When some people take the ‘spare no expense’ approach, they don’t kid around. Apparently Mario Cipollini, the flamboyant ex-racer and owner of the eponymous brand, is just such a person. It’s hardly surprising to see the ever-so-stylish Italians pushing the limits of common sense in the pursuit of elegant and opulent designs, as Cipollini has clearly done to extremes with this new offering. The RB1000 (aka RB1K) Luxury Edition road bike’s frame is decadently adorned with gold, platinum and diamond accents, debuted in no more suitable place than Monte Carlo, Monaco during the “Like Bike” show in early April. And the price tag? As they say, if you have to ask, you probably don’t have $54,000 to spend…
Mario Cipollini set out to create something that could wear a ‘made in Italy’ stamp with pride, so he blended innovative technology with high-end jewellery to create this piece of rolling art. They do say the bike is designed to last forever, but I can only imagine that despite its complete functionality most of this bike’s life will be spent sitting on display. 
The jeweled accents on the Luxury Edition bike add up to 40g of 18k gold, 285 white and black diamonds weighing 20 carats in the head tube logo, and 122g of platinum between the head tube badge and down tube logos. The badges and lettering are all hand made by a goldsmith in Verona, Italy. 
The Luxury Edition’s frame is the same shapely monocoque T-1000 carbon fiber model used on the company’s RB1000 series bikes. Currently the Luxury Edition in the photos is the only one in existence, and Cipollini plans to offer them on a per-order basis. Customers will have the choice of any size frame they need, and can build up the bike with any custom assortment of components Cipollini carries. Certainly the bulk of the bike’s $54,000 price tag is accounted for by the gold, platinum and diamonds within its logos, but thankfully beyond the sparkle and shine there is a high-performance bike beneath it all. Besides, something needs to fill that garage space between your Gallardo and the Rolls!
