GIOS has had a special, different prescence in Japan, and that seems to have been finalized by it's Osaka branch. Which seems like it's definitely in the Japanese market. I don't ride anything but Japanese-size bikes anyway. (I'm 25% Japanese, and have the 5'3" thing going for me)

But I would rather have a real, lugged steel bike anytime.

I emailed them, to see if they'd repaint my bike. Twice. No reply.

I emailed the www.giostorino.it email address, and got my reply withing 12 hours. It was courteous, but I was told they couldn't ship worldwide, so I'd have to bring the frame to Italy to have it repainted.

Hahaha, that would be the ultimate restoration... And a dream vacation.

But I agree, the biggest problem with GIOS is their market is so small. It's hard to get one of their bikes.

I highly reccomend that you email them at www.giostorino.it, not their other website, and ask how you can get one of their frames.

-Nick