blue with the red heart.


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## nenad (May 5, 2004)

And here's my friend (the one circled). He preferred Gios much more than De Rosa Merak he rode while he was at Alessio (which he described as noodly, very hard to get going at the begining of the sprint). This was the bike, he says, that gave him confidence to let it go down the hills.

Other things he says about the bike are along the lines of "EverydayRide": tremendous climber and sprinter (I confirm this). Always listen to what the former pro has to say, he knows a thing or two about bikes and handling.

The seat tube angle is ALWAYS 74 degrees. The space between my 23mm tire and seat tube with dropouts all the way front is no more than 2mm, and yet they NEVER touch.

I second what "T-Shirt" says, there's 8mm with dropouts allowing you to extend the chain stays to 40.3 cm (otherwise they are 39.5cm). This would (should) make the ride more comfortable on longer, flatter rides.

Hope this helps.

P.S. I'm very sorry to hear what happened to your friend, it's terrible.


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## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

nenad said:


> The space between my 23mm tire and seat tube with dropouts all the way front is no more than 2mm, and yet they NEVER touch.


Wow that is close.



nenad said:


> P.S. I'm very sorry to hear what happened to your friend, it's terrible.


Yeah, thanks for saying so. I'm going to call him as soon as I get his new phone number in Oregon. I have actually thought about it on my daily rides lately and have stayed a little further to the side. I never thought it would happen to me or one of my old teammates either. I always get pissed at people in cars because of many things like them racing by just to get stopped at a light or pulling in front of me not knowing that we can ride so fast compared to some kid with a banana seat. I have been riding in the middle of my lane when approaching stop lights just so they won’t race by. I guess I have been a little bold with cars lately and have rethought about being more cautious. When I first started road riding people used to ask me if I was afraid of getting hit and what I always used to say was that I learned early on that I need to watch out for cars because about 10-20% don't seem to drive as cautiously as I feel they should or have any idea what to do when they see me.


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

nenad said:


> And here's my friend (the one circled). He preferred Gios much more than De Rosa Merak


Two different animals. GIOS is all forward motion, as the De Rosa leaves comfort where the Gios demands you out of the saddle [example climbing and grinding in the saddle on a GIOS gets nervous -light steering feel] and the DeRosa is more stable - but has a loss of punch due to its longer DeRosa top tube and softer feed back.


nenad said:


> This was the bike, he says, that gave him confidence to let it go down the hills.


I was called Kamikaze in my days on the GIOS.


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## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

EverydayRide said:


> Thumb nail of my bike back home.:thumbsup:


Toe clips even. You animal...:cornut:


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

Voodoochile said:


> Toe clips even. You animal...:cornut:


I told you!


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## nenad (May 5, 2004)

Holy smokes dude, no wonder you liked that bike. I dare say you look better on it than if you were next to a hot chick wearing a tuxedo!

Same thing with my friend in the pic above (his name is Sasha). Watch him climb up the hill out of saddle, and what you're seeing is a poetry in motion. I've never seen anyone as fluid on a bike as him.

Voodoo, there's a thread here on this forum (I forgot which one) where I voiced my desire to own a Tommasini along Gios, and someone mentioned he owned both and told me I already have a better bike. Try finding this thread and getting in touch with that person, perhaps he could detail out what it was about Gios that he liked better than Tommasini (in case you wish to get a third opinion).

Here's a very crappy pic, but I think it shows just how close the wheel is to the seat tube.


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

nenad said:


> Holy smokes dude, no wonder you liked that bike.


When I stopped amateur racing to continue schooling ...the time spent in the USA gave me a phat arse. I went from 75 kilos to 96 kilos in 6 months


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)




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## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

As far as the handling of the Gios I would bet that it's very similar to my CT-1 which I'm selling on this site. I did like the handling of that bike (very quick to turn) but it seemed as if it did take a little more time to get up to speed in the sprint even though it was quit stiff. I'm not sure exactly why. The bike I rode prior was a Cannondale CAAD4, Cippo's legacy even though he won more on the CAAD5 - I think. Now that frame was a freaking sprinting monster. The CT-1 was not as good a climber as the CAAD4 either and I would be the Gios is also much better. I think the Tecno does both well and rides better than any bike I've owned. The Tecno is slow to turn though so out of the three I would say that the Cannondale was the best Crit bike with the CT-1 second. Not to take anything away from the Tecno though. I feel better on the tecno than any other but I have not raced it. I did post in another thread that I saw my steel mentor at the race on Tuesday ( I have not raced since the end of 2005). He had the first Tomm that I ever saw. He raced it always and even won the state champ RR on it. He then bought a Master X-lite which he raced until it cracked. He sent it to Colnago to get fixed and they even repainted it for free. Anyway he has the Colnago back but he was riding a Blue Cycles carbon. I said "dude what are you riding" he said "well my last team was sponsored by Blue and I got the frame for 500 bucks" I said "how does it ride compared to your previous frames?" AND HE SAID “Better, that's why I ride it." I was a little surprised but I trust this guys opinion more than most. He was never one to go with trends and rode more than anyone with great success. I probably rode the second most out of our team but I was over trained every year. I just never seemed to recover very well. Anyway since I'm selling the CT-1 I have a complete set of components (Dura Ace 9's and some Open Pro's) to put on another frame so I've been looking around to see what there is that I'm interested in possibly racing for fun on Tuesdays next year. I think the Gios would be one bad-ass ride. I found an old Excel sports catalog from around 2001 and the Gios frame only was $550 and the fork was like $150 or $175. Damn, it's 1000 now for just the frame and another $300 for the fork. I wonder if I could get one from Europe for a better price. Any ideas?


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

Voodoochile said:


> Any ideas?


Just to confirm that I ride a great deal, have owned a GIOS and road, raced and recreationed in europe most of my life .... 

My 2008 SuperSix Ultegra is an absolute dream ride. I paid out the door less then $2,200 new in Feb 2009 this year as a left over. I have ....almost 7,000 miles on it this year. I like steel, don't get me wrong. But money is soooo hard to earn.


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## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

EverydayRide said:


> When I stopped amateur racing to continue schooling ...the time spent in the USA gave me a phat arse. :


LOL me too. I raced at the end of July in 2005 and only rode a couple times in 3 years. I gained 40lbs. Ugh! but when I decided to take a well needed break in 05, I grabbed all the food that I wasn't able to eat all those years. I grabbed my ice-cream spoon and said "It's on baby!" LOL It's so nice to have the background in cycling because in March of this year I weighed myself and was a little disgusted at what I had become from what I once took so much pride in being. I have lost 36 lbs since April with relative ease. If I lose 6-7 more I'll be back at the weight I ended racing at. I even think I'm wise now! I get my rest and am extra careful not to over do it. I feel stronger even though I'm not nearly as fast. Some fast groups rides and crits should put me back in the game for fun though if I decide that's what I want to do. I also really enjoyed being around the young guys that needed a little advice about racing. I just watch the three races and talked with a couple young guys who didn't know much but wanted to know as much as they could learn from someone that had been through it. I did do pretty good in my day with several wins a year until my last couple. I did take a second place in the tour of Illinois Wisconsin over ten races the last full year I raced. I'm pretty sure I would have won the whole thing had I not switched to the Colnago that year though. It took me a while to get close but never as good in the sprint as I was on my CAAD4.


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## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

Nice! I realy like that Super Six. Alot of bike for the money you spent too


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

Voodoochile said:


> LOL me too. I raced at the end of July in 2005 and only rode a couple times in 3 years. I gained 40lbs.
> 
> It took me a while to get close but never as good in the sprint as I was on my CAAD4.


Funny


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## Tinea Pedis (Aug 14, 2009)

ER - I'm surprised to see you running that much spacer on the steerer. Hang over from what you've always been set up with? Or you need to be a little higher nowadays?


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

Tinea Pedis said:


> ER - I'm surprised to see you running that much spacer on the steerer. Hang over from what you've always been set up with? Or you need to be a little higher nowadays?


You're correct. I came from a TREK aluminum / carbon 2100 ZR9000 last season in a 56 cm. This Cannonade is a 58cm. I'd like to drop it completely to the top of the headset. I'm not educated enough on cutting a 100% carbon steering tube by myself. It has been on my mind since buying the bike.

This is my first complete carbon bike [steering tube included],

And I'm slightly closer to 50 of age then 40. I'll see you when you get there.


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## Tinea Pedis (Aug 14, 2009)

haha! I'm not the style police mate. I already have 2 crap knees, at the ripe old age of 26 

Was just curious to know how long people were able to handle running a decent drop or whether it's because that's how they have always been set up. 

I actually had a sore back all weekend and run a pretty big drop on my 56cm CAAD - yet funnily enough in the drops my back felt fine?? Odd...maybe because it was dead level...


Anyway - I'm also looking at cutting the steerer on my 595 that I've essentially done the fitting on myself. Surely there's no more science to it than there was in cutting the ISP?? But I've also been paying attention to how much drop a lot of other bikes run, as I was worried that mine on the CAAD might be a little extreme/wrong. Seems though that it's not half as bad as I first thought it might be though...


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## nenad (May 5, 2004)

Gios Compact Pro in Europe is around 600 EUR + VAT. It's really the EUR - USD exchange rate that has bummed up the price in the States.

As to the comparison with CAAD4, I am not sure Compact Pro is that stiff, although it's pretty stiff to me but I ain't no Tom Boonen and at 72 kg I don't think I can flex it that much. My buddy raced on Gios Carbon V107 (alu carbon mix) which he described as pure race bike and stiff as hell which I can believe as Ivan Quaranta won couple of sprint stages at Giro against, among others, Cippolini with that bike.


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

Tinea Pedis said:


> But I've also been paying attention to how much drop a lot of other bikes run, as I was worried that mine on the CAAD might be a little extreme/wrong. Seems though that it's not half as bad as I first thought it might be though...


I ride 100% of every ride presently in the drops exactly as you have mentioned [being level]. I ride the tops of the bars only if I'm dismounting the bike or taking a picture [on present bike]. 

I have a small upper torso and short arms. I'm broad shouldered and almost '1 "85cm [6 feet]. If I'm not low on the bike it feels like a giro. I actually breath much better in the drops. No neck ache. No shoulder pain. No signs of anything.


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

nenad said:


> My buddy raced on Gios Carbon V107 (alu carbon mix) which he described as pure race bike and stiff as hell.


I've already set one aside this fall when returning home. It's the frame I'll ride next year.:thumbsup:


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## Tinea Pedis (Aug 14, 2009)

F**k me! Look at the arms on Cippo!


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## nenad (May 5, 2004)

EverydayRide said:


> I have a small upper torso and short arms. I'm broad shouldered and almost '1 "85cm [6 feet].


I was waiting for this one. We have the same build and same height (ok, I'm 186cm). I always thought that Gios geometry was well suited for people with slightly longer legs and slightly shorter torso. That's why I like it so much, because it fits me better than any other bike I've owned.

It is because of this that people show up here not at all thrilled at Gios ride and qualities just like I was never thrilled with most of french bikes I tried due to their elongated top tubes (I always felt I was over extending myself to reach the bars).

So there is no right geometry for everyone, you need to sit on a bike and ride it and see if it will work out for you. So the OP really ought to hop on one and see if it "speaks" to him.


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## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

I have just over 3 inch's to the center of the stem drop measured with a level on the seat on my Tecno but I also run a fairly long stem. It seems to help me breath better if I'm stretched out. 
*EverydayRide* it looked like you had quite a bit of drop on that Gios but a short TT or stem compared to mine because it looked like you were over the bars much more than I am. Maybe that frame is a little small since you got when you were a Jr though or maybe _"it's just the way you roll". _ I have used 1cm shorter stems or TT's with a cramped feeling that drove me crazy. Cramped ouch.

*Nenad* - I also was not suggesting that the Gios rides similar to the CAAD4 but likely steers similar to the CT-1. I bet the Gios sprints and climbs better than the CT-1 though.
*This the CT-1 frame ad on RR if anyones interested in taking a look. *
https://classifieds.roadbikereview.com/showproduct.php?product=16507&cat=all
*This is a pic built.*








*This is the Frame ready and clean for sale*









This is the Tecno thread I started when I built it but the saddle has been raised at least 2cm by now.
https://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?p=2188686&highlight=tomasini


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

nenad said:


> I was waiting for this one. We have the same build and same height (ok, I'm 186cm). I always thought that Gios geometry was well suited for people with slightly longer legs and slightly shorter torso.


I was in the original sequences of 170mm crank arms for road, 165mm for track and anything larger or smaller were for giants or midgets. 

It wasn't until the mid to late 80's I discovered fitment.


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

Voodoochile said:


> *This the CT-1 frame ad on RR if anyones interested in taking a look. *
> http://classifieds.roadbikereview.com/showproduct.php?product=16507&cat=all
> *This is a pic built.*


What an incredible frame Colnago made there.... though ....set up the way it is ...I'd say it's 2 cm too large for the handle bar position. I'm old skool as to the smallest frame and work around it through stem and such.

-:thumbsup:


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## Tinea Pedis (Aug 14, 2009)

Seems like I would be a similar fit to you fellas - so I might keep the Giro in mind for my steel build that will come some day...

And that Tomasini is effing beautiful!!!!


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## Voodoochile (Apr 10, 2009)

EverydayRide said:


> What an incredible frame Colnago made there.... though ....set up the way it is ...I'd say it's 2 cm too large for the handle bar position. I'm old skool as to the smallest frame and work around it through stem and such.
> 
> -:thumbsup:


Actually I had raised the saddle 2cm since that pic was taken. I had lowered it at the end of one season looking for more power since I was absolutely fatigued near death (it sucked) I was racing way to much for myself to handle. 3 Training crits on Tuesday group rides Fri, Sat, and Sunday or a race. Plus still doing sprints and interval training. God I was either crazy obsessed or just plain stupid. The Colnago and the Tommasini have very similar geometry. I use a 55cm frame c-t and 55cm tt with a 120 stem so I think it's about the best for me. I don't want to use a 130 stem. I'm pretty sure I would use a 54cm tt on the Gios with the st angle. I figured the set back would decrease at least 8-9mm (I do computer drafting for work so it's easy for me to just draw it up and figure it all out to match my existing position. All my bikes must be near perfectly the same or I freak out. ut:


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

Voodoochile said:


> Actually I had raised the saddle 2cm since that pic was taken.


Lighting and angle of the photo. Looks better when you tip it level viewing. I read your explanation.:thumbsup:


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

Compact Pro is a great ride!


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## Pete E. (Feb 28, 2020)

Noticed most photos have disappeared with the passage-of-time.

Here is my Gios Compact Pro, 58 cm. I am 5'-9" with 34" inseams. Longer legs and shorter torso/arms...so the Gios short top-tube was perfect for me.

My bike is 24 years old, having purchased it new from Excel Sports in 1996 when you could "build up" a bike and pick every component in the process on-line and even talk with them when you had questions. As you built-up your bike on-line, the price would vary as you added or deleted components.

Total cost with shipping for me in 1996 was $ 1650 or so.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

Pete E. said:


> Noticed most photos have disappeared with the passage-of-time.
> 
> Here is my Gios Compact Pro, 58 cm. I am 5'-9" with 34" inseams. Longer legs and shorter torso/arms...so the Gios short top-tube was perfect for me.
> 
> ...


I'm sure after nearly 11 years people throughout the forum are just dying to see photos of one of these.


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## Pete E. (Feb 28, 2020)

I had forgotten why I prefer to ride alone. Thanks for the reminder.


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