You know, I've seen a lot of Italian bikes, and they're not all that great. Plenty of off-the-peg Bianchis, Cinellis, Colnagos, etc., came with crappy paintjobs, poor threading, holes undrilled, bent derailer hangers and countless other problems. Most of the stuff we ride was turned out in a day by a couple of workers watching the clock and waiting for the weekend.

I'm confident that the top-end Italian frames can't be touched in quality, but I do think we may romanticize Italian frames too much, sometimes. I'd wager that most were made in conditions and with materials approximately the same as comparable Japanese builders.