Kastle Giovanna Bonazzi 1993

The Kastle bike that Giovanna Bonazzi rode to victory at the '93 World Downhill Championship in Betabief and bronz medal at the European Downhill Championship in Klosters in that same year.


I rode this bike at the Vintage Bike Masters at Klosters in 2023 and spoke extensivelly to Giovanna about her bike and victories which brought the status of "mtb legend".


The bike was build around a prototype rear suspension with as much as 3 inches of travel on the rear wheel. The front suspension had to be build to match and gave about 2,5 inches of travel.

Build with some of the best components at that time like Shimano XTR M-900 drivetrain with Magura hydraulic rim brakes and Zoom components.

Check the twisted spokes in the front wheel to gain some extra stiffness, which effectivelly didn't really work..