Going to Venice- cycling recommendations?
 

Hello, My (soon to be) wife and I are honeymooning to Italy in late May. We will first be staying in Venice for 3 nights. Does anyone have any recommendations cycling in the region? Specifically-

-Where to rent bikes
-"Must-ride" routes
-Cool shops/cactories to see/tour.

I know the Pinarello factory is not too far away, and I believe Wilier may be close too..

Anywhere reachable by train trip from 'downtown' Venice would be ideal. Later in the week we are staying in Riccone and have bike rentals lined up already.

Thanks alot!
Joe Hydrick

Pinarello is in Treviso, about 30 minutes by train from Venice. They have a showroom in town: I've never been, but others have said there's always a member of the family present, and sometimes you might even be lucky enough to see the old man himself in the store. Wilier is in Rossano Veneto, take a train for Bassano del Grappa or Trento (Bassano is on the way there) and disembark at Rossano. Here's a Google Map link for a route from the train station to Wilier, with Street View of the building.

Hard to say what a "must ride" is w/o knowing what kind of riders you are. If you want a climbing challenge with rewarding views over the Venetian plain and hang-gliders soaring nearby, climb Mt. Grappa just outside of Bassano. The classic climb from Romano d'Ezzelino to the military monument at the peak is 25 km (15 mi) and 1558 m (5112 ft) of climb—elevation profile here. There are many steeper variations including a real leg buster going up from near Crespano del Grappa via "il salto della capra" (the goat's leap), which most mortals do on MTBs for their low gearing even though it's paved all the way.

The Venetian mainland (Veneto) is a hotbed of bicycle and bicycle component/accessories manufacturing, accounting for 80% of Italy's bicycle-related production. See my set of links to cycling brands in the Veneto. Note that not everyone welcomes visitors: Campagnolo is notoriously secretive and you need some kind of personal connection (or be someone famous) to be granted a visit; Sidi is just a non-descript building (with no showroom) along a provincial road.

very helpful reply, thank you!

I'll take a close look at the things you suggest...
Do you have a recommendation for a specific bike shop worth visiting?
Also, meeting an artisan frame builder and being measured for a custom classic steel frame is luring...do you have any suggestions in the area?

Venice biking
 

have a good time!

It's not close to Venice, but a trip to Pegoretti in Caldonazzo might be worthwhile. Dario Pegoretti hand-builds steel bikes and does gorgeous paint jobs on them, and has been featured in English-language cycling publications online and offline.

Lake Caldonazzo is a popular resort for Italians and is close to the start of the ciclopista del Brenta (Brenta river bike path), which is paved and well-marked down to almost near Cismon del Grappa, when you're on a secondary road that's a very popular cycling route until close to Bassano del Grappa. After that the route becomes difficult to navigate and often follows busy roads in the flat farmlands of the Venetian plain to connect to the Riviera del Brenta, ending at the ferry dock in Misurina.